Automate retail audits, store audits & store checks
Large retail organizations often consist of a wide network of stores and have complex structures. Reviewing all aspects of your business during a store audit, store check or retail audit can be time consuming and challenging.
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However, in the modern retail landscape, retail audits, store audits & store checks are essential to ensure that a store is operating efficiently, complying with legislation and maintaining the highest levels of customer service. Our audit software helps you to control your stores and significantly reduce the time and costs involved.
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ex:plore helps you audit key areas of your business such as finance, inventory, compliance, operations and customer service. ​Test the features of the ex:plore demo in a free online appointment.
Advantages of store audits & store checks with ex:plore
Network mapping
Large amounts of data and an extensive branch network can be transparently mapped and compared in the audit software.
Measuring progress
It measures inventory control results, sales trends, customer satisfaction, and many other metrics for individual stores.
Automation
Intelligent follow-up actions and associated automation simplify the revision process. This also enables continuous improvement.
5 reasons for retail audits & store audits with ex:plore
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Clear dashboards and display of branch trees
Key metrics such as sales trends, costs, or profit margins are displayed in real-time dashboards and reports. This allows you to quickly identify financial risks and opportunities to make your business more profitable. It doesn't matter how many locations, branches or subsidiaries your company has. ex:plore is even able to map holding companies with multiple stores or brands in their portfolio.
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Flexible inventory planning
Regular stocktaking is essential to prevent shrinkage. By connecting to our own inventory application, this can be done digitally and very efficiently. ex:plore seamlessly and automatically transfers the collected data to your ongoing store audit.
03
Comply with internal standards and regulatory requirements
A key component of a store audit is the compliance check. Compliance with all relevant government regulations and industry standards is simplified. From health and safety regulations to environmental standards, any number of questionnaires can be assigned to the responsible persons in your company or in your branches and stores. This means that not only quantitative but also qualitative data is collected. For validation and documentation purposes, ex:plore also has a document upload function.
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Compare performance and evaluate business processes
During the store audit it is also possible to check how well trained the employees are or how efficient the processes are. The management of the location is also one of the audit criteria in a retail audit. ex:plore allows you to transparently compare the performance of different stores. Numerous comparison criteria and categories are possible, e.g. comparison by region, sector, size, etc.
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Effectively measure customer satisfaction
Your retail business depends on the customers who come in and make purchases. That is why customer service is a focus of a retail audit. A store audit often takes customer feedback into account. This ensures that the store maintains its positive image and that the brand messages reach the customer. ex:plore makes it possible to compare customer satisfaction surveys from different stores and to show the development of these results over time. In this way, you can prevent negative developments in good time.
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We have over 30 years experience & a global network.
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EXCON is a reliable partner
What are the next steps after sending the form?
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After submitting the contact form, we usually get back to you the same day on business days.
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Next, we will schedule an online appointment together. We will clarify any open questions so that we can customize your demo.
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The demo will take place digitally with our experts on the agreed date.
Briefly explained: Retail Audits, Store Audits & Store Checks
Retail audits, store audits, and store checks are all tools used by retail organizations to review the performance, compliance, and operational efficiency of their stores. The process and execution of store checks, store audits and retail audits depends on the requirements of the company and the type of audit. The audit software ex:plore supports retail audits, store audits and store checks equally.
In order to differentiate between the terms, the most important characteristics of the audits are defined below. Retail audits provide a broad overview of various aspects of a retail company, while store audits and store checks are more specific and aim to ensure compliance with company guidelines and standards or quality criteria in individual stores.
In addition to the retail sector, audits of this type are often used in franchise systems to ensure the quality of locations and compliance with licensing guidelines. This ensures a positive brand image, both individually and across the board. Learn more about franchise audits here.
What is a retail audit?
A retail audit is a comprehensive review of all aspects of a store, including sales, inventory levels, employee performance, customer satisfaction, and compliance with company policies. These audits can be conducted by internal or external teams and provide a holistic view of a store's operational efficiency and performance.
What is a store audit?
Store audits or reviews focus primarily on the financial integrity and accuracy of a store's business transactions. They include verifying cash balances, reconciling cash registers, ensuring compliance with accounting standards, and identifying financial irregularities or fraud. Branch reviews are often conducted by internal audit teams or external auditors and have a strong focus on compliance and financial control.
What is a store check?
Store checks, on the other hand, are more specific. They often refer to a predefined list of items or criteria to be checked, such as product availability, store cleanliness, staff presence, or compliance with promotions. These checks can be conducted more quickly and are often used to ensure the quality and standardization of the customer experience on a regular basis. Mystery shopping is often used to evaluate the performance of individual locations.
ex:plore supports audits & revisions across the board
With ex:plore, audit processes are optimized, efficiency is increased and compliance with standards and regulations is improved in individual stores and across the store network. In addition, the audit software makes it possible to identify and address potential risks at an early stage.
Internal auditors
For internal auditors, ex:plore enables efficient planning and execution of audits by providing checklists, schedules and resources. The documentation of audit results becomes more transparent and traceable thanks to digital data capture and automated reporting functions. In addition, the company's own inventory application in combination with ex:plore allows internal and external auditors to flexibly record, evaluate and control inventories and guarantees optimal processes.
External auditors
As a central platform for collaboration between internal and external teams, ex:plore facilitates the exchange of audit plans, reports and other relevant information. Efficient data collection and analysis enables external auditors to quickly identify risks, areas of non-compliance and opportunities for improvement. Data from any number of sources can be fed into ex:plore via interfaces and complement the comprehensive picture provided by the store check. In addition, EXCON has a large network of its own auditors who, for example, conduct on-site dealer audits in the automotive industry.
Compliance & quality control
ex:plore facilitates the monitoring and execution of compliance audits by providing a structured methodology for compliance and documenting the results for tracking and reporting. Automated alerts and reporting capabilities help business teams identify potential risks and areas of non-compliance.
To conduct quality audits and ensure consistent product quality and customer service standards across all stores, ex:plore provides structured methodologies and tools. It facilitates the tracking of production processes, product quality, brand standards and other relevant quality metrics, and supports rapid response to quality issues through continuous improvement activities. In addition, the collected data can be used for certification audits against quality standards such as ISO norms.
Drive business with store checks & store reviews
ex:plore helps you to identify the need for action and to implement appropriate measures in all of the above mentioned revision criteria. With the integrated management of follow-up actions, automatic workflows can be implemented. For example, it is possible to automatically make training material available online if the audit shows that there is potential for staff training.
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The challenge of store inspections and store audits is the complexity of these audits and the ever-changing nature of the retail industry. However, with the right strategies and software, a successful store audit and store check can provide valuable insights that will drive and promote your business.
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It's not only in retail that ex:plore can be used. You can find many other use cases for the software in our use case overview, such as data protection audits, ESG reporting, franchise management in other sectors or contract audits.
