What does a Loss Prevention Calculator do? Does it keep track of the payroll a store spends on Loss Prevention Staff? Does it help keep count of the amount of merchandise being stolen from your store? Does a Loss Prevention Calculator tabulate the costs of installing anti-theft equipment? Perhaps you have never even heard of such a device. Device is not really an accurate description as it is more like an application than hardware. It isn’t something that you will go into a store and purchase. It is an online tool. As a matter of fact after you use the calculator you will be asking the question, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free?”
I know you have to be wondering if this article is some type of spoof. How serious can someone be if they are raising the question, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free?” It makes no sense, a video camera system costs money. Certainly hiring a Loss Prevention Associate in ANY capacity is going to require a paycheck. So how does this proposal sound intelligible at all? To begin with what we are talking about is the return on investment that a Loss Prevention System is going to put back to your store in savings. No, you won’t be winning a raffle and getting free equipment and set-up. But what I can guarantee is you will make an investment that is going to start reducing inventory shortage caused by theft, fraud and even some operational errors from day one. A Loss Prevention System from Sensormatic with electronic article surveillance towers, tags and deactivation pads can conservatively reduce your shortage by 30%. How do I know this? Well, I think after more than 17 years in the retail loss prevention field as both an Associate and a Manager I am well-qualified to speak on the subject. I have worked with a variety of theft prevention strategies and have kept shrink below 1% consistently. One of my best and most successful tools was the use of a Sensormatic system with a heavy emphasis on merchandise tagging procedures.
However, I am fully aware that people are going to be somewhat skeptical. Short of taking a blind risk and installing some kind of theft prevention system purchased on the internet on the cheap (and possibly getting burned in the process) how can you verify what I am saying? Go to the Loss Prevention Systems Inc. website and look on the top of the page for the ROI Calculator. Click on here (go ahead, it’s free and no one is going to start filling your inbox with unwanted spam) and you will see the calculator with a couple of fields of information to complete. You will notice you are not asked for personal information or any email or business name. Fill in the two boxes and the result is an estimate of how long it will take for a new Sensormatic system to pay for itself through the return on investment. Change the information you enter as much as you like it’s FREE, remember?! The Loss Prevention Calculator can give a good idea of what you can save over time.
Have I seen tangible evidence I can point to that a Loss Prevention System saved money for a store? I will give you a specific situation from a department store I worked for. We had a major shoplifting problem with a high end brand of shirts we sold. The shirts were displayed folded on a table display near a cash register. Despite the proximity to an employee the shirts were being stolen at an alarming rate. We finally started tagging the shirts with hard tags and the theft dropped significantly. The huge empty holes on the tables from stolen product of this brand began to fill back in and we again had product to sell. I saw the impact electronic article surveillance made in our store. I really believe the Free Loss Prevention Calculator will give an accurate (if not understated) idea of the impact a retail loss prevention system would have in your store(s).
“Can Loss Prevention be free?” Unequivocally yes it can be. It is not going to be free out of the box but you will have such an improvement in your inventory results that you will have no doubts. Calculate for yourself what theft, fraud and operational errors are costing you and look at the results of the ROI calculator. Then take time to calculate how you would use that savings to improve your business. The answers are a click away so what are you waiting for?
The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk
It is important stop shoplifting but it is just as important to find ways to prevent as much operational shortage as possible. In part 1 of this series I shared a recent story about finding merchandise during a transaction that could have resulted in shortage. A customer had placed 3 ring folders in a binder and failed to mention it as I rang the binder. I did look inside and discovered about $7 worth of merchandise. The operations on the front registers and how cashiers are processing merchandise can be a prime location for operational shortage. Aside from hidden merchandise there is the temptation to use a ‘quantity’ key when checking out a lot of merchandise that is the same. Scan the first item, do a count of the items and key in the total amount. It saves time over scanning each one right? Well maybe not. As I am working the back to school season I am finding a lot of issues with merchandise quantities that are wrong. One example was when I was looking for a specific colored folder for a customer. Our on-hands showed we had a certain number but I was unable to locate them. I encountered a similar problem with index cards and composition books. While Sensormatic systems can help prevent some operational errors as I mentioned in part 1, they can’t impact all errors. If merchandise is properly scanned and deactivated or tags are removed the system has done what it is designed to do. It did stop shoplifting and would have identified merchandise missed in a basket when merchandise was processed at the point of sale. It won’t have any impact on a register keying error or merchandise stocking errors on the salesfloor.
The on-hands problem was causing several problems. I had one customer looking for wide-ruled composition books for her child. I showed on hands of over a hundred but they were nowhere to be found. Having told the customer our system said we had plenty it led to a somewhat embarrassing situation for me. In another instance I had a customer looking for a certain style of index card. Our system showed we had a quantity of 35 I had to search and in the end I could only locate 10. At least we had them but we had 25 packages of index cards I could not account for. For the sake of this conversation let us assume the cards are priced at $1.00 each that is $25 in shortage. Were they stolen? I don’t think so (though I can’t completely rule it out since we don’t have tags on them to activate our Sensormatic systems). I believe cashiers were busy, got lazy and rang up one style of index cards counted the total in the sale and keyed in a quantity. They could easily have rung up a package of unlined 3×5 cards and failed to notice the other cards were 3×5 lined cards. It may seem like no big deal but if customers are coming to your store looking for an item and you think it is there and then it isn’t you are causing a huge customer service issue to yourself. Customers don’t go to places where they feel they can’t find what they want. To make matters worse if they have a poor shopping experience they may share it on social media. It also may delay your store replenishing the merchandise you need to get back in stock, leaving ugly holes on your store shelves.
