JD Sports

Creating actionable store audits

When Ben Deeks first joined the JD team, they were using paper-based audits. The problem was, though these audits contained valuable data, not much analysis was done on them. “We’d print and file the paper forms but we didn’t get a comprehensive overview of where our biggest problems lie.” That’s when Ben began looking for a digital auditing solution that could help the organisation pull out trends and areas for improvement from each store or region.

Tracking stock loss trends

Now Ben’s team is performing three full audits per month in each store to make sure stores are following the procedures that ultimately cut down on stock loss and increase efficiency in the store. Ben says they break this information down by brand, region, auditor, or even each specific location. “We can clearly see differences in stock loss between regions, and the compliance data backs that up,” Ben says. When compliance scores are lower in SafetyCulture platform, the stock loss is generally higher.

Crime statistics also tend to be much lower with stores that score higher in compliance. Once Ben saw how effective SafetyCulture platform was for tracking compliance to avoid stock loss, he implemented it in other areas as well. JD now uses the platform for store risk register, which is a checklist for new stores. When JD opens a new store, they have contractors who fit the store to JD’s needs. The team conducts the site survey, then ensures the contractors have taken care of everything in the original proposal.