Efficiency Improvements Through Connected Cash Control
Retail cash management has traditionally been an exercise in creating a controlled environment focused first — and almost exclusively — on the protection of cash and profits. As such, many retailers have done a fine job of implementing strict management processes and supporting systems for monitoring cash intake and transfer. Unfortunately, many of these systems are ignorant of the modern technologies that enable operational efficiency of cash management processes, and to control cash at all costs is no longer acceptable in the ultra-competitive and thin-margin world of retail. Today, retailers must create cash management protocols that afford even stricter control of cash, and just as importantly, they must do so in a cost-conscious way. Building operational efficiency into your cash management processes not only demonstrates good stewardship of precious company resources, it rapidly accelerates the return on your cash management investment.
The loss of money through theft and human error are bad enough; cash control processes that waste resources through inefficiency are inexcusable. In a prime example of a collaborative, technology-driven approach to curb loss and inefficiency, Tellermate has been working with the 250-store European convenience store chain Spar to create an audit trail of cash related transactions in every store, at every stage of the cash management cycle. Mark Stevenson is national loss prevention director for Tates Limited, which operates the Spar banner. According to Stevenson, automated and networked cash management solutions provide he and his team instant access to fast-moving cash management information, allowing them to be far more efficient analysts and investigators. From a loss prevention perspective, he says fraud reduction is an inherent benefit of tighter, more efficient controls. “Staff know that there are procedures in place to monitor cash handling, therefore the motivation to follow these procedures is higher and staff are less likely to try to be dishonest,” he says.
With the release of its T-knx Connected Cash Management Solution earlier this year, Tellermate illustrated how modern technology can both improve cash control and drive out operational inefficiency. T-knx is a Web-based management tool that integrates cash counting equipment into back office business processes, including loss prevention investigation activity, banking, human resources, and financials. The tool gives retail managers the ability to drill into till-level data at the location, POS lane, and associate levels, in real-time and secure fashion, from any Internet-enabled device. Through integration with any T-ix electronic cash counter, T-knx takes cash count data and sends it to a secure cloud-based server. There, the data is formatted for presentation in a clear, graphic format that enables its integration with mission-critical back office systems.
Karen Scott, an operations and loss prevention professional at Scotmid, sums it up this way, “With accurate data, it is easy to challenge cash loss with confidence.” Scotmid runs more than 300 retail banners in Northern England and Ireland, ranging in format from grocery to health and beauty supplies. Each of its stores is equipped with integrated cash counting solutions from Tellermate. With more than 70% of their take coming from cash, Scotmid stores have honed their ability to process that cash efficiently. In fact, Scott is charged with improving operational efficiency at Scotmid stores by assessing viable areas for manual task reduction, a primary motivation for its Tellermate implementation. She says the integration capabilities enabled by the solution are “fundamental in ensuring to streamline and improve cash handling processes.” Those process improvements come from the mitigation of inaccuracy risk at the hands of manual input and human error, as well as the speed at which accurate information is fed into back office systems through integration. At Scotmid, cash losses are down 25%, the value of cash lost has been reduced to 0.05% of turnover with further gains anticipated, and the company’s return on investment has been accelerated by a reduction in staffing hours that were previously dedicated to cash processing. Improved productivity enabled by streamlined cash management processes allows store-level managers and associates to focus on sales-oriented tasks, which pays exponential dividends.
By continuing to leverage modern technologies through innovation, Tellermate is continually adding value to every area of the retail business affected by cash management. The automated, integrated, real-time information enabled by T-ix electronic cash counters and the T-knx network takes loss prevention and streamlined business operations to unprecedented levels — eliminating the compromise that once existed between cash control and business efficiency.
About the Author
Dave Lunn is the Group Sales & Marketing Director for Tellermate Group. Tellermate Group is a leading provider of cash management solutions in retail, banking, QSR, and leisure. Tellermate is trading with a global footprint with its head quarters in Newport, Wales.