Case Study: Operational Audit

Enlightening and empowering management with on-demand insight into field-level performance: Vertical: Specialty Retail Insight: Automating a paper-based process, Laptop & Web Editions, Field force auditing multiple banners

The Issue

With over 2,200 stores under multiple banners, this leading optical provider’s field auditing team had the vast responsibility of uncovering and analyzing loss prevention issues at the store level. Each banner required a unique set of rules and questions, a complicated situation made more so by the inherent limitations of a paper-based audit system.

A limited auditing staff and a time-consuming audit process with much duplication of effort severely limited auditors from achieving their potential. Information was processed too slowly for effective problem solving, forcing management to focus on low-performing stores and dealing with issues as they occur, rather than developing more effective strategies
of prevention.

The Solution

This specialty retailer partnered with Creative Options to implement a completely custom mobile audit application that adapts to their audit process. The laptop edition enables a team of eight territory loss prevention managers to immediately input compliance data into their mobile computers. Auditors can synchronize their collected audit data with the server the next time they connect to the internet – an automated process that drastically reduces administration time and improves productivity.

A web input page is also available when auditors do not have access to a mobile device. Once the audit data is synchronized with the back-end servers, Creative Options’ professional audit reporter instantly collates and analyzes audit results.

The new automated store audit process has brought enhanced visibility to loss prevention at the store level while providing management with a real-time picture of organizational performance. Covering topics as diverse as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) compliance and cash handling, corporate management is able to identify issues at the source.

Automated notification technology keeps management abreast of individual auditor performance. Activity reporting allows the user to monitor completed, outstanding and overdue action items. In addition, intelligent exception-based reporting and drill-down functionality to store, auditor, or question level helps management glean meaningful insight from the deluge of audit data.

The electronic audit system enhances the field audit force and provides greater insight into organizational performance. Audit reports identify what’s wrong, where, and provide the proof necessary to drive change

The Results

“In the first four months of using the Creative Options mobile audit solution, I have already completed more audits than all of last year….”

    ~ Territory Loss Prevention Manager

“With the Creative Options mobile professional audit solution, we have seen a productivity improvement of 40-50%. Creative Options provides us with the infrastructure we need to speed the time from data collection to analysis. The end result is a more efficient and effective loss prevention organization which can focus on proactively reducing shrink.”

    ~ Director of Loss Prevention & Audit Services