Project Materials

ROLE OF STORES SECURITY IN THE PROFITABILITY OF AN ORGANIZATION

Chapter one

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Security has been identified as one of the most critical operations carried out in all organisations. Because the materials used in an organisation or industry affect its level of survival. Security is the responsibility of the management and is one of the most important aspects of store management.

It addresses a variety of issues, including theft, fraud, stock determination, damage, and specific storage materials that cost money and were purchased to suit specific requirements.

To ensure that such supplies meet the organization’s needs and to avoid excessive revenue loss caused by the loss of goods due to faulty security, which reduces the organization’s profit margin.

When this improvement or development is accomplished, every organisation recognises the importance of investing more in store security. This is true for any organisation that views security as one of the most critical and vital aspects of store management.

In general, retail security includes more than just theft and fraud. It addresses stock deterioration (loss of value), damage, location, and unique storage requirements.

An organised organisation would choose to hire the services of a professional security company that will provide a trained team of security guards and other workers to protect against theft.

Alternatively, an industry or organisation may delegate this responsibility of store security to an individual stock keeper or manager for the stock under their supervision; as a result, many industries or organisations rely on stock keeper to control store security.

Store security and its softly is one of the most important aspects of concern in store management because to the necessity to safeguard and guide the company’s significant investment in inventory. Every company’s goods or products must be valued; otherwise, they should not be in stock.

According to Morrison (167:9), if stock is to be securely safeguarded, it must be properly positioned and arranged in highly secured buildings or stockyards to which no unauthorised person or persons may gain access.

Its arrangements and management must be made for the possession of storehouse keys, as well as security procedures taken during non-working hours, to provide maximum security.

According to Data (1986:17), materials must be appropriately safeguarded and maintained under appropriate security and surveillance.

However, he emphasised that the effort, time, and money spent should be appropriate to the importance of the materials, and that the expense of security must be balanced with the benefits that may result from security measures.

According to Carter and Price (1993:10), the role of store security is critical because it represents both the value of stock and the responsibilities that it plays within the organisation.

They also stated that if stock is lost and not documented, recoding becomes meaningless and ineffective as a method of stock control.

The computed level of stock represented by the stock will not correspond to the actual stock hold. Production will be severely hampered if store security functions are not carried out properly and effectively. The basic store security duty is to hold stock, hence proper stock control is essential.

According to Morrison (1987:9), stock control entails operations aimed at effectively managing and controlling all inventory items maintained in stock.

The term stock represents a significant portion of an organization’s working capital money; hence, any stock costs incurred as a result of theft, fraud, or damage during the process must be replaced, increasing the organization’s costs and decreasing earnings.

The annual cost of stock is impossible to measure, so the sum must be in the billions of naira, with the loss of earnings and income resulting from production delays and missed contracts thrown on top.