EVIDENCE-BASED LP

ImpactX Conference: LP on the Move

by Read Hayes, Ph.D., CPP

Dr. Hayes is director of the Loss Prevention Research Council and coordinator of the Loss Prevention Research Team at the University of Florida. He can be reached at 321-303-6193 or via email at rhayes@lpresearch.org. © 2014 Loss Prevention Research Council

You just never know. Toys‘R’Us Vice President of Asset Protection Chris Gillen and his Impact planning team spent four months carefully planning conference content that would inform and inspire the traditional 100 participating executives. Meanwhile, LPRC staffers Jessi Dudley, Kyle Grottini, Mike Giblin, and Carrie Hayes diligently worked the intricate conference logistics. As it turns out, the LPRC actually had to halt new conference registration at 190 to prevent overloading planned food, work space, and other critical issues.

Key LP decision-makers from almost forty retail chains interacted with expert panels of top retail LP professionals, LP solutions providers, and even active criminal offenders from across the experience and methods spectrum.

Solution partner sponsors were creatively integrated right into the conference flow—and even the main work space. The conference planning team then rolled out even more unique and informative interactive content for participants.

Retail experts like Lowe’s John Doggette, Toys‘R’Us Steve Mick, and Walmart’s Mike Lamb provided insight into how they used the LPRC-touted SARA problem-solving method to systematically discover, describe, and precisely address a significant crime or loss problem. LPRC research scientists also discussed some of the twenty-five 2014 research project findings and implications with the attendees.

The conference content flow culminated in the eleven LPRC working groups breaking out for detailed discussions and planning for 2015 actions and deliverables (see below). The Impact conference has never been designed by retailers to compete with any other conference, but rather to do just what this conference appeared to do—help move the mission-critical LP discipline to a much more evidence-based process as well as provide a forum to discuss real-world LP research. All in order to better support the retail selling mission.

Gillen and the conference planning team have already started planning an even more impactful 2015 version. And I again would like to personally invite you to consider participating in 2015 Impact conference. But as we learned, plan and engage early before we fill up. Please email us at operations@lpresearch.org for more conference information.

Working Groups and Action Teams

The LPRC makes things happen via its working groups. Retailers form and lead these teams facilitated by LPRC staff. The idea is for group members to set their mission statement, objectives, and specific needs, and then researchers go find out and report what they find for the groups. Benchmarking, sharing, and brainstorming are encouraged, but should always lead to research and development and extensive testing. Hence, evidence-based practice is used.

Following is a brief synopsis of the LPRC working group’s and action team’s 2015 goals. Data Analytics Working Group ■ Data analytics workbook—Limit to fewer variables, presenting data in an even more understandable and usable way. ■ Predictive analytics—Expanding the scope from shrink and stock loss to other common variables such as back-door loss. ■ Statistical tools—Understanding and sharing statistical tools and their best usage. Future LP Working Group ■ Evolution of LP professionals—Create pseudo job descriptions; understand what future skill sets will be needed; what training and resources are needed; what is available and what isn’t? ■ Omni-channel fulfillment—Buy online and ship to store; what is the effect on shrink when making a store a ship-to center? ORC Working Group ■ Offender interview—Finish “top 5 questions to ask suspected booster” project. ■ NRF ORC survey—Help the National Retail Federation with their ORC survey, maintain continuity of language and phrasing. ■ Law Enforcement—Work with local law enforcement to help identify possible ORC situations. ■ Fence interaction—study their economy, their motivation, their relationship with boosters. ■ Credit card and gift card fraud—How much is it hurting the retail community? ■ Predictive analytics—Find best strategies to prevent crew-type commercial burglaries; why do offenders choose a place over and over? Product Protection Working Group ■ Enhance protection—Focus on increasing sales and guest experience. ■ Benefit denial—Continue multi-retailer benefit denial proof-of-concept project. ■ Communications—Continue webinar series. ■ Develop symbol—Work on developing a benefit denial packaging symbol that is universally recognized and owned by LPRC.

