Audits & inspections
in retail chains
Quality control, customer service, visual aspects and inventory control in distribution networks with an extensive, multi-level structure
Retail and distribution chains
It seems that the days of small local shops or family-owned businesses in the retail industry are becoming a thing of the past. We are observing a strong expansion of medium, large and large retail chains with hundreds of stores in one country and an increasingly richer offer for customers shopping online.
As the number of units increases and the organizational structure expands, challenges arise related to maintaining a high level of services provided, customer satisfaction, consistency of brand representation and other aspects that affect the overall perception of the organization in the extremely competitive retail market.
In maintaining high standards of safety, quality, cleanliness and customer service, an IT tool that:
Enables management of a large organizational structure and easy movement between organizational units,
It ensures full transparency of processes and allows for the identification of responsible persons and deadlines for completing tasks,
It is convenient to use and allows you to conduct audits without compromising the auditor's other duties.
Audits and inspections carried out in retail chains
Cleanliness audit
- Cleanliness in the store is one of the key factors determining whether a customer will make a purchase or not. With the increasing awareness of buyers, the price of products on the shelves is no longer the only determinant of purchasing decisions. Regular inspections to check the cleanliness of stores are therefore necessary.
HSE & Environmenal audits
- An occupational health and safety audit allows you to check how the work and activities performed by employees affect safety in the workplace. An environmental audit focuses on verifying the needs and obligations (usually resulting from legal provisions) of the organization in the context of caring for the natural environment.
Verification of stock status
- Checking usually performed by the supplier's sales representative or an external entity providing this type of services. The purpose of the inspection is to demonstrate stock shortages and to order replenishment of stock in the customer's unit, usually a store or wholesaler.
A mystery shopper audit
- This is an audit performed by a person (usually a professional auditor) who plays the role of a customer of a store, hotel, restaurant or other place providing services. This person observes employees and examines the standards prevailing in the verified place, where employees are not aware of being audited. This approach allows you to spot more irregularities than in the case of planned and open audits.
Action Audit for retail
Although Action Audit has its origins in the manufacturing industry, its advanced and universal functions also work well in other industries, including stores, retail and distribution networks. The combination of an online platform for managing and creating reports with a mobile application for auditors and people responsible for corrective actions means that the system will perfectly improve the currently operating audit process, thus contributing to improving the quality of services provided, safety and customer satisfaction.
The following features of Action Audit may be particularly helpful:
Push notifications about assigned audits
Scheduled and on-demand audits (ad-hoc)
Adding photos and descriptions of nonconformities
Preview of previous audit results
Key benefits of using Action Audit in retail
Overall improvement of the quality of the auditing process
- transparent scheduling, advanced configuration options, automatic assigning of auditors and addressing of corrective actions, combined with accurate real time reports, result in an overall improvement in the quality, transparency and reliability of the audit process.
Time saving
- the information obtained from the current users of the application shows that they achieve between 60 and 80 percent savings on time they previously spent on servicing the auditing process.
Greater team involvement
- having a tool with which auditors can carry out an audit from a computer, a tablet or a phone, and people responsible for corrective actions have access to comprehensive information about any inconsistencies, the involvement of the entire staff is increased and the effectiveness of interdepartmental cooperation is improved.
Secondary benefits
- Having a properly planned and rigorously enforced system of auditing, it is impossible not to mention a number of secondary benefits, including: improved product quality, fewer complaints, improved key production indicators and increased customer satisfaction.
How to run Action Audit in 3 steps?
Step 1
Click on the link below and fill out a short form in which we will ask you to present a few basic parameters regarding audits in your company.
Step 2
One of our specialists will contact you to arrange an online meeting to see how Action Audit will work in your organization.
Step 3
Based on the information from the form and the meeting, we will prepare an Action Audit especially for you and make it available for free testing for 30, 45 or even 60 days!