Staples has rolled out an audit system on mobile phones to all of its loss-prevention officers.

The deployment took place in February, after certain staff had been using and refining the system for about a year.

Using the E-SAFE 100 mobile application from Knowledge Online, Staples has been able to replicate the paper-based audit forms and scoring matrix system that it used previously. Now, loss-prevention officers can input audit information onto their PDA while they are at the store, and use the phone to take pictures and create audio files, which can be attached to the audit document.

The application gives screen prompts for users to follow to complete inspection reports and means that it is no longer necessary to type up reports that have been completed on paper. Once they have completed an audit, they can capture their own signature, as well as the signature of the relevant store manager.

The application will work on the PDA even if it is offline. Each completed report will be sent to a database hosted by Knowledge Online. The loss-prevention officer can also e-mail it directly to the store manager for them to follow up any actions that need to be taken.

Knowledge Online project manager Karen Johnson said that loss-prevention officers are beginning to use the application on a daily basis, following a period of refinement. The audits will be reviewed every 12 months to ensure that they are capturing all the relevant data and Johnson said that it is straightforward to make any changes.

The system also provides Staples with an integrated reporting tool, which allows bespoke reports to be created to show the top-level results from the various audits carried out.

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