5 Steps to Protect Your Business Against Retail Theft

More than 950,000 shoplifters were apprehended in 2010, according to the 23rd Annual Retail Theft Survey. In addition, approximately one out of every 33 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2009. Employee thieves stole, on average, more than six times the amount taken by shoplifters.

Simply locking up your merchandise may not always be the answer. You need a balance between protecting your products and having them available for consumers to access. Many popular retailers put their high-end electronics, for example, in locked glass cases. These stores are also usually understaffed, leaving shoppers to wait for help or go somewhere else to find it. It can be a challenge to protect yourself without decreasing sales.

Retail theft (i.e., shoplifting and dishonest employees) continues to be a much greater problem than many people realize. These losses are responsible for higher prices paid by consumers and even store and company closures due to the profit drain. To prevent your business from becoming part of these statistics, there are steps you can take to limit retail theft losses:

1. Assess the theft. Determine what are your most high-theft items in all locations. Is the problem global or isolated by geography or individual locations? Is the solution to look at high-end technologies, in-store processes, awareness programs or simply better use of existing legacy systems?

Determine what, how and why things are being stolen, and whether they're worth protecting. Do you really want to invest in surveillance to protect low-value items? Is the problem global or can it be isolated to an individual location?

2. Do a pain value analysis. A pain value analysis looks at important issues to a business (e.g., number of people affected, cost to the business, expected duration of service downtime). An investment in security technology or services may not be worthwhile if it doesn't proportionally impact inventory shrink — no matter what the technology promises.

3. Re-evaluate your camera systems. Do you have adequate hard drive space? Are cameras in the right locations? Minor upgrades to system hard drives and ensuring that cameras are providing usable video is a worthwhile investment. Many times this is discovered after an incident happens and valuable video isn't available. Also, inventory your equipment to ensure it’s in working order. Your system is only effective if it’s set up correctly and functional at all times.

4. Analyze your design. Proper system design is critical. The right cameras for their intended purpose — DVR/NVR hybrid units, system integration — all have value. If not designed correctly, the image or event that's crucial to you may be missed and thus no return on investment. The layout of your cameras, motion detectors, etc. is critical to the success of your system.

If someone breaks in through the front door but there’s no camera to take an image, you lose an opportunity to identify the criminal. System integration is simple and extremely helpful. It’s easy to configure an alarm, motion-trigger camera or glass smash sensor to catch people in the act. You need to know who’s stealing from you.

5. Futureproof. Get cozy with your IT department. They control the network, bandwidth, approvals and data transfer within your company. To use space on a video server, you’ll need the IT department’s approval and cooperation. Ask for a product evaluation so that your IT team can test the technology. Do a lab test and evaluate products before you roll anything out to your locations. Ensure that a security system will do the job you need it to do before you buy.

Once you've determined who is stealing from you, what they're stealing and when they're stealing it, you can determine your best course of action. Remember, no matter how much of an investment in security you decide to make, it should either save you money, decrease your shrink or both.

Jim Shepherd is a retail national account manager at Protection 1, a provider of customized security and alarm systems.