National Discount Retailer Gets 56x Return on Cost Per Store and $10M in Savings with Legion WFM

About This National Discount Retailer

A leading convenience store chain with approximately 20,000 stores and 175,000 employees transitioned to Legion in 2020. Following an RFI, the retailer selected Legion due to its strength in flexible scheduling and compliance management. The platform enabled the business to manage diverse labor laws and fair workweek regulations across thousands of stores.

“Legion’s ML forecasting cut through the noise to deliver forecasts over 60% more accurate than previous best-in-class formulas.”

Director of Workforce Operations, National Discount Retailer

The Challenge

Before Legion, the retailer utilized a legacy workforce management solution that lacked the modern features necessary to support predictive scheduling and keep pace with labor market changes. Key challenges included:

• Need for predictive scheduling compliance
• Lack of scheduling flexibility for managers and employees
• Lack of a mobile app for employees
• Inability to accurately forecast demand
• High deployment and training costs
• Lack of visibility of shift coverage for employees

The Solution

The company selected Legion WFM for its modern SaaS architecture, intuitive design, and rapid deployment capabilities, delivering measurable impact at scale.

Demand Forecasting

Machine learning models generate accurate forecasts for each location, continuously improving as real data is incorporated.

Labor Optimization

Granular, task-based labor modeling aligns staffing with forecasted demand and labor standards, ensuring efficiency and compliance, and maximizing every hour worked.

Automated Scheduling

Employees can submit shift preferences, time-off requests, and shift swaps, while routine scheduling tasks are automated for managers. Compliance rules can be built into the platform, significantly reducing pressure on managers.

Time and Attendance

Legion delivers a comprehensive time management system that is fully integrated with scheduling. Capabilities deployed with Legion included the Legion Time Clock, a modern digital time clock seamlessly integrated with scheduling.

Legion InstantPay

Provide employees with immediate access to earned wages, which boosts engagement and reduces last-minute callouts driven by financial needs.

The Results

Operational Efficiency

Legion WFM delivered $10 million in savings within the first nine months, achieving a 56x return on investment per store. The rollout was completed at 94% of the budgeted cost, proving to be faster and more cost-effective than any legacy alternative. Its user-friendly interface also reduced reliance on IT resources, improving overall agility.

Workload Optimization

With AI-powered scheduling, the retailer achieved a 500-basis-point improvement in workload efficiency across thousands of stores. The platform can generate up to 284 schedules per minute, ensuring labor is optimized at scale and managers spend less time on manual scheduling.

Forecast Accuracy

Legion’s advanced forecasting AI generated forecasts that were 60% more accurate than those produced by legacy methods. Improved data availability enhanced operational decision-making and gave the retailer confidence to align labor budgets and schedules with real-world demand.

Flexibility and Control

Employees can now initiate schedule changes directly through the mobile app, eliminating the need for a manual “call-around” process. Managers now have visibility into total hours worked, reducing overtime risk and improving staff's overall work-life balance.

Manager & Employee Empowerment

By automating compliance and streamlining scheduling, Legion freed managers from administrative burdens and improved daily operations. Frontline employees gained more control and transparency, driving stronger adoption and sustained engagement.

Conclusion

With Legion WFM, this national discount retailer achieved significant financial impact, operational efficiency, and employee empowerment. The platform’s advanced forecasting AI, comprehensive APIs, and user-friendly interface enhanced agility and facilitated more informed operational decision-making. By adopting a modern, AI-powered workforce management solution, the retailer ensured flexibility, scalability, and ongoing innovation while keeping labor spend under control and employees more engaged than ever.