Infotech Lead America: Checkpoint has unveiled new IT solution to control theft at retail stores.
Checkpoint on Monday said it would unveil MetalPoint HyperGuard that detects common tools such as foil bags or magnets used by organized retail crime (ORC) groups to shoplift in stores.
The launch is important for the retail industry as the recent Global Retail Theft Barometer says losses associated with ORC affect 47.5 percent of retailers globally.
The MetalPoint HyperGuard, a new digital, software-driven solution gives an additional tool to loss prevention managers to help identify potential shoplifters as soon as they enter the store.
The MetalPoint HyperGuard can do: foil bag detection, magnet detection (available May 2013) and metal cart/trolley detection, all of which run concurrently to improve alarm reliability and deter organized criminals from using tactics to avoid detection.
Meanwhile, Indian retailers reported the highest loss of stocks to theft in the world for the fifth year in a row in 2011, with about half of the loss attributed to shoplifting by customers. India’s shrink rate, or loss of stocks because of thefts by customer, employees and suppliers, as a percentage of sales was 2.38 percent, costing local retailers Rs 3470 crore, according to Global Retail Theft Barometer.
Farrokh Abadi, Checkpoint Systems’ president & chief operating officer Shrink Management Solutions, said, “The new MetalPoint HyperGuard technology enhances EAS detection, enabling retailers to identify potential shoplifters as they enter stores. The solution will help retailers improve the availability of high-risk merchandise on the shelves and ensure a better shopping experience for consumers.”
Indian companies have also minimized their losses by providing more training to employees and assigning responsibilities on team and store managers for losses.
For instance, Univercell Telecommunications India, a retail chain with 400 stores selling mobile phones in South India, has trained its staff to show no more than five pieces at a time to a customer. The stores are fitted with cameras and in cases of thefts the money is recovered from the staffs’ salary. Still, the chain loses at least one mobile phone a month at every store it operates.
Ambika K
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