Sensormatic systems are extremely effective when it comes to reducing theft and fraud and some operational shortage. Bill Bregar, the CEO of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. a firm that helps small and medium sized retail stores prevent theft and fraud recommends this system to their clients. Store managers and owners must recognize that there is more to shortage reduction than to simply stop shoplifting. You must recognize where operational shortage happens and make that part of a larger shortage reduction action plan.
For more information on how to stop shoplifting, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
There are plenty of reasons for store owners to use Sensormatic labels on merchandise and I experienced one of those reasons at my retail job last night. I was working on the salesfloor putting out merchandise, providing assistance to customers and jumping on a register as a back-up cashier. I had just completed a transaction at the register and the Manager on Duty called me on the radio. I responded to her request to meet her in the middle of the building. She told me of a suspicious customer in the store that she has dealt with before regarding questionable returns without receipts. She told me the woman was in the store and had a large handbag on her shoulder and thought the woman had taken something out of the bag. As a former Loss prevention Manager I assured the M.O.D. I would watch the customer so she could attend to other matters. I first went to the customer, greeted her and offered her assistance. I also used the moment to assess what she was holding, what she was looking at and to see if I could identify any obvious stolen goods. She only had a notebook in her hand and quickly refused my gracious offer to help her. She immediately left the aisle we were on and went down several more aisles near the front of the store. I pretended to put away merchandise but using my Loss Prevention skills, I positioned myself so I could observe her without being seen by her. The customer picked up a small box of laminating sheets, looked around and placed them under the notebook but she did not conceal them in a purse or bag. She walked past me as I continued to pretend I was working and she stopped at a table behind me. I positioned myself so I could continue to watch her without being obvious. The woman was mumbling to herself about prices then turned to walk out the door. She walked past the electronic article surveillance towers but no alarm sounded. I did know she still had the laminating pouches in her hand and called to her that she had forgotten to pay for the item. She initially acted like she could not hear but when I called to her again in a more forceful manner she turned, stepped back in quickly and handed the merchandise to me and left muttering a barely audible, “I forgot” as she scampered off to a waiting car.
The value of the recovered merchandise in this little box was $24! In the bigger scheme of things this doesn’t sound like a lot. But there is more to this story. The store manager called our sister stores in the area and alerted them that the suspect and a male who was driving the car she got into may have other stolen items. The M.O.D. wanted them to turn down non-receipted refunds from the couple. Sure enough, only a matter of minutes passed before she got a call from one of those stores. The woman had label maker tape and two other items she tried to return for a cash refund but no receipt. They turned her down. That merchandise was valued at an additional $30 or more. Not one of these items had an electronic article surveillance tag on them and therefore no alarm was sounded to deter her and/or provide me or the manager an opportunity to ask her about merchandise inside her handbag. To make the whole episode more incredible our store HAS Sensormatic pedestals at the entry/exit doors. The fact that the company only protects a limited number of SKU’s baffles me. The expenditure of a few more dollars to place Sensormatic labels on merchandise could have prevented the theft that did appear to have taken place.
Electronic Article Surveillance equipment when used to the fullest potential can significantly reduce merchandise shrinkage. It is so effective if used properly and employees are trained on proper alarm response that a system can pay for itself over time. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc., a leader in retail shortage reduction and helping stores increase profits, is so confident in the impact a Sensormatic system can have in shortage reduction they estimate a system can potentially reduce shrinkage by almost half (a conservative estimation in my professional opinion). They even offer a free Return On Investment Calculator to show how long it would take for a system to pay for itself.
Invest in Sensormatic labels and an electronic article surveillance and begin to reap immediate rewards. Just do me one favor. Put labels on everything! The results on your store profit line will make you glad you did.
Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.915.0547 and let’s talk.
I work in a retail store as a sales associate and I often use my experiences as a Loss Prevention Associate and Manager to stop shoplifting and prevent shortage in the store where I now work. A recent experience made me recall that not all shortage is theft related, some is operational and some we cannot determine which it falls under but it can still be prevented. I was working the cash register and being the back to school season patrons were buying lots of supplies for their students/children. I had one young woman purchasing pencils, paper, a binder, folders and a few other items. When I got to the binder I scanned the barcode and as I started to place it to the side to scan the next item I realized something was in the binder. I opened it up and there were three 3-hole punched poly dividers that had been inserted inside. I looked at them to ensure they were not a part of the binder and found barcodes on each one. I scanned them and they were about $2.50 each. The customer said she meant to take them out and forgot to do so. It may not sound like a lot but by catching it I was able to prevent $7.50 in shortage or did I stop $7.50 in shoplifting? Either way, money was saved and THAT contributes to store profitability.
