Mirecourt is located in the northeastern part of France not far from the borders of Switzerland and Germany. It is a rural area and many residents in the area travel to work at jobs in larger cities. In Mirecourt the owner of the Intermarché Hyper decided to build a store to be able to provide a large variety of non-food products so residents would not have to travel to larger cities to have better product selection. Nearly half of the products in the 4000 sq meter store are non-food items. “Our goal is to provide many items for our customers so they don’t have to travel to nearby cities to shop.” said Pascal Simon, Store Director of Intermarché Mirecourt.

The Challenge

Intermarché Mirecourt leadership wanted to automate their store cash processes, and were faced with making a choice between the ROI of a closed-loop solution and back office focused solution.

Soon after opening, the owner of Intermarché Mirecourt wanted to increase the accountability and security of the cash in his new store and realized cash recyclers would help him reach his goals. Initially, he considered a closed-loop solution that would place cash automation devices at each register and feed into a larger device located in the store’s back office.

But when Arca performed an ROI analysis that demonstrated the benefits of its back office retail cash solution, the owner saw he could achieve the increases in security and efficiency as well as the added accountability he wanted for a much lower initial investment. He concluded that the ROI for the front and back office closed loop solution did not justify its high cost.

When he realized he could quickly recover his investment with the Arca retail back office solution, he decided to proceed. His staff saw the benefits from the start, “I’ve worked with the Arca solution since the beginning. Before (the solution) it was much more complicated to manage the cash register. We were wasting a lot of time.” explains Caruban Andréa , Cashier Manager.

The Solution

The Arca retail back office solution provided Intermarché Mirecourt with a complete audit trail for all cash, securely prepared bank deposits and allowed cashiers to generate start funds quickly as well as deposit drawers without supervision.

The owner at Intermarche Mirecourt wanted to increase security and add accountability to cash inventory which the Arca solution provided in several ways. It controlled access to cash by requiring unique user ids for each associate to deposit or withdraw cash from the recyclers. The automated transactions generated electronic records and a complete audit trail while reducing human contact with the cash. And bank deposits were prepared in a sealed bag without ever being touched by store or CIT personnel, adding another layer of security.

Cashier manager Caruban Andreà saw a significant time saving benefit from automating the time-consuming work of preparing tills and end of day balancing. She explained that counting and balancing errors could keep her in the store long after closing.

“Since we started using Arca, we leave much earlier. I actually save one hour per day per cashier. That’s about 10 hours a day I can add to our schedule. We are very satisfied.”

Caruban Andréa, Cash Manager, Intermarché Mirecourt

Andréa was also thrilled that cashiers could dispense their own start funds in the morning and securely deposit their drawers in the evening without any supervision. The recyclers produce transaction receipts that cashiers use to validate their tills against the store accounting software. This identifies discrepancies immediately and helps cashiers resolve them more quickly.

The Results

Arca cash automation solutions improved security, accountability and efficiency for Intermarché Mirecourt while allowing employees to finish their jobs faster and with greater accuracy.

The store director appreciates knowing that he no longer has to worry about the security of cash in the store. “As a security feature, I think it’s essential to have this device. It’s an expense but it’s worth it.” said Simon.

The store’s owner quickly realized the return on his investment with the streamlined Arca back office solution. He achieved his goal of increasing security and accountability, along with the added benefit of more efficient store operations.

The store managers and staff love how much easier it is to manage all the activities around register tills. Now they can confidently manage their tills faster, more accurately and without assistance. Having worked in manual cash environments prior to this experience the cashier manager reported “Since we installed the Arca system in the store we have been very happy. I cannot see myself working without it.”

The Arca retail cash solution addressed the different needs throughout the Intermarché Mirecourt organization along with a lower cost and a faster ROI. The store’s owner and director gained security and accountability. And the cashier manager and cashiers increased their efficiency and accuracy. Cash management and handling tasks are now happening faster. And employees are getting out of the cash room and onto the store floor to provide a better customer experience.

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