Magazines Archives - 2008 July

Even in safe, clean and green Singapore, shrinkage rears its ugly head. Statistics show that pilferage in the retail sector continues to grow despite preventive measures. To address top-line losses from theft, Certis CISCO has adopted a holistic approach by providing an integrated M3 system that covers everything, from shop-floor activities to end-of-day accounting. Company officials discuss with Jolene Klassen the benefits the system offers.

Despite the awareness, and preventive measures in place, shrinkage in Singapore continues to grow.

Data from the UK-based Global Retail Theft Barometer has shown that last year, shrinkage — the reduction or loss in inventory due to shoplifting, employee theft, paperwork errors and supplier fraud — went up 5% from the previous year to take a whopping S$274-million (US$179-million) bite out of Singapore retailers’ profits, affirming that the problem remains one of the leading causes of revenue loss in businesses today.

But what seems a daunting fight for retailers becomes easier to address with Certis CISCO Security Pte Ltd’s security solutions, which are designed to suit management’s needs.

The security-service provider’s search for solutions that would best serve its retail clients in the country has led the company to establish a distribution partnership with US-based retailsolutions
firm Checkpoint Systems Inc to deploy a broad range of loss-prevention technologies and solutions. This, by extension, gives Certis CISCO the artillery to combat shrinkage and security issues in the retail arena.

Well aware of the statistics on shrinkage in the city-state, Certis CISCO’s managing director of security consultancy, Charles Loh, expresses his concern that retailers here may have become complacent in the fight against top-line losses.

“In Singapore, we may be a victim of our own success,” laments Loh. “[As our country has] always been perceived as a very safe place, we do not take a lot of precautions. Unfortunately, the fact
remains that there is actually a sizeable amount of shrinkage in Singapore, in comparison with other countries that have higher levels of crime and robbery.”

While recognising shrinkage-related issues may bring the retailer one step closer to rectifying the problem, designing a security system, Certis CISCO highlights, is just as important and should not be perceived as “another burden” on the retailer. “Instead, it should be taken as a means to facilitate the operations of the store,” Loh stresses.

At the onset, the company maintains an unequivocal vision of needs and exercises a “holistic approach” towards its clients.

Starting from the fundamentals of understanding what clients need, Certis CISCO identifies areas where its M3 methodology — man, machine and method — can be ingrained to impact every aspect of the retail business, says Ronald Poon, managing director, security business group at Certis CISCO.

“Especially in an economy with escalating labour costs, among other market factors, we need to find ways in which ‘machine can complement man’,” he states, urging retailers not to put their business at risk by cutting back on the means to safeguard merchandise.

Obvious choice Poon says that prior to choosing Checkpoint Systems as its partner, Certis CISCO, one of the largest security firms in Singapore which backs up its systems with “know-how”, conducted an extensive review of the security solutions available in the market.

“With the vibrant retail scene, we wanted to introduce a range of electronic article surveillance
(EAS) systems to our existing product lines, so as to provide a complete suite of retail security
solutions for our customers,” he adds.

Poon says the company felt the need for optimal-quality products incorporating state-of-the-art technology that could help retailers reduce shrinkage and theft within their stores. “Other than its dominant market share, Checkpoint’s high-performance solutions, from antennas to various tags and
labels that can protect a diverse range of merchandise, made the company the obvious choice.

“We wanted our retail customers to have access to smart solutions that could make it easier for them to do business with increased efficiency and cost savings,” he explains.

Checkpoint Systems’ regional sales manager, Clio Ng, from the Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong, adds that Certis CISCO’s longstanding commitment to security, combined with its strong network within Singapore and the rest of Asia, makes it the ideal business partner for products and
solutions here.

Ng reiterates Poon’s observation of the retail industry in Singapore, adding that the country is “one of the high-potential markets”, with its increasing number of shopping malls and mall upgrades, as well as the casinos currently under construction.

In partnership with its ally, Certis CISCO has started introducing its lossprevention suite of solutions by Checkpoint Systems to retailers across the city-state. The group’s portfolio of Checkpoint EAS systems, such as its RF (radio-frequency) tags and labels, as well as family of next-generation antennas or sensors, have been designed to facilitate the protection of retailers’ inventory in and outside the store.

With customisable tags that come in various forms, including disposable, fully-integrated and reusable hard types, retailers can also ensure that shrinkage throughout other areas of their business, such as along their supply chain, can be further minimised.

