An Accurate, Successful Inventory Is Not Due To The Luck Of The Irish

How does Notre Dame’s football team manage to maintain a top program year in and year out? Is it the Luck of the Irish that does it? No, they field a competitive team by working hard and preparing for the upcoming season. As we enter March we think of spring and St. Patrick’s Day and the Luck of the Irish and lucky four-leaf clovers and all of these things. In retail, we also think about store inventory time and how the results will come out this year.

     If you are counting on the Luck of the Irish or just plain luck to get you through inventory and wind up with successful results you need to get a better plan. Obtaining inventory results that reflect a healthy, robust business starts well before the inventory date. While it may include the preparation time several weeks in advance of the actual day/night of inventory counting the real work begins when you start your shortage action plan.

     If this is the first inventory for your store you will not have a measurement or prior inventory as a baseline for what you will be up against. I would suggest that in your case you measure your store against the national shortage average OR you measure it against the national shortage average for your type of retail business. According to the National Retail Federation 2018 National Retail Security Survey, shoplifting accounted for 35.7% of losses while employee theft accounted for 33.2%. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. personnel are well-versed in shortage and can be a helpful consultant to you in this area. For those who have inventoried previously you want to lower whatever the prior year shortage results were for your store. Obviously it would be fantastic if zero shortage could be counted on year in and year out but the fact of the matter is very few stores will come in at zero (I have seen overages but those always offset the next year due to poor counts or paperwork errors).

     So where does one start in their planning? First you have to look at your anti-theft strategies. With nearly 70% of the shortage attributable to theft you can take care of a big chunk of shortage by addressing this issue. Is your store using electronic article surveillance equipment to deter and prevent shoplifting and even employee theft? If you do not have an electronic article surveillance system in your first assignment is to get one. This includes the towers, tags, and even integrated cameras. Don’t use second-hand equipment or an off-brand system in your store. Using a name brand solution from Sensormatic is the best option and it is more affordable than you may think. Again, Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can guide you into the best solution for your business no matter how big or small it may be.

     You then need to take a look at the other areas that impact shortage, operations, vendor shortage and a small portion which is undefined. Looking at each of these aspects can be time-consuming because there is so much that can impact each one. If you have managers working for you they should be looking at how shortage could be happening in their departments and present solutions to address them. That information then goes into a master shortage plan. If you are lucky you will have a team that knows where to look for shortage opportunities. If you don’t have that kind of luck or if you are the only manager for your store you are still lucky. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can work with you to conduct a risk assessment and identify vulnerabilities and devise plans.

     Finally, once your anti-theft system is up and running and your shortage action plans have been created you can spend the month prior to inventory prepping the store. There’s no magic to it, it is a detailed preparation to make sure every piece of merchandise is properly tagged and ready to be counted. Inspections of nooks, crannies, shelves, underneath base decks, on top of fixtures and in supply closets to locate items that have migrated where they should not have can add dollars back to your inventory.

     Four leaf clovers, lucky charms, wishful thinking nor luck of the Irish are going to get you a successful inventory. Theft prevention, careful planning and advice from people who have been in the Loss Prevention field WILL result in successful inventories. Follow this advice and find your own pot of gold at the end of the inventory rainbow.

A Loss Prevention System To Start The New Year

Shrink in the retail industry is a  loss that many retailers seem unable to fight.  The budget to invest in security in the retail industry has declined over the years with no plans to restore it now or in the foreseeable future. Many of the small retailers believe that installing a loss prevention system will be too expensive for them to afford even though  they seem unable to stop the shoplifting that is causing their store major losses.

Loss prevention systems that allow these retailers to deter the shoplifting from happening in their stores are an investment they seem to ignore or to believe they are too expensive for them to even consider. The benefits associated with installing a loss prevention system in a retail store are numerous, and research has  shown the investment of purchasing such system can be recouped within a year.

