Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/55968
50 • MARCH 2012 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Inventory "shrinkage" and theft continued from page 48 HOT DIP GALVANIZED ORNAMENTAL IRON WWW.ALAMOFENCE.COM Ornamental Iron Fence & Gates shrinkage. Lazy bookkeeping is a fairly common culprit, but even more common are the individuals, whether customers or employees, who take it upon themselves to institute their own "five-finger discount," eroding your company profits and damaging your company's chances of success. To help avoid these unpleasant ex- periences, I want to share with you some tips for preventing and reducing inventory shrinkage. Hot Dip Galvanized After Welded No Rust Fencing • Residential, Commercial & Industrial • Require store managers to re- CANT-4 CANT-4SQ ⁄2 " - 4" - 41 ⁄2 COVER-4G Nylon Cantilever Gate Rollers and Safety Roller Covers Universal Roller Fits 3"- 31 " Round Posts. Also Available Rollers To Fit 4" Square and 65⁄8 Authorized Locinox Dealer BEST VALUE IN AMERICA Call Us or Visit Our Web Site: www.alamofence.com A Division of Atlas Fence Co., Inc. Ph.: 713-981-1113 • Fax: 713-771-5046 Email: benitomgarza@alamofence.com " Round Posts. view registered transactions every day; and look for excessive openings of the cash drawer, small cash refunds, re- turns, etc. Make sure that your employees can see you or your manager review- ing this information. Your or your manager's presence in this reviewing process will go a long way to reducing theft more than any other way. • Look at your "voided," "can- celled" or "deleted sales report" every day. • Look at your returned transaction report every day. • Do not share passwords, so your cashiers can log on with a different user name. • Add password protection, and TILT-A-WAY RESIDENTIAL & INDUSTRIAL OPERATORS only allow employees to access what they really need to know. • Look at your inventory adjust- ments report every day. • Look at your profit margin re- ports every day. If your margins are low in a certain category for that day, then you should do a little research to find out why. • Keep your inventory count accu- rate. These suggestions are practical and applicable when using your POS software. Compare our quality! You will see there is a difference! Commercial Residential Here are a few suggestions that I think can be helpful that don't require having a POS system in place. • Keep the back door closed and alarmed. This deters one of the easiest ways for employees to sneak mer- chandise out. • Have management inspect the garbage before it is taken out. • Review security videos on a reg- All operators meet UL-325 and CSA-247 (800) 523-3888 www.tiltaway.com info@tiltaway.com ular basis. And, most important, make sure your staff knows you do so. If you have ever been robbed blind, and don't know who did it, then try to not let your employees find out about it. If you do "bust" somebody for stealing something, let all your em- ployees know that that person did not get away with it. Sometimes, this can be your way to prevent theft and in- ventory shrinkage. (Certainly, this spe- cific issue should be dealt with in your policies and procedures manual or handbook for employees, after having had it reviewed by your attorney for legal ramifications and options.) And remember there are possible legal problems associated with accus- ing someone of theft. Again, consult your attorney. This subject is not going away anytime soon, and is one that af- fects us all. Obviously, some of you will be af- fected more by shrinkage and theft than others. However, all will have felt the "sting" of this at one time or an- other. If you view this problem as a "cost of doing business" factor, all you will continue to do is become an en- abler for somebody or "somebodies" to rob you and your business of hard earned dollars. Be proactive, help yourself. We are in tough but improving times; how- ever, as many of us know, we are still in a recovery cycle. Let's keep positive by stemming losses that can be pre- vented or deterred. As always, it is hoped that one or more of these ideas will help you to re- alize that Profit Is Not A Dirty Word!™ World Fence News contributing editor Jim Lucci is president of Man- agement Motivational Associates of Freeport, N.Y., and for many years has written a monthly column on business management and issues which affect fence company owners and managers. He is a major contributor to the Fencer's Field Report which appears monthly in World Fence News. See the ad for Management Motivational As- sociates in this month's issue of World Fence News. Move quickly to attend 2012 Michigan Chapter table top show The Michigan Chapter AFA has set the date of Saturday, March 10, 2012 for its annual table top trade show. The site is the same as usual for the long-running show, the Holiday Inn Hospitality Suites, although it was a Radisson for a while but is now back to Holiday Inn. It is located in Livonia, Mich., due north of the Detroit Metropoli- tan Airport. More details will be announced in the coming months. In the meantime, for more in- formation, contact Dick Fromm at Elite Fence Products at 800-783- 1331 or call Tom or Debby at 810- 235-4581.