Independent Grocers are Community Cornerstones
America’s independent grocers are vital to the communities they serve. Unlike national chains, the employees and managers of independent grocers are an integral part of the community and have built deep relationships over time. These businesses support the community with more than job opportunities; they also provide donations and support in times of need and contribute to local sports, education, and arts. Community-centric grocers, family-run businesses, and state-based small grocery chains are all examples of independent grocers that are part of the American fabric. These businesses are also nimble and have a finger on the pulse of the unique needs of each community.
Cash Management and Independent Grocers
Although independent grocers operate differently from large national chains, many challenges they face are the same. Labor shortages, cash management, shrinkage, and productivity are pain points that are common across the industry. While larger national retailers have the scale and volume to implement sophisticated cash automation systems, independent grocers have yet to be as quick to adopt these technologies.
The good news is that cash automation technology is now more accessible, affordable, and easier to use than ever before, offering an excellent opportunity for grocery chains of all sizes to enjoy the benefits of cash automation. By implementing cash automation, each department of the independent grocery chain sees gains in productivity. Improvements are apparent from the highest corporate levels to the part-time cashier scanning produce.
In-Store Benefits of Cash Automation
Traditionally, the store manager is responsible for preparing floats and supervising reconciliations. This takes significant time that could be spent helping customers, mentoring employees, or building relationships. If money goes missing, the loss prevention team may come to audit, which is disruptive and time-consuming.
Cash recyclers eliminate manual till preparation and allow managers to operate their stores with less cash on-site. Innovative features such as self-sealing stacking bags can streamline the CIT pick-up process. By implementing automation, customer-facing positions such as checkers and store managers can focus on developing customer and community relations.
Corporate Benefits of Cash Automation
Although cash automation machines are deployed at individual store locations, the benefits are immediate at the corporate level. Cloud-based software integrated to the on-device applications provides the head office with real-time visibility across all stores. Various metrics can be identified, tracked, and utilized by multiple departments in the corporate structure: Treasury Management Department handles all the activities and processes in managing the grocery chain’s money. This includes cash flow forecasting and day-to-day operations like banking and invoicing. With cash automation, Treasury Management can see the exact amount of money at the start and end of the day to obtain provisional credit from banks. Furthermore, with a cash recycler, there is less cash to track at each location.
Loss Prevention / Asset Protection tries to reduce loss and track the source of shrinkage. Cash automation software can be configured to set employee permissions, reducing opportunities for theft. Data tracked by automation makes the who, when, and how of cash shrink easily identifiable.
CIMA's Back Office Solutions
CIMA offers several back-office cash recyclers suited to the independent grocer environment. Retailers can even deploy a combination of CIMA hardware across their stores based on the unique needs and cash volumes of specific locations. All CIMA devices run on the same software platform, enabling seamless function and visibility across a chain of stores that may be running different machines.
Platino Cash Recycler
PLATINO is CIMA’s medium to high capacity back-office note and coin recycling solution for retailers or venues with a higher note and lower coin requirements. The PLATINO solution is an affordable and complete back-office cash recycling solution that can be customized to different environments. An available feature is a unique self-sealing, stacking bag system for up to 3,000 surplus notes. This allows CIT operators to pick up cash quickly without opening cassettes in-store.
Diamante Cash Recycler
DIAMANTE is CIMA’s high-capacity back-office note and coin recycling solution for retailers or venues with higher note and coin requirements. The DIAMANTE solution, made up of a note recycler and a coin recycler, has all the functionality of a high-capacity back-office cash recycling solution.
Benefits of Cash Recyclers
- Eliminates manual till preparation and customizes till floats
- Quick and automatic till dispense
- Faster end-of-day reconciliation
- Reduces errors and shrink
- Recycling reduces overall store cash requirements
- Reconciliation to third-party applications