Similarly Sensormatic systems can reduce shortage through theft prevention and detecting operational errors. In terms of theft prevention tagged merchandise can be hidden inside a purse, satchel bag, under clothing, etc. and the tags will be detected at the door pedestals. As a retail manager you need to be aware that another method of theft utilized by the bad guys is to conceal merchandise inside other merchandise. In Loss Prevention we use an acronym, L.I.S.A. short for Look InSide Always. It is a method we use to remind cashiers to look inside of places where goods can be hidden. Examples may include, zipper binders, trash cans with lids, storage containers with lids, luggage and so on. If something can be hidden in it a cashier should be looking inside as it is rung up. Think about purses or comforters. Both items are popular for concealing merchandise in and attempting to buy the item and avoiding paying for the hidden merchandise. There are instances where merchandise is simply overlooked because it is on the bottom of a shopping basket. Cases of drinks, bulky paper towels and bags of dog food are items often placed here due to the amount of space they take up in a cart. Unless the shopper and/or the cashier is paying attention they can be missed and go out the door as unpaid merchandise. Of course if a store is using Sensormatic systems and all goods are tagged then the pedestals will alarm and remind the patron that something was missed. The customer and the employee have an opportunity to react and have the item properly processed at the point of sale.
The situation I described above is not the first time I have encountered hidden merchandise whether it was done intentionally or by someone else. As a Loss Prevention Manager I have seen shoppers come to a register with a blouse and dress jacket on a hanger that looked like they could be sold as a single item. After alerting the cashier to look at both pieces it was found there was a second price tag. The customer changed her mind. Did we stop shoplifting or prevent an honest mistake? I don’t have that answer. What I do know is we prevented the shortage of the blouse if I had not alerted the cashier to look.
As a Loss Prevention professional what I like about Sensormatic systems is that they are not a one-trick pony. They do stop shoplifting but they also impact employee theft and operational shortage. They also help keep vendors honest. I have seen cosmetic and jewelry vendors start to leave after a visit and set off electronic article surveillance alarms. The merchandise was recovered but it could not be determined if the vendor intended to steal or made an honest mistake. Shrink isn’t the result of theft alone and Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can show you how Sensormatic systems can play a role in reducing all of it.
Need information on Sensormatic systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
I came across a story about a couple shoplifting and I wondered whether the store could have used Sensormatic hard tags to prevent the thefts that took place. I also wondered what the couple was thinking in terms of the merchandise they were accused of stealing. First, according to baynews9.com, on July 18, 2018 in a story by Spectrum News Staff, two people are accused of shoplifting alcohol and vacuums worth $3,000. The couple in question was accused of stealing $1,200 in vacuum cleaners at 6a.m. and a few hours later returning to steal $1,700 worth of alcohol. During my years as a Loss Prevention Manager I worked with the Loss Prevention personnel of this company and know that they do a good job of stopping theft. I do shop their stores and I do see some areas where I believe they could improve their security tagging. One area is in the wine and spirits aisle. I don’t purchase the products but I do make a point of looking at theft prevention strategies in use and frankly I don’t see merchandise protection devices in use to stop shoplifting.
If I could offer one piece of advice to this particular chain and to ALL store owners for that matter, consider using Sensormatic hard tags on these products to keep them from being stolen. The Sensormatic 9kG Multi-Purpose tag is the perfect choice for the task. A hard tag with a steel cable and nylon strap it can be secured around the neck of a bottle. In doing so retailers are assured that any attempt to conceal and carry merchandise out of a store is going to be thwarted with an electronic article surveillance alarm. The adjustable strap allows merchants to protect nearly any bottle in their inventory. If store owners need more reason to use the tags the “multi-purpose” portion of the name should be an enticement. This tag can be used on sporting goods, power tools and luggage! When a tag can be used in more than one category of merchandise to stop shoplifting it always makes it a more cost-effective choice of device.
I bring the story about the theft up because if a major retailer with a Loss Prevention Department can be taken twice in one day by the same couple what is the potential damage the same couple could do to a small business? I know the folks in their Loss Prevention Departments are good at what they do and they know how to catch crooks. Small retailers need to find ways to fight crime too and they aren’t going to have retail theft departments. If the bad guys in the report can get $1,700 worth of alcohol past trained Loss Prevention teams how much will they get away with from your stores? $1,200 in vacuum cleaners is no small potatoes either. Big retailers may be able to absorb the cost of this many vacuums but how much shrink will that represent for your company? Bill Bregar, founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has been consulting with small and medium retailers on retail shrink and theft issues since 1983. He recommends Sensormatic systems to clients as part of a comprehensive solution to stop shoplifting and drive up profits.
Hopefully I have whet your appetite for more information on how you can prevent alcohol and other theft. Sensormatic hard tags are a phenomenal tool for businesses to seriously impede criminals from cleaning house in your store. Learn more about how you can benefit from the resources offered by Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. and Sensormatic anti-theft devices.
Get more information on Sensormatic hard tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
