CONTROLTEK CORNER
Leadership That Drives Impact
Integrating Technology For Effective Loss Prevention
The tools at retailers' disposal today are creating unprecedented possibilities for precise, efficient management of inventory in real time.
When it comes to technology, retailers today have an embarrassment of riches.
There are so many tools available to them that they can find themselves inundated with data-without knowing what to do with it.
As EAS has given way to RFID, the full potential for real-time inventory con-trol, supply chain tracking, and enhanced loss prevention is only beginning to be exploited by retailers.
For example, a single RFID tag can convey a wealth of information that retailers can use to identify trends in customer behavior, manage delivery schedules, and even spot theft-prone areas inside a store.
But all this potential can go unused if staff are not trained to understand it and make timely decisions based on it.
The Tech Train Keeps Rolling:
Meanwhile, technology innovations are racing ahead, making it even more imperative for LP professionals to stay abreast of new developments.
LiDAR can not only track the movement of merchandise with pinpoint precision-but can predict that movement before it happens. Meanwhile, its accuracy dramatically reduces the risk of false alarms.
The technology has actually been around since 1960, when Hughes Aircraft developed an early version for the purpose of tracking satellites. It quickly found practical applications in meteorology and, of course, defense.
A LiDAR sensor sends laser pulses at the rate of millions per second and tracks the amount of time they require to return—a technique similar to radar (us-ing radio waves) and sonar (using soundwaves), but much more precise. The result is an extremely accurate model of physical reality. LiDAR is now being used effectively in geology, oceanography, and notably, in autonomous vehicles.
Integrating the Technology:
What happens when sophisticated technologies like LiDAR are combined with advanced Al, conventional video, EAS, and RFID? That's the cutting of retail technology that is taking loss prevention and inventory management to new levels.
With data fusion, the combined information from all these components can enable retailers to refine their procedures and make intelligent decisions for the future.
The result? Lower shrink, less conflict, and higher profitability.
For retailers that want to stay compet-itive, it makes sense to implement these amazing tools-and learn how to extract the full benefits from them.