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PARTING WORdS
Rambles from My Calendar
If you were asked to review your calendar over the past six weeks and then write an article on what you have done, seen, and heard, could you do it? I took good notes and want to share from my calendar.
RILA—I attended the RILA LP conference in Orlando and here is what I observed and heard. There were several really outstanding presentations that are worthy of calling out. Tom Arigi and Suni Shamapande from Sears were spectacular. Their presentation was entitled “Prioritize or Lose: Loss Prevention 2011 and Beyond.” From that title I thought about bringing my 3D glasses, but it was far more practical and logical than futuristic. The message was clear—assess individuals’ strengths and needs and leverage those
I hope Memorial Day is a special day for you and your family. Many have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day, which is a shame. So many have sacrificed, and that is the treasure of flying the flag or putting a few flowers on a grave. God bless those in the military who have served this country and keep those safe who continue to be in harm’s way.
against the individual store or group. One size does not fit all, but all can find the right size to succeed. In one of the upcoming issues of LP Magazine, I hope you will see this presentation in print.
EVP and CFO of Anna’s Linens, Neil Watanabe, gave a bulleted blueprint on how to achieve success in loss prevention. I think if you took his presentation and just followed the bouncing ball, you would have a successful career; hopefully, another article for one of our upcoming issues. If you are a young person with little experience, this will be a must read.
RILA’s LP executive, Lisa LaBruno, moderated a discussion with three of the leaders of our profession. Mike Lamb of The Home Depot, Monica Mullins of Walmart, and Paul Stone of Best Buy are living proof that good things do happen to good people. You listen to these three and know that those companies are in good hands and the people in the asset protection divisions are being looked after. Each of them have programs that are knee deep in technology, systems, and processes, but with each you feel the love for the AP individual.
RETECH—My calendar says I attended a second conference in Florida called RETECH 2011. Three presentations stood out.
Paul Jones of eBay and Mick Pinneke of The Home Depot shared an investigative story on cracking a major ORC ring. It was a terrific example of how so many are partnering against the bad guys.
Claude Verville, VP of LP at Lowe’s, shared his company approach on the financial value of having a robust safety program and how safety is regarded as one of the company’s core values. And…oh by the way…shrinkage just keeps coming down. I guess you can do both.
The third presentation was given by Mark Stinde of 7-Eleven. Many companies are utilizing video analytics as a part of their loss prevention and shrinkage reduction program, but this presentation focused on using the same video analytics to drive sales. What a world we live in when LP becomes a driving force for improving sales.
JCPenney—In this issue we feature an interview with Stan Welch of JCPenney. So much has been accomplished over the past four years in making JCPenney a first-class LP organization. I hope after reading the interview, you understand the personal sacrifice that Stan and his family made to become successful in retail loss prevention.
Memorial Day—On my calendar it says “observe Memorial Day.” I hope Memorial Day is a special day for you and your family. Many have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day, which is a shame. So many have sacrificed, and that is the treasure of flying the flag or putting a few flowers on a grave. God bless those in the military who have served this country and keep those safe who continue to be in harm’s way.
