Any profitable organization looks to maximize savings and facilitate financial growth in a variety of ways. At Quantum Services we know that businesses benefit greatly from outside resources coming into their space, evaluating their processes and business models, and providing feedback on where they can cut costs, re-structure, and streamline for improvements. C-Stores can benefit greatly from outsourcing their auditing to obtain accurate data to keep track of products and finances. We have communicated the top 6 benefits of outsourcing your inventory audits, but now we want to talk about the types of audits Quantum Services can provide and how we can help you reduce losses and ultimately, save you money.
Our Superpower? WE ONLY COUNT C-STORES
The C-Store is a unique and specific retail space that we know inside and out. We don’t dip our toes into any other type of store, making us experts in the C-Store industry. Having the unique ability to say that we are an inventory service company that can accurately count your stock. We are the only auditing service that has developed proprietary systems and reporting that keeps C-Stores coming back year after year. Our proven processes guarantee accuracy, instill confidence, build rapport, provide impartial insights into operations, and support a long-term partnership. We understand that C-Store managers will only act if they trust the accuracy of an audit and action is what is needed to reduce loss and increase profits.
How are our Audits so Accurate?
Quantum Services wrote the book on C-Store auditing as we are the only C-Store only auditing company. Using proprietary software and specialized audit technology, we deliver the right data and detail you need to make the best decisions for your business. Our tailored programs drive custom reporting and make sense to the end-user, providing immediate insights into your inventory. The hardware used to collect the data ensures accurate, consistent counts across each and every store. Along with our amazing inventory auditors, our technology gives us a leg up on many internal audit programs, especially when it comes to flexibility, expense, and accuracy.
Our Audits
There are three essential audits we perform to help the C-Store perform better and obtain accurate and detailed reporting:
- Financial Audits | Efficient and Actionable. Financial audits calculate the total retail value of all products available for sale. It is broken down by department or category as well as geographic location within the store. This data is easily understood and utilized and is low tech, making integration with store systems or price books minimal.
- Hybrid Audits | Accurate and Versatile. Hybrid audits provide more options and combine the benefits of scan audits at a lower cost. There are three types:
- Financial audit with price book accuracy (FAPA) which allows pricing verification via scan
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- Financial audit with item level features (FIL) which offers pricing integrity without item-level detail
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- Combination audit (COMBO) which combines a scan and a financial audit
Because not all data is entered manually, accuracy increases with the hybrid audit. These audits are also less expensive and provide cost savings to reduce loss to the C-Store.
- Item Level Scan Audits | Detailed and Focused. Item level scan audits (ILSA) scan the barcode (SKU) for each product and enter the quantity. For ILSA audits to be reconciled, the count for each item is compared with the “on-hand” book figures. ILSAs involve a mindset shift from retail and category management to item-level management. The data is detailed and shows shortages and overages to lead to a better understanding of concerns and facilitate auto-replenishment. Additionally, the accuracy is increased as there is no manual data entry, and the C-Store can focus on auditing high-risk items more frequently.
Our Reporting
Curious what a Quantum Services Audit Report looks like? Below you will see an example of a Damaged Merchandise Report indicating items waiting to be sent back to the wholesaler or written off AND an example of an Items Not Counted Report, showing items that the store has a record of, but were not found during the inventory.
DAMAGED MERCHANDISE REPORT:
ITEMS NOT COUNTED REPORT:
When considering whom you can trust to accurately count your C-Store, let us assure you that we have you covered. We want to help you find discrepancies, correct inaccuracies, and build a better inventory to meet our customers’ needs. Contact us today to start a conversation!