Solving The Riddle Of The Audit - How To Accelerate Improvements By Simplifying Your Store's Auditing Process

By Eric White, director of retail strategy, Wren

When a store manager unlocks the store and gets ready for the business day, he or she usually runs through an opening checklist — either mentally, with a hard copy checklist or perhaps a technology-driven solution — that ensures the company's standard operating procedures (SOP) are followed. Depending on the type of merchandise your store sells, the manager also has to evaluate various aspects of the store to ensure it meets all compliance requirements for your industry's standards. Be it following the Animal Welfare Act as a pet retailer or food safety standards as a grocer or convenience store, store managers have to run through a serious of "checks" to ensure compliance with those standards. Even the processes involved in updating prices on merchandise and confirming inventory in a shipment are part of the process of keeping track of information needed to ensure your retail business is operating effectively.