Payment and supply chain security are high priorities these days. Vendors of all shapes and sizes in the retail business are locked in a competition with hackers and physical intrusions that seek to steal client or payment data. This is bad for business, of course, but the threat of penetration by thieves poses more risks than that obvious one.
Ensuring the security of payments to your sites—both physical and digital storefronts—is an essential function of any small business or large enterprise in order to safeguard customer data and to create a trust between yourself as the merchant and your suppliers and your clients. A data breach is the first step toward a downturn in business as customers look to more secure vendors or direct suppliers to serve their needs. Keeping your accounts and inventory protected is a must for any retailer, and security for payment information is where this task begins.
Use the latest technology solutions responsibly.
Technology is a great thing for business as it works tirelessly to meet customer demands and supply chain requirements. The continually improving technical solutions to the most common problems we see as business owners offers unique freedom to focus on the advertising and product development spheres of business management. However, if you aren’t careful with your data or hosting setup, then you may be inviting hackers into your midst without knowing it.
The best way to secure your payment information is to begin at the root of it all, with inventory management solutions that eliminate overlap and conflicting data reports. A multi-channel order and inventory management solution is the best way to eliminate the delay in updates between your various selling platforms. Vendors, these days, operate a combination of individual web stores, Amazon and eBay storefronts, and often brick and mortar locations as well. Without an inventory management system to keep track of orders flowing in from these various sources, it can be easy to lose track of an accurate accounting of your inventory and cash flow figures.
Thieves take advantage of any irregularities they can get their paws on, and one of the prime drivers behind loss of business is the mismanagement of inventory data. An inventory manager spends his or her days tabulating stock and order details in order to maintain current stock counts, retail store information, and derivative purchase order habits for clients. The task is a large one, and with an automated system that collates these various data points, you can focus on client-facing issues rather than meticulously accounting for each box that leaves your warehouse at the end of every day.
Taking this need off your plate with the help of an inventory management suite can really bolster your data and payment security as well. Scammers are often looking for the easiest way into your operation, and a weak inventory management infrastructure is a soft spot that can easily be exploited with rapid ordering and return requests that will tie up your accounting of inventory levels and legitimate purchase order records.
Update your POS system.
In addition to inventory management, a cash register express software implementation is a great way to boost the accountability of your records. With a Nitro Sell cash register software package, you can streamline the e-commerce component of your brick and mortar operation. Tightening up security with the latest in encryption software is a standard inclusion in the Nitro Sell suite, and maintaining accounts within the overall POS system apparatus is simple when your sales cycle is integrated between each of your storefronts. Retail demands a highly mobile solution for your Point of Sale operations, and a streamlined software package that collates all requisite data is the solution to any problems you may have faced in the past.
Integrate a sophisticated data management regimen with an IBI hard drive.
Using a hard drive storage device like the IBI photo storage solution from Sandisk is a great way to maintain individual photos and your online store while eliminating weak points in your data management routine. Maintaining separate points of storage will keep sensitive data segregated from easily accessible materials that require widespread distribution. Photos and videos of products, for instance, need to be easily accessible, yet protected, because of their use case on your digital storefront. By maintaining a separate hard drive, like the IBI, for any media uploads that you’ll use on your site, you can keep public objects stored in a unique container that doesn’t touch your sensitive financial records. A breach of your primary computer through the use of an upload channel can spell disaster for your business and brand. This is especially true considering the ease of air gapping these items from one another. A smart photo manager software, included as a standard in the IBI, can help you quickly upload without sacrificing data integrity, too.
Keeping payment information secure is one of the first priorities of any business. Protecting client and internal data is crucial to maintaining a successful business; the first step to creating this firewall is to implement smart retail practices that don’t allow for simple gaps in the armor.
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