It’s no secret that the hospitality, foodservice and retail industries have been hit hard by labor challenges. It’s become difficult for retailers to hire employees, and even more difficult to retain workers—and this problem, compounded with rising labor costs, means convenience stores and other retailers are struggling to keep up. Processes such as data entry, accounts payable (AP) work and other HR tasks, however, can now be automated with the help of technology, and using that technology offers c-store retailers benefits including, but not limited to, labor savings.
Labor challenges and automation
Considering the myriad challenges retailers have faced in the past few years regarding labor, it’s no surprise that automation is on the rise, especially when it comes to mundane tasks such as accounts payable, employee onboarding and other HR needs. Manual keyboard data entry is not only time-consuming, but also more prone to human error, naturally.
By automating processes, retailers can eliminate errors—which can be costly—as well as use less time and labor to complete these back-office tasks. Document management systems that remove the paper from back-office workflows help ensure maximum accuracy and efficiency while also freeing up staff to do other tasks, such as cashiering, stocking and more—tasks that improve the customer experience and boost overall consumer satisfaction.
Additional benefits of automation: Accuracy, efficiency, less waste and more
Of course, automating processes within c-stores offers other benefits besides labor. Accuracy in data entry is one of those benefits. AP automation, for instance, can not only cut labor costs by 50%, but can also eliminate issues related to human error in data entry. With automation, 85% or more of manual keyboard entry is eliminated, so retailers can feel confident that the data entered is much more accurate.
Automation also helps increase overall store efficiency, especially with HR tasks. Digitizing processes such as onboarding and training helps increase throughput for retailers, without adding to labor costs.
Waste reduction is yet another benefit of automation—and one retailers may not initially think of. By digitizing AP and other processes, retailers no longer have to do everything with paper, which reduces the amount of office supplies used—and also helps streamline stores’ costs, since everything reported is accurate, with fewer errors than if entered by hand. Plus, everything is then safely and securely stored in the cloud!
Paperless options offer convenience and peace of mind
Automation as it currently exists helps retailers streamline their processes, maximize efficiencies, free up staff from back-office tasks so they can help customers and more. And it’s only going to get better, with technology assisting more and more as time goes on. To learn more about Mosaic’s solutions for c-stores and how they help retailers, visit https://mosaiccorp.com/industry-solutions/c-stores/.
This post is sponsored by Mosaic Corporation