In most businesses, it's necessary to factor in a certain amount of loss. Whether that's stock, time, or some other complex asset that invariably leaks away in small amounts, what's perhaps most important is that you implement effective measures to minimise that loss.
Nowadays, with the vast range of technologies we have available to us, it's equally important that you take steps to modernise your approach. From building measuring models to standardising, here's how to go about it.
Understanding what you're working with
Modernisation begins with a baseline, that you both understand and want to improve upon. Build a simple model that separates known loss (voids, damages, admin errors) from unknown loss, then add in where it happens and when.
Tie every incident to an SKU, a process step, a till, a door, a time band. Once you can point to patterns instead of hunches, the right fixes become obvious, and a whole lot cheaper.
Start with the boring parts.
Good loss prevention lies mostly in your operations. Clear sightlines on shop floors, working gates, tidy back-of-house, and a receiving area that scans every carton will save more margin than any shiny gadget ever will.
If self-checkout is part of your model, tune it like you would any other tool: adopt staff-to-lane ratios that actually work, prompts that make sense, and use attendants who are trained to intervene confidently without embarrassment or undue escalation.
Ensuring data interaction
Other systems that you have in place already know pieces of the story. POS exceptions, CCTV, access control, returns terminals, online order pick apps - when you manage to put them together, you can learn a lot.
You get to benefit from near instant warnings about a whole host of potential issues, with context clues that make them a lot easier to organise around and deal with. That orchestration is the difference between chasing ghosts and actually solving problems.
Treat keys and access like inventory
Many seemingly mysterious losses, both one-off and sustained, start with uncontrolled keys or open doors. Electronic key cabinets from providers like Traka with role-based permissions, enforceable curfews, and fully automated audit trails help to close that gap quickly.
Integrate your access control mechanisms with HR, so that when someone leaves the company, their personal access is removed as well. For deliveries and contractors, use timed digital permits and require scans at each handoff, so that parcels and trolleys don't just vanish between zones.
Pilot, measure, and standardise
Pick one pain point, fix it end to end in a handful of stores, and measure shrink, false alarms, and intervention time for eight weeks. Write the playbook and roll it without changing the approach; consistency beats novelty when you're trying to move loss numbers.
Modern loss prevention is hardly rocket science. Measure your losses first, close the easy doors that are leaking unnecessarily, connect the systems you already own, and add technology that removes temptation without wrecking the customer experience. Do that, and margins improve, week after week, month after month.
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