The African Business Journal: G4S

G4S
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admin on 17 August, 2010 11:21:00
 
G4S, the world’s leading international security solutions group, is now
operating in 24 African countries, providing world-class risk assessment and
integrated solutions to security challenges to government, business and other
organizations.
With a history for providing security solutions for over a century, G4S
rightfully take their place as global pioneers in an industry they have
influenced greatly.  The success of G4S can be measured by the hundreds of
thousands of clients who ascertain its services and by the 595,000 people who
work for the company, making G4S the world’s second largest employer.
Whether African companies need a security solution in their individual store, an
entire chain of stores or for private or government facilities, the global reach
of G4S will be behind it.
G4S Africa is rolling out exciting new technology in the retail security
solutions that will transform the way in which businesses manage their security
and safety. TABJ recently spoke with Hannes Venter, Sales Director of G4S about
the G4S’s expanding market and increasingly sophisticated security
technologies. With a background in banking and cash management services, Venter
knows the in and outs of cash security better than anyone and is excited to pass
on his expertise to the African market.
G4S Cash 360
G4S knows that the critical role that managing cash is to any retail business.
“Transferring takings from your tills to your bank account securely and
efficiently can be the difference between surviving and thriving,” says
Venter.
“G4S Cash Solutions provides cash solutions, which is basically the
collection and delivery of cash to and from retailers and also other
sectors,” Venter continues. This includes the provision of cash management
solutions which includes processing, meaning the counting of money and
delivering the source solution, putting devices in clients’ premises then
on-site they can deposit the money straight into their bank account.
Built to address the specification of individual retailers, the CASH 360 G4S is
the culmination of experience, expertise and infrastructure used to take care of
retailers’ money, leaving them free to concentrate on their primary focus
on the core business.
The benefits are felt almost immediately. The business case built around the
CASH360 hones in loss prevention and a significant reduction in crime. Although
Venter concedes that South Africa does experience high levels of crime, he says
it is “no higher than in other parts of the world when it comes to the
pure security work that we do. The greatest threat for any of our clients, which
are mainly retail, food, clothing, petroleum, all those kinds of retailers, is
these internal or external theft of the cash. Unfortunately, at times it’s
their own staff that is pilfering the money or it is external criminals wanting
to steal the money. The solution is tailored to prevent both.”
The CASH 360 is basically an automatic cash acceptance device. According to G4S
studies, internal theft worldwide is approximately 0.16 per cent of profits.
Consider that the average profit margins for the majority of retailers hovers
around the 2 to 3 percentile, the significant of efficient security becomes ever
clearer. G4S studies have also shown a 50 per cent reduction in these loses by
clients who have implemented the CASH 360. Additionally, and more importantly,
the safety of employees is upheld when instances of theft and robbery fall off.
How it works
Venter went on to explain the fundamentals of the system clearly.  Once the
machine accepts money, it counts and validates it to make sure it’s not
counterfeit. It then accepts those monies according to a pin number the teller
has provided and then the device and issues a receipt so there is no
miscounting. Not only is the money then verified but, at the end of the day, the
machine also balances and integrates the cash through the point of sales
software and terminals so that each teller balances and can quite easily clear
the contents of the till into the device. Then “externally, we insure the
money from the time it is deposited into the device, both from an insurance
point of view and as a secure device,” he says.
Return on investment
Once clients have installed their G4S Africa security solution, the return on
investment can be measured quickly. “In South Africa, bank charges are
quite expensive to deposit money into the bank, with the bank charging you a
fee. Our business case is actually better than most other places because
it’s less expensive. We find it’s probably within one or two years
with a return on investment and that the solution pays for itself. We find in
business cases that it works from day one and it basically pays for itself. In a
lot of cases, we’ve actually saved money for clients on a month-to-month
basis. It comes in more cost effective, because then we can predict the
frequency in which we collect cash through the online application,” says
Venter.
G4S studies have shown that the security solution saves small retailers two to
three hours a day, and that is can reduce personnel head count by two, which are
very significant gains.
Investing in South Africa
With approximately 80 per cent of its clients in the retail industry, G4S Africa
is investing heavily in burgeoning African markets to make “interaction
with our clients becomes more seamless,” and is also upgrading its track
and trace system of its services to meet that end. The company is also investing
in a physical vehicle tracking system, an intelligence system that monitors the
movement of vehicles such as the opening of on-board safes.  “For
physically secure technology, we always have had access to the best global
practices as part of that global group,” says Venter.
G4S offers technical security solutions that are backed up by a commitment to
quality and customer satisfaction, which gives the client maximum value long
after the initial sale. With a global network of technology and expertise
unparallel in the industry, G4S provides peace of mind to Africa’s diverse
range of business owners.
www.g4s.co.za