One of G4S’s customers is a major manufacturer headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. When the customer reached out to us, their main goal was to reduce stock loss. They were experiencing theft of product from their premises and they needed a way to resolve the issue. They needed help setting up warehouse security procedures including checking, as well as perimeter protection.

The customer also wanted to implement procedures for access and egress. In other words, they wanted to establish control measures to ensure that all persons, raw materials and finished goods leaving and entering the building did so officially and safely. We competed against other security companies for this project, but the customer decided to trust in our experience and knowledge. The contract was awarded to G4S late in December of 2017 and we began working with the customer in February of 2018. 

THE GOALS

This company’s product is a high-risk item that is very susceptible to shrinkage. Fortunately, G4S has experience in similar situations in the past. We knew that solving the challenges faced by this customer would involve establishing iron-clad procedures, checks and measures throughout the workplace.

After all, while security technology and equipment can help the team do their job, a facility can only be secured at a high level if the personnel working there are diligent about following procedure. So, we knew we would need to recruit quality, experienced team members. Finally, it was an important goal for us for these solutions to be implemented in a cost-effective way. Price was a fundamental consideration.

THE SOLUTION

Here are some of the ways we implemented the solution for this customer:

• We employed a team of high-quality security guards who performed a checking function within the warehouse on a regular basis.
• A specialised recruitment process and intensive background screening was done for all security guards hired on this project. Since this checking function required specific skills, we sought out those with the right abilities and experience.
• We established an improved process between the warehouse and the egress points throughout the facility. The improved processes were better documented and provided better coverage for access and egress.
• We also set up G4S Risk360, our award-winning incident and case management software, in order to run all operations more smoothly.

Additional to the solution was the management capability. This included a team that could quickly investigate variances in order to ensure that we supported the continuity of operations to the customer.

What is G4S Risk360 Incident Management Software?

This easy-to-use software improves efficiency by streamlining incident reporting, risk mitigation and case management. Any team member can use it to report, track and resolve security incidents in real-time. In this case, we used it to assist with the verification of stock dispatched from the warehouse, matching those records to that which left the facility. The artificial intelligence features make the software even more seamless to use. It even provides a dashboard for supervisors to view all reports at a glance.

None of this customer’s competitors were using a software platform like this. The improved process flows and advanced technology put them ahead in their field. 

THE RESULTS

The success of the solutions we put in place was measured in the value of the reduction in stock loss. Although checking is not a traditional security function, it was well executed by the G4S team.

By deploying highly skilled and capable security guards and establishing improved processes, we were was able to eliminate the product theft problem. In fact, no significant stock losses were noted during the G4S tenure.

Also, G4S was able to identify stock count errors quickly and report them. As a result, the reduced stock losses enjoyed by the company meant that their market share improved, because they were no longer competing against their own products available on the black market.