How to effectively use key management systems for high-volume businesses

High-volume businesses may regularly see customers splash out thousands of dollars in just one transaction.

That’s an attractive proposition for would-be criminals who would love nothing more than to divert that money into their own pockets.

Alternatively, a high-volume business might produce or deliver a large quantity of goods or services, and, therefore, requires a streamlined and efficient system to cope with such huge demand.

For high-volume businesses – whether they produce enormous sales or deliver a service on a massive scale – it’s incredibly difficult to have eyes everywhere. For these types of companies, visibility is the biggest benefit of an effective key management system. With more sales, products and services, comes more paperwork and record-keeping, which can be laborious, time-consuming and confusing, and if it is done manually, there is additional scope for human error.

A good key management system can help you control how keys are used in your workplace. It can also automate numerous manual tasks to make life easier for everyone.

In this blog post, we will show you how electronic key management systems can help transform high-volume businesses:

6 ways to use key management systems for added security benefits 

1. Automate record keeping
   Manually signing items in and out can be highly confusing when you produce thousands of them. Running multiple services per day requiring a large workforce brings a ton of paperwork. Mistakes become easier to make, which criminals can take advantage of. Our electronic key cabinets automate these processes and do all the record-keeping for you at the click of a button.
   
   
2. Reserving keys
   When you have so many keys in a business it can be hard to know exactly how they are being used and by whom. Electronic key cabinets can help with that. Staff members are able to reserve keys, while managers have the ability to grant and modify access permissions to the right person at the right time.
   
   
3. Ensure tasks are completed promptly
   When single sales are typically large, there is a good chance that employees will be competing to complete them.
   
   This could lead to them acting recklessly, maybe holding onto a key for longer than they should in an attempt to seal a deal. Intelligent key cabinets can help cut out stress and tardiness by producing reports about user history, duration, and when items were returned. These audit trails help to hold employees to account, encouraging them to return keys promptly
   
   
4. Transferring key ownership in the field
   As employees compete to make a sale, they might pass keys between them in the field, which can make it hard to keep track of assets when you have hundreds in your portfolio.
   
   But our electronic key cabinets allow you to transfer ownership in the field between permitted employees. You can identify if a key is available or who has it checked out, then contact them and transfer ownership, all from your smartphone.
   
   
5. Restricting access to trained staff
   Keys could easily fall into the wrong hands when you're running multiple services or creating thousands of products per day. And if your assets are high value, like million dollar homes, you want only the employees you trust most, or with the right expertise and skill-set, to take care of them. Intelligent key management systems benefit from smart software, which provides automated access to authorized users only, while producing a 24/7 data report so that you know exactly where your keys are at all times.
   
   
6. Highlight gaps in training
   Intelligent key control systems can use detailed data reports to instantly alert you to important information like failed login attempts. This information can highlight irresponsible behavior by employees, and areas where they could benefit from further training.
    

How do you know it’s time to introduce key management systems into your business? 

When it's time to assess your current physical security system, you'll know. That's because there’ll be certain signs that suggest your business is ready for a boost.

As your business grows, and your assets become more substantial, your services more frequent, and your products more in demand, you'll find that employees spend more of their day logging, listing and tracking items. 

If this is stopping them from completing other important tasks on time, you may benefit from automating the process. If they're feeling overwhelmed, stressed and confused, it's time to go automatic. If you're paying huge bills to replace and repair expensive assets that have been lost, damaged or stolen, it's a no-brainer: it's time to overhaul your physical security solutions.

But before you introduce a new system to your business, you need to know exactly how many assets you own and how they are to be used.

Think about how much you spend on labor to look after these items, and on replacing lost or stolen assets. 

Also, has your company's needs changed after expansion? Do your employees need to be able to access your assets more quickly and easily, while still safeguarding against criminals?

It's vital to ensure you understand your business’ current security capabilities and weaknesses before introducing any new key management tools.