Businesses are targets of individuals and groups with malicious intent. Now that a lot of transactions happen online, cybercriminals have been using various strategies to gain access to information and finances. One estimate found that small businesses lose an average of $ 0,000 to cybercrimes every year.
However, the more traditional forms of theft are still a huge problem.
Businesses Lose from In-Store Crimes
Businesses of all sizes and across industries are vulnerable to shoplifting, robbery, and burglary. The technology to safeguard stores and warehouses exists. Most businesses are already equipped with security cameras to monitor activity within and around the vicinity, especially at night. Others have bright lights and alarms that will immediately alert the authorities who will send officers to the site. Bad actors are usually dissuaded by the sight and sound of police sirens, causing them to stop what they are doing and run away.
A few even went as far as to employ the help of robots to roam the area and spot suspicious individuals.
Yet, businesses still fall victim to crimes. About 7 percent of an organization’s annual revenue is lost from shoplifting, theft, and fraud. Moreover, 95 percent of all businesses experience some kind of crime.
According to the 2018 Sensormatic Global Shrink Index Report, shoplifting alone causes 35.55 percent of losses in businesses.
What can businesses do?
Control Who Gets In and Out
By now, everyone is aware of how easy it is to pick and remove a lock. Businesses, therefore, should begin to move away from the traditional lock and adopt more advanced security solutions for their facilities.
Install an access control locking mechanism that can choose who is allowed to come into the site. It also monitors relevant details such as the time when the door was opened, who came in, and when they came out.
You can choose which access method will be used. Your options include a key fob, keypad, fingerprint scanner, or swipe card.
Because it is digital, it can be easily adjusted, too. You can add or remove access of certain individuals as soon as necessary. For example, when a new employee is hired or terminated, the administrator can log in and either allow or decline access of the employee to the facility.
Make Your Inventory Management Smart
Keeping an eye on the inventory allows you to immediately notice when products go missing. However, the current manual system is not just too much work and takes too much time, it also is not very efficient.
Upgrade your system. Use smart inventory management tools that make cataloging available items as quick as scanning a bar code. The data is also immediately available to management through a personal computer or a smartphone.
A digital system that is easy to use, easily accessible, and can be easily monitored will discourage and decrease theft. You will be able to know when an item has gone missing before it gets out of control and the business has lost so much money.
Utilize Video Analytic Applications
Your CCTV cameras may not be enough to spot and monitor suspicious activities within the store. As the technology to mitigate crimes arise, bad actors respond by developing more sophisticated ways of carrying out schemes.
Additional video analytics applications should be utilized. Having face recognition or appearance similarity allows the authorities to track the movements of suspects who may have taken a product from the store without payment. The software allows the security team to apprehend a shoplifter or provide evidence of the theft to the proper authorities.
In addition, the technology also can scan the crowd and identify individuals who have been banned or have a history of criminal activity.
Moreover, these applications are capable of recognizing suspicious behavior in the store. If a customer walks out of the door carrying a product without paying, staff will immediately be alerted to catch the thief and mitigate the loss of revenue.
Pepper Your Store with Warnings
Sometimes, signage that warns of the consequences of theft is enough to dissuade an individual from carrying out a crime.
If they know that they are being watched by staff through security cameras, people are more likely to back out from doing something illegal. There is no way to hide their movements and, therefore, they are more likely to be caught. The fear of being caught will deter crimes.
Entrepreneurs face challenges that prevent their businesses from growing and succeeding. Theft is an issue that can be prevented by enforcing security measures that minimize the possibility of goods, equipment, data, or money being stolen whether online or offline.