Getting Ahead in the Retail Business – Different Portfolios for Different Sized Retailers

Brief

In retail, quality service comes with cost, and the cost of labor has become one of the biggest areas for improvement opportunity.

Research shows that in employee hours are consumed by cash management, and automizing the cash management process is one of the more efficcient ways to solve this issue.

Masterwork’s various product portfolios perfectly fit in several stations in different scales of retail businesses. For instance, our NC6500 and JIAN Compact Smart Safe simplify front end transactions with quick precision for supermarkets.

For hypermarkets, CashPointPay reduces labor and optimizes consumer self-check-out experience. KUAN and/or RAY cover the back offices, providing advanced storage units with maximal security.

Introduction – The Struggle behind the Scenes of the Retail Business

There are a certain number of fundamental factors to a successful retail business. While convenience is a sure key to better profit, customers’ demand for smoother and higher quality transaction services is on the rise. However, with quality service comes the cost behind it, and when businesses are already trying to balance all of the other operational expenses, it can be difficult to find the middle ground between cost efficiency and service enhancement.

According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, labor costs in the retail business average around 20% of total revenu3e, some even as high as 25%-30%, which adds up to be even more than inventory costs in many cases.

While reports by consulting companies may suggest retailers to retain their labor expenses between 10%-12%, market demand proves an obstacle. The cost of labor has become one of the biggest hurdles, yet also the biggest area for improvement opportunity.

In order to ultimately cut down on labor costs, businesses must first identify what are they spent upon. And, for the majority of retail work places, employee hours are consumed by the tedious yet essential task of cash management. From collecting cash, verifying amounts, and identifying counterfeits, to sorting denominations, counting sums, and safekeeping storage, employees are busy dealing with money both at storefronts and in the back offices, devoting more time to cash than facing customers.

Solution – From Front End to Back Office

In understanding that enhancing consumer experience and lowering labor costs is the path to build competitiveness in the market, the way to solve this issue is by automizing the cash management process, so store workers can focus on what is really important – working the floor and engaging with customer services.

Purchase amounts can vary greatly from customer to customer, and going through each transaction is a labor-intensive process. Masterwork Automodules engineered products specifically focus on meeting the issues created in this process. The modules not only counts collected cash and verifies total sum with precision that may be overlooked by employees, it can also identify counterfeits and defaced banknotes that may have slipped through unnoticed by manual checkup. The counted information is automatically recorded, with daily cash information and real-time activity reports uploaded directly to cloud servers, so that no data will be logged incorrectly.

Once cash is moved to the back office, the focus is on security and reducing risk of cash storage. With Masterwork’s unique design, intelligent software, and high security portfolios, businesses can optimize cash flow operation and keep track of the entire process record by record. The modules also sort cash into easily managed deposits, so that CIT collection and transportation can be a fast, protected, and simple procedure.

Portfolios – Supermarket V.S. Hypermarkets

In order to meet the requirements of each scenario, Masterwork Automodules has developed several solutions to resolve the current issues of different businesses accordingly.

For supermarkets servicing locals around their areas, businesses aim to provide convenient and friendly services within their limited spaces. NC6500 and JIAN features compact models most suited to such needs, with intuitive operations and fast counting modes, these solutions can simplify front end transactions by counting cash and detecting counterfeits with quick precision. With smoother transaction processes at front of stores, BEAM and CDS² can follow up in the back offices, providing light-weighted till flow and easy operations for end of day processes. The high security UL291/CEN standard of safes also maintains secure cash storage in the back office, ready for CIT or the next till-flow.

For larger-scaled hypermarkets welcoming business from cross-regional customers, speed and precision are what can keep these huge facilities under smooth operation. CASHPointPay not only helps accelerate business workflow by reducing cash register labor, but also optimizes consumer experience with accessible self-check-out, and even integrates with existing POS systems, providing the automated experience to both employees and clients. In the back offices, KUAN and RAY have businesses covered, from end of day to till flow operations, these solutions are all provided under advanced storage units with maximal security, a cash management system with a size fit for the grand scope of business.

Conclusion – Getting Ahead in the Retail Business

Supermarkets are an essential part of our daily lives. Shopping for staple merchandise is a daily necessity for many. From supermarkets catering to neighborhood locals, to hypermarkets attracting regional and cross-region customers, the ever-growing market for markets have reached near peak saturation, and competition between businesses have become more ambitious than ever. With total solutions by Masterwork Automodules, there is an applicable portfolio for every business.