Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2016 - 30

LOSS PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY

The good news is that as they evolve
the cost of IP cameras, consistent with
other technologies, have come down.
Now, retail executives can make an
easier business case to promote IP as
the go-to solution to help prevent loss.
Changing out your entire store is still
expensive, so hybrid solutions are now
also a common short-term compromise. Keep some cameras in your store
as analog and some as IP and run a
hybrid network.
"This allows retailers to make that
transition faster and focus on some
areas of the store that are more critical," Miller explains. "For example, in a
grocery store, at the cash is where you
want the clearest image possible. We
offer solutions that allow you to transition without ripping out all your existing cameras. You can put IP cameras
over the cash area to get extra detail,
stream quicker without running cable
all over the place. This lets retailers
crawl and walk before they run. It's
an evolution, but it's also a real game
changer in our business."
Detailed data and amazing analytics

One of the biggest things Sears
Canada has done in the last couple of
years is make better use of the tremendous amount of data their loss prevention area collects. "We probably have
"We can now catch more people in a store and arrest
12,000 to 13,000 incidents a year, internal or external. That's a ton of data,"
them by using GPS-tracking merchandise. You can track
explains Berezowski. "We were never
whether they [the perpetrators] go to a location or,
able to build a fully customizable case
more importantly, to a fencing operation where all the
that allowed us to connect the dots between investigations that might have
merchandise is being taken. We can then work with the
started in Victoria and ended in Nova
local police to close down the entire operation."
Scotia. One of our gifted employees
- DON BEREZOWSKI, Sears Canada developed a case management system, customized to Sears, so we can
big box, DIY, mass merchandising and even boutique now connect the dots. If a guy steals something at one
chains, the trend is moving to IP video.
of our stores in Newmarket and then the same thing oc"It's a process though, since it's a big decision," he adds. curs in St. Catherines, we have a 'be on the lookout sysThe one issue that causes concern for some retailers tem' that sends real-time notification to other stores and
is the opening up of their data that this IP technology to our loss prevention managers.
provides to vendors, and with various data and security
"This system has allowed us to watch and stay ahead
breaches in the news, they are reluctant to go all in just of the bad guys," Berezowski continues. "We've picked
yet. "Some companies are very protective of their data," them up at another store, and we've made the arrest
Miller comments. "But some allow more access to our IT and got the charge for both locations. In one example
people. And the reality is, the more access we get, the we connected incidents at six stores and put the case
more we can do to help them."
together. We've had great payback from that."
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CANADIAN RETAILER | The Loss Prevention Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2016