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UTM Group's managed covert solution substantially reduces shrink for major retailers

A large retailer was faced with large shrinkage problems. While a small percentage of shrinkage could be attributed to customers, it was suspected that a far larger percentage of the shrinkage was coming from other areas namely organised crime and employees.

The retailer approached UTM Group and requested that they devise a risk solution that would drive the shrinkage down, through the gathering of:

* Data on the crimes committed and/or;

* Video evidence that would result in the identification and capture of the perpetrators.

Chad Mclintock of UTM Group explained that the company has a state of the art monitoring centre and institutes a covert surveillance solution which includes a blend of analogue and IP cameras incorporating video synopsis technology.

Branches or stores are identified based on their higher levels of shrink within the specific retailer’s environment. The solution – edge devices – are then strategically installed in areas where the highest levels of losses have been experienced. These areas are aptly named by UTM Group as the moments of truth and include:

* Receiving.

* General stock rooms.

* Cash office and;

* High-value stock rooms.

According to Mclintock: “The client simply pays us a monthly service fee, which includes viewing of the footage from all stores, from which UTM Group generates daily, weekly and monthly reports based on the client’s policy or company breaches.”

Mclintock said that discretion is the keyword, since in some cases the store managers or assistant managers may be involved, so therefore must not be aware of the covert solutions.

“Analysis of the footage is conducted by highly alert and trained team members from UTM Group. We have an extremely high success rate of identifying thefts and events every month, outlined in all the moment of truth environments,” Mclintock says.

All reports generated by UTM are passed on to either UTM Group’s in-house forensic investigators or the retailer’s forensic department. “The investigators conduct internal investigations and are responsible for issuing warnings and dismissals in collaboration with the human resources department. The chain of evidence is very strong and our footage can be used for prosecutory purposes," adds Mclintock.

UTM Group has been able to identify specific trends on a monthly basis:

* The time of day the thefts tend to occur.

* The time of month the thefts tend to occur.

* When and what time of the month the general policy breaches happen.

* Potential syndicates that work in collaboration with onsite contractors, such as the security guards and cleaning staff.

* Body language of permanent staff and contractors.

“UTM’s system not only aids with stock losses within the stores but also allows for management to work with their stores to eliminate general store breaches and problematic staff and to further increase the quality of customer service,” Mclintock continues.

What one needs to remember is that when one item is stolen, the cost is not just the selling price of the item, but also the cost of administration in taking the item out of stock. It also entails the administrative reports and the cost of the staff that are responsible for the paper trail that accompanies the item. In some instances this can increase the cost of the replacement item by almost five times. The covert managed system has saved clients millions of Rands in potential losses and sends a message to the employees that theft or breaches will not be tolerated.

With the success UTM Group has had to date, the retailer has decided to embed covert solutions as part of its loss prevention strategy moving forward.

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