Many retail stores do a physical inventory regularly that allows them to gauge the state of their store. Depending on the size of their business, this physical inventory should be done at the end of the month or quarter, and definitely one at the end of the year. For many retail stores, if an inventory is done after the holidays, it can offer a very shocking reality.  

The shoplifting, employee theft, vendor and clerical errors are seen clearly and painfully, and cannot offer an explanation or a solution to the tremendous losses in the store. A physical inventory is also a very expensive way to account for the merchandise in the store. The many hours and personnel required to do this kind of inventory are financially draining for many businesses and their bottom line.

If after the holidays your business has decided to purchase and install a loss prevention system that will allow you to deter the shoplifting and  employee theft in your store, there are a few key features such system should have to help you be successful.

  1. A software platform that allows the retail business a concise and up to the minute inventory analysis to make the necessary adjustments for their business.  
  2. EAS  solutions that are tied to an RF surveillance system that enables the loss prevention team to make decisions accurately and in a timely manner every day all year long
  3. A loss prevention system that will offer training to your employees and help you navigate solutions to your specific problems.

There are many loss prevention systems sellers that will help you find the financing available, give you the training, and the customer care you need to make the installation of the system a success.

Having doubts about buying and installing a loss prevention system in place is understandable and expected.  But, letting shoplifting, employee theft and other external factors influence the earnings you work hard to earn is not a sustainable solution. Contact us and talk to us, we will be happy to work with you.

Are You One Of the Retailers That Simply Let Shoplifters Win?

Why would you do that especially when stopping shoplifters is so very simple? Loss Prevention Systems has the proven two step solution. Sensormatic EAS and a shoplifting prevention program that is easy and affordable. Our Sensormatic systems generally pay for themselves in approximately 5.5 months! Come on, you cannot afford to not fix the problem. Shoplifters are a threat from the moment you open until you move the last customer out your doors.

Stopping shoplifters is really no different from fixing any other business problem we as company owners and Managers have to deal with. You attack it head on! For example, if you are a grocer would you just let a freezer fail when it has been giving you warning signs that it is going to go out? Losing a freezer full of perishables at the same time? No, you repair or replace it. Shoplifting prevention is the exact same thing. You have to give it the attention it needs and maintain the fix.

So what are these steps you need to take? First, let’s make sure that you understand that both steps must be implemented and maintained to stop shoplifters. Doing one all by itself will only give you a very temporary fix.

Purchase a Sensormatic Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) system and tag the merchandise that shoplifters are targeting. A Sensormatic system such as the Ultra is very cost effective and simple to use. The Sensormatic Ultra pedestals are located at your customer doors. Tags or labels are placed on your merchandise and, if a shoplifter tries to walk out with your protected merchandise, the system goes into alarm, alerting your staff. Loss Prevention Systems is a Nationwide Sensormatic Dealer and we specialize in medium to small retailers. We have the loss prevention expertise to put the right Sensormatic system into play for you based on your needs and budget.

Second, training! Not just how to use the Sensormatic system but actual shoplifting prevention training. How to identify a shoplifter before they even try to steal from you and what to do with them once you do identify them. Actually, shoplifters can be entertaining to deal with. You drive them crazy at the same time you are delighting your regular customers and they go away.

Loss Prevention Systems training programs go deep into the methods to deter shoplifters. And since you cannot be everywhere at one time, the Sensormatic system backs you up! Loss Prevention Systems LIVE training is available to you FREE of charge, as often as you reasonably need it, as long as you own your Sensormatic system.

On top of this, depending on the Sensormatic system you choose, Loss Prevention Systems offers many other features. We can remotely monitor your Sensormatic pedestals 24/7 for issues such as alarms, maintenance issues, power failure, the system being shut off and much more. We can provide you with customer counting and for the Retailer that is ready for RFID inventory control, your Sensormatic system is ready.  Loss Prevention Systems is the only Sensormatic Partner that has all of this expertise to fix your shoplifting problem and keep it fixed.

Contact Loss Prevention Systems today and get on the winning path against shoplifters.