Case Study: O'Brien's Costcutter

Costcutter is one of Ireland’s most respected and well-known retail groups. The chain was established in 2000 by its parent company, the Barry Group, and today operates more than 120 stores in the Costcutter franchise, including O’Brien’s Costcutter in Cork.

Prior to working with the Sensormatic Solutions team, O’Brien’s Costcutter did not have a refrigeration monitoring system for its in-store units. This not only presented food safety challenges but also resulted in a lack of efficiency and standardisation. Staff had to manually record Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) temperatures on paper twice a day, leading to a complex, error-prone process with a high number of hours dedicated to manual tasks. Troublesome by-products of the paper-based system included searching physical document folders for data and difficulty ensuring tasks were completed on time.

Plus, it was difficult to quickly trace products through their in-store life cycle. A lack of remote access to data also impacted the retailer’s ability to meet compliance standards. These unfortunate issues led to tedious, time-consuming in-house processes which were costing the organisation an increasing amount of time and money. O’Brien’s Costcutter needed help.

Sensormatic Solutions’ Compliance Manager is an innovative digital compliance management solution that manages all aspects of food safety within a retail environment. With Sensormatic Solutions' Compliance Manager system, O’Brien’s Costcutter quickly replaced pen-and-paper clipboards with digital tools to automate data monitoring, recording and reporting so as to ensure food is stored, prepared and consumed in a safe manner. The retailer’s new end-to-end system includes software modules, mobile applications and state-of-the art hardware.

24/7 Refrigeration Monitoring: O’Brien’s Costcutter relied on Sensormatic Solutions’ Food Safety 24/7 monitoring platform to protect food in its fridges and freezers. The system sends alerts to staff when they are both on and off the premises, to provide immediate awareness of any problems. The alerts can be sent by SMS, email, push notification or automated phone calls and include time delays for defrosting cycles.

Customisable Module Builder: The Compliance Manager Module Builder has allowed the O’Brien’s Costcutter team to create personalised food safety workflows configured to the facility’s unique applications and food safety risks. From there, staff can track and monitor on-site processes such as traceability, cooking and delivery. The platform was also configured with scheduled tasks, which send automatic notifications to staff as a reminder to complete important duties.

These innovative and efficient digital solutions have brought real peace of mind to Sensormatic Solutions’ valued customers. O’Brien’s Costcutter is now in control of its food safety journey as it harnesses the power of a sophisticated yet easy-to-use platform to protect its products, customers and brand. In addition to meeting local food safety and compliance regulations, O’Brien’s Costcutter has also increased productivity to free up staff to focus on other core areas of the business.

Compliance

O’Brien’s Costcutter is fully equipped to meet HACCP food compliance and safety standards. Managers can now easily trace products throughout the store’s delivery, storage, cooking and cooling processes to ensure foodstuffs remain safe.

Reduced Stock Loss

Thanks to 24/7 refrigeration monitoring and alarming, O’Brien’s Costcutter has experienced a critical reduction in stock loss by preventing food from being damaged or spoiled.

Increased Productivity and Efficiency

The number of hours O’Brien’s Costcutter previously spent manually recording HACCP temperatures has been significantly trimmed. Today, managers can review all in-store activity and sign off knowing that their food is safe and secure. The team also has access to vital data, should they need to quickly retrieve it in the event of a food safety audit or investigative incident.

The easy-to-use Compliance Manager platform by Sensormatic Solutions keeps the user at the forefront to create a simple and effective experience for all stakeholders – from the food safety compliance department to store team members. This all adds up to improved food safety compliance, increased efficiency and smoother day-to-day operations that have prepared the O’Brien’s Costcutter team for the next generation of food retail.

Download a PDF copy of Sensormatic Solutions’ O'Brien's Costcutter Case Study now.

Find out how Sensormatic Solutions’ Compliance Manager can help you to achieve food safety compliance, protect your assets and increase your productivity. Schedule a demo today at www.sensormatic.com.

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Sensormatic Solutions, the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls, powers safe, secure and seamless retail experiences. For more than 60 years, the brand has been at the forefront of the industry’s fast-moving technology adoption, redefining retail operations on a global scale and turning insights into actions. Sensormatic Solutions delivers an interconnected ecosystem of loss prevention, inventory intelligence and traffic insight solutions, along with our services and partners, to enable retailers worldwide to innovate and elevate with precision, connecting data-driven outcomes that shape the future of retail. Please visit Sensormatic Solutions or follow us on LinkedIn and our YouTube channel.