Why Real-Time Exception Reporting is Critical to Your Business

We live in an amazing time. A colleague forwards a report that appears in your inbox within seconds. Your competitor announces a promotion, and you receive a Google news alert moments after it hits the wire.

Thanks to technology, the world moves in the blink of an eye.

So, why are you still waiting a week or longer to learn there’s a problem with your sales?

Often times, you’re waiting for a weekly report to arrive on your desk. You can’t address an issue without factual support. But, what if you had the ability to identify exceptions in real time, access supporting data and take immediate action?

Consider these two limitations in your current system:

1. What good is having a ton of data without the ability to quickly identify exceptions?
2. Similarly, what good is finding an exception without having tools that allow you to quickly address the problem?

That’s why real-time exception reporting can make a huge difference in your operation.

Take, for instance, this scenario:

The #EpicFail

Your stores have a new high-margin foodservice item that has been widely promoted. At the start of the day, a highly trafficked store is reporting an equipment failure. The store manager reports the problem, initiating the chain of command. A phone call to the district manager may result in a voicemail if he or she is in a meeting. Once this manager receives the message, there may be another message left for executives.

Too much time has passed. You are losing product sales in multiple dayparts, and the course of action for repairing the equipment remains unclear.

Take action sooner

Skip the game of telephone and make upper management aware of this problem immediately. If it’s a visible issue, have the employee take a photo with their cell phone. Executives will receive an exception notification on their mobile devices, along with the GPS location, time and date stamp of the submitted issue. They review the information and assign a member of the maintenance staff. Faster action results in faster recovery.

Don’t miss the big picture

An easy-to-use reporting system that identifies exceptions in real time is crucial to your success as a convenience store operator. You know that failure to respond quickly to maintenance issues can cause permanent damage to your brand.

Don’t allow such problems to undermine the quality that makes shopping at your store a memorable and positive experience.