Stephen Smith Email & Phone Number

Chelmsford, England, United Kingdom

Uk

The Cardinal Group is a leading provider of security products and services and business solutions that help combat ‘Total Loss’. Cardinal security was formed in 2003 and currently works with a range of leading retailers.  Successful completion of numerous investigations that identified £2k in fraudulent refunds, abuse of company discounts and monetary theft  Reviewed till discrepancies and implemented new controls and procedures for investigating and reporting discrepancies; the impact was a £1k reduction in losses across the company Introduced the company’s first stock loss action plan that targeted the 10 worst performing stores. The action plan reduced the shrinkage for these stores from 3.25% to 2.80% a total saving of £40k  Monitored products sold online and liaised with online platforms to investigate sellers. Resulting in numerous sellers removing items and 3 sellers removing items for copyright infringement High quality training and coaching for management teams within individual stores and as groups of managers; equipping store management teams in ways to manage and reduce their shrinkage ensuring adherence to policies and procedures. Improving company compliance by 3%  Supported the Distribution Centre in tightening controls and identifying areas for development to reduce losses. Introducing key controls and processes including searches, storing store keys, opening / lock down and tailgating  Built a positive relationship with the client ensuring communication and expectations of the client are managed in a timely manner  Provided a compliance audit for 175 stores in the UK, including the Channel Islands

Essex And London

Poundstretcher was established in 1981 and has a network of more than 400 retail stores across Britain; Poundstretcher is the UK's leading variety discount retailer for quality food, toiletries, garden essentials and home-ware brands for everyday life.  Analysed stock loss and reported on vulnerable target areas to minimise lost profit through internal and external pilfering. Decreased London’s shrinkage from 6.15% to 5.24% and Essex’s shrinkage from 3.85% to 3.60%, which resulted in a £3k per week saving Investigated and identified the root cause of administration errors that lead to incorrect reporting of stock levels Managed store management teams and staff to ensure physical stock counts were completed in accordance to the company guidelines, identified discrepancies between stock ledger values and physical count values  Identified and reduced fraudulent activity in stores from compliance audits conducted and out of hours visits  Attended shrinkage meetings to develop Store Management and their teams in operational processes and loss prevention controls ensuring adherence to best practice Provided support for the opening up of new stores and arranging specifications for CCTV, alarms, key holder details, safe and cash delivery

South / East Uk

JJB Sports plc was once one of the UK's leading high street sports retailers and at its height ran a portfolio of some 400 stores and was focused on being "Serious about Sport"  Managed store management teams and staff to ensure physical stock counts were completed in according to the company guidelines, Identifying discrepancies between stock ledger values and physical count values  Investigated administration and operational procedures of stores, which produced unacceptable shrinkage results and reported on the findings Designed and created new training documents to support with the induction and training of new auditors. This resulted in 5 auditors successfully completing their probation period. Ensured stores were adhering to company policy and reporting any misconduct to area or regional management for further investigation  Provided management reports on audit results to Senior Management within Head Office allowing strategic decision making

Midlands / South East

South East

Chelmsford, United Kingdom