Johnson Controls’ retail technology subsidiary Sensormatic has expanded the scope of loss event analytics to new areas of the store.

The enhanced, cloud-based Shrink Analyzer application can now integrate RFID and electronic product code (EPC) data from targeted and previously unmonitored store areas to improve visibility and predictions of loss events.

Shrink Analyzer’s extra capabilities were on display at last week’s NRF Big Show in New York.

“Shrink Analyzer’s first iteration presented retailers with the opportunity to change how they thought about loss prevention,” said Myron Burke from Sensormatic. “Our recent enhancements to the platform give them the chance to expand that new way of thinking even further throughout their operations. The front door is not the only place at which losses happen, and it’s time that those other at-risk areas are considered as part of the loss prevention equation.”

Shrink Analyzer, which debuted at last year’s Big Show, is an inventory-platform-agnostic, easy-to-use application designed to strengthen loss prevention strategies through improved understanding of where, when and how shrink occurs as well as the items that are most at risk. The application now offers retailers the option to integrate RFID-based insights from employee entrances, receiving doors and buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) entrances as well as retailer-defined high-risk areas into the analytics engine to reveal never-before-seen information about in-store losses.

Shrink Analyzer’s capabilities can provide enhanced shrink insight beyond the store exit:

• Receiving: Accurately identifying inventory distortion at the entry point for the store and potential losses due to vendor fraud accelerates recourse for shipping discrepancies. This can help retailers reduce administrative errors and receive floor-ready merchandise faster.
• Employee entrance: RFID systems at employee exits can reduce internal theft while improving investigation efforts with item-level evidence packages. Retailers may identify theft events using staff badges to connect sweethearting incidents or bulk-theft activities.
• Online pick-up door: Integrations with other connected systems allow retailers to cross-reference patterns with internal and external factors to identify losses. Additionally, retailers can improve in-store ecommerce fulfilment accuracy, identify employee theft events, and help investigators pinpoint non-sale events to assess the dollar value of the stolen merchandise.
• Defined zones: Shrink Analyzer can be applied to high-theft areas in stores that need focused strategies. It can help validate receipts at self-checkout and address tampered merchandise in fitting rooms and other high-risk areas that need better protection.

As with its initial product launch, Shrink Analyzer (www.sensormatic.com/loss-prevention-liability/shrink-visibility/shrink-analyzer) is compatible with Sensormatic complete RFID hardware portfolio. Additionally, it can be integrated alongside any retail analytics ecosystem a retailer may have in place to offer users diverse data filtering and visualisation options and put retailers in control of their loss prevention programmes.

Sensormatic (www.sensormatic.com), the retail portfolio of Johnson Controls (www.johnsoncontrols.com), powers safe, secure and seamless retail experiences. For more than 50 years, the brand has been at the forefront of the industry’s fast-moving technology adoption, redefining retail operations on a global scale and turning insights into actions.