■ Increase participation—Recruit more active retailer members. ■ Safety—Approach safety and workers’ comp from a data standpoint. ■ Training and awareness—Develop a questionnaire tool to measure effectiveness of training and awareness or engagement programs. ■ Merchandise visibility—Find the best application that ties visibility to moving assets, such as GPS or tracking software. ■ Benchmark accuracy—Establish a standard set of metrics for accuracy to store and accuracy to customers. Video Solutions Working Group ■ Retailer needs—Establish an education platform to close the information gap between solutions and needs; use the established indoor and outdoor crime scenario list to drive solution R&D; index solution providers based on capabilities; create a series of webinars to close that gap. ■ Measurements—What metrics and measurements are needed to define success?

■ Filters—What other filters are necessary, including legal review? ■ Membership—Further increase retail chain participation.

The LPRC makes things happen via its working groups. Retailers form and lead these teams facilitated by LPRC staff. The idea is group members set their mission statement, objectives, and specific needs, and then researchers go find out and report what they find for the groups. Benchmarking, sharing, and brainstorming are encouraged, but always leading to research and development and extensive testing.

Big-Box Action Team ■ Communications—Share best practices with associate engagement training to date. ■ On-boarding—Focus on how to indoctrinate associates coming from a different company or department. Department/Mass Merchandise Action Team ■ Fitting room—Roll out project and get feedback on pilot. ■ Process—Establish a process on how to roll out initiatives and make sure all appropriate business partners are brought in at the correct time. ■ Offender feedback—What deters them in fitting rooms, bag stuffing, and other theft methods? ■ Data collection—Apprehension questionnaires as a way to collect data. Food and Drug Action Team ■ Databases—Get a sample from shoplifter apprehension databases to check shoplifting by SKU, look for trends of what people are stealing and why. ■ Offender interviews—Additional ORC offender feedback on protection devices. ■ Scan-Cam—Continue pilot and rollout. ■ Non-theft shrink issues. Specialty Retail Action Team (previously Small Box) ■ Objectives—Refocus mission to suit research needs of specialty stores; define group parameters; create subgroups based on interests. ■ Membership—Increase participation and interest with specialty retailers. Violent Crime Task Force ■ Crime event data—Focus on robbery, parking-lot crime, shoplifting resistance, active attacker. ■ Parking-lot security—Begin Gainesville stores R&D project. ■ In-store robberies—Focus on prevention strategies.

Parking Lot Crime Research Update 2

Shopper and employee safety and comfort is basic retailing 101. The LPRC is working with leading retailers and solution providers to address the very real fear of crime issues through research. To date we’ve conducted parking-lot crime research literature reviews, surveys, and are now planning and working on a series of R&D initiatives.

In the September-October issue we provided a first look at this topic. Following is part two of our project description. Phase 1—Promote Deterrence ■ Define private-property boundaries—Landscaping, border barriers such as fencing, and notification messaging such as stand up and posted signage. ■ Warn of crime attempt detection/response risk—CCTV cameras and notification messaging. ■ Enhance detection/response risk credibility—CCTV enhancements, including type, placement, size, height, lighting; marked patrols, including foot, bike, vehicle, appearance, and process; lighting placement and levels; surveillance sight lines from store and in lot; vehicle travel routing such as short-term use of orange cones to limit lot entry/exit points and channel vehicles past more remote or other problematic areas to increase natural surveillance. Phase 2—Promote Detection ■ CCTV placement to maximize sight lines to risk areas. ■ Behavioral and other change analytics. ■ Construct CCTV, video data analytics, manager notification links to improve event or likely event detection and response. ■ Construct enhanced manager and law enforcement notification links to improve event or likely event detection and response. Phase 3—Promote Documentation/Usage ■ CCTV placement to maximize sight lines to risk areas. ■ Day/night CCTV lens and pixel enhancements to improve image details. ■ Off-site storage, remote access, and quick sharing. ■ CCTV survivability from storms, gunshots, and power failure. ■ Behavioral and other change analytics.