Checkpoint Security Products Reduce Retail Loss

Checkpoint Systems security vendor is adding two new modules to its CheckPro suite of shrink management software solutions.

CheckPro IncidentReporter and CaseManager are designed to offer greater visibility into store activities for managers and executives.

“Loss prevention is a complex environment and we try to give more visibility into different things,” said Per Levin, worldwide president of shrink management solutions for Checkpoint.

Levin said the two solutions, announced June 19 at the NRF Loss Prevention Conference and Exposition in Orlando, Fla., help loss prevention and operational managers manage their lives better.

According to Levin, IncidentReporter enables full visibility into potential shrinkage situations at stores.

“There is a systemized format to know about threats, organized groups and repeat offenders,” he said. “There is visibility on a higher level—it must be filtered and escalated so corporate management can craft a response at all levels, including the store. It gives the possibility to key people in the chain of stores to respond in a timely fashion and filter out stuff that can be handled at a lower level.”

IncidentReporter includes a dashboard that outlines specific and important information relevant to a particular user’s role, can display store, regional and corporate data, and gives an overview of events that have occurred in the previous 24 hours. Users can extract tables and graphs of the data.

Levin said CaseManager “logs and tracks a case from the moment it’s opened to the moment it’s finalized and closed.” CaseManager also offers statistical loss prevention reports and stores data from multiple loss-prevention sources in one central database.

“The world of loss prevention is very complex, from everyday shoplifting to organized groups to employee theft, which is a continuous source of losses,” he said, adding there are also “high-level” outside threats. “You need better visibility and a way to trace and make decisions. You need to be able to pre-empt things.”

Bob DiLonardo, principal of security consulting firm Retail Consulting, said the concept behind both Checkpoint solutions started about 10 years ago and is important to retail loss prevention.

“It gives loss prevention professionals the ability to manage day-to-day crisis situations much closer to real time,” DiLonardo said. “A number of these types of products are available from different vendors, but Checkpoint was wise to include them in their product offering.”

He said solutions with the functionality of IncidentReporter and CaseManager can greatly improve loss-prevention productivity, especially for larger chains.

Dan Berthiaume covers the retail space for eWEEK. For more industry news, check out eWEEK.com’s Retail Site.