POS audit reduces retailer's front-end losses

Losing Money at the Front-End
A leading specialty retailer was concerned about losses being incurred at the front-end of their stores. Although the retailer was aware of inconsistencies related to cash register transactions, management did not know the extent and source of the problems.

Sophelle's Assessment
Sophelle conducted a complete front-end audit of all store systems and procedures, including:

Sales
Returns
Exchanges
Tendering
Discounting
Cash Management
Taxation
Employee Training

Challenge - Undetected theft from store personnel was resulting in significant front-end losses for a retailer.

Solution - Chain-wide improvements in software, register balancing and coupon tracking.

Result - Dramatically reduced losses and measurable ROI.

Sophelle identified several significant data and system integrity issues. In particular, store coupons posed a major problem. Sophelle found that coupons were not properly tracked, allowing for undetectable cash register theft by store managers and associates. In fact, upon review of Sophelle's findings, a senior management official stated, "No one in the company was getting richer than the individual store managers."

Solution
Sophelle recommended specific enhancements to the point-of-sale software and changes to the register balancing processes to achieve consistency throughout the chain's stores. Store managers and associates were given specific protocols for all transactions, and a tracking process for coupons ensured that theft could not go undetected.

Result
With the introduction of the system and process enhancements, front-end losses were dramatically reduced. In fact, within two months, they were virtually eliminated. In addition, the coupon tracking system now provides more accurate promotional data on marketing effectiveness, further enhancing the company's ability to profit.

Sophelle has a long history of proven expertise in point of sale systems and technology. Other documented point of sale success stories include: POS testing and roll-out support for a fine accessories retailer, a multi-national POS rollout for a leading luxury brand, and a POS platform update for a 1,000-chain specialty retailer.

Success Stories

Retail IT Strategy and Implementation

POS audit reduces retailer's front-end losses

Success Stories