Eunice Nge, sales manager for EAS, at Certis CISCO Security, reveals that as one of the largest pioneers of RF technology in the market, Checkpoint produces about five billion RF labels
and tags annually, and has global accounts with renowned retailers throughout the world.

Of the variety of tags, Nge singles out the paper-thin disposable RF labels as the most popular and practical approach for stackable products such as CDs, books and even apparel.

Apart from that, the RF labels can be printed with pricing and product information to look like standard retail

price tags. One of Certis CISCO’s customers, Challenger Technologies Ltd, an electronics retailer in Singapore, testifies that this has been very effective in helping it identify and apprehend amateur shoplifters. “We believe in displaying our merchandise so that our customers can feel and try out the items they intend to buy. Checkpoint’s EAS system lets us do that without having to worry about theft,” says Rajamohan CG, senior facility manager of Challenger.

In addition to aesthetics and brand identity, which play an important role in retailing, versatility, she says, is a key feature of Checkpoint tags and labels.

The fully-integrated tag takes this a step further. A favourite among apparel retailers, the RF label is rendered invisible when sandwiched between the garment tag that has the logo, price and size printed on it. The RF coil can also be integrated into the woven label of apparel, rendering the
clothing item valueless should an errant shopper try to remove the label.

Yet another product from Checkpoint is the ink tag, which is useful for high-value apparel and accessories.

Used with Checkpoint’s system, this small device, which can be attached to a garment or bag, releases ink when forcefully opened, staining the merchandise and denying the shoplifter the benefit of the product.

To make it even easier for retailers to implement its RF tags and labels in their shop environment, Checkpoint offers the benefit of source-tagging, where merchandise is tagged at the manufacturing point before shipping to retailers.

“Source-tagging can be integrated into the individual packaging of products”, relieving staff from sticking labels individually on products that arrive at the store, says Nge. This measure also provides a form of visibility in the supply chain, albeit through a different set of coding.

Nge also stresses that while other technologies need to be near deactivators during transaction, RF’s wider tag-detection range eases the task for staff as RF labels do not need to be found
or handled to be deactivated. This, in turn, speeds up the checkout process for the customer.

Furthermore, Checkpoint’s tags and labels are also able to  store additional information, such as price and inventory status, making it more convenient for floor staff to deal with customer queries efficiently.

Not only do Checkpoint’s devices mean fewer tags or labels on each merchandise item, they can also be integrated with over 50 brands of barcode scanners, says Nge.

Working alongside the range of tags and labels is a family of antennas or sensors from Checkpoint that can be easily adopted in the retail store.

The next-generation Evolve EAS system combines state-of-the-art electronics, featuring new technologies such as software-defined radio frequency (SDR), smart alarm management (SAM) and the 360 RF, which increases the tag-detection range by 25% over the previous-generation Evolve. Checkpoint’s Evolve EAS systems, which also consider aesthetics and customer convenience, among other things, are no longer hefty equipment standing guard at the doorways of stores. Indeed, in its bid to provide retailers with unsurpassed security and data analysis capability without appearing intrusive to the shopper, Checkpoint has devised a visually-pleasing, and more accurate and efficient family of sensors, constructed from sturdy yet presentable material.

This is based on the premise that in order to establish a level of comfort and security for the shopper, it is important for employees on the shop floor to be confident that the systems in place are
able to enhance and support the retail environment, as well as allow them to recognise events that trigger the alarm and react to each situation appropriately, while ensuring that innocent customers are not harassed or embarrassed.

Placing the Evolve EAS in a league of its own is the revolutionary 360 RF technology, traditionally designed for use in the military. The feature’s unique circular detection field lets the Evolve
EAS sense tags in ways that used to be limited in retailing. This capability significantly increases tag-detection levels, including even smaller tags, so retailers can enjoy greater flexibility in
store design like having wider aisles.

Working closely with the 360 RF is the SDR-based platform, another nextgeneration feature of the Evolve which enables retailers to upgrade their systems via the Ethernet in real time without
disrupting business.

And, with SAM, the Evolve is able to distinguish between merchandise entering and exiting the store, promptly sending a separate signal for each direction, alerting the staff who can then respond accordingly to avoid hindering store operations.

Another edge to Checkpoint’s products is that they all work off the same open-architecture platform, permitting the retailer’s IT systems to communicate smoothly with the Evolve, making it even easier to update software, export data for analysis and troubleshoot if the need arises.

With technical standards such as TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/ Internet protocol) for communication with the system via the Internet or the Ethernet, the in-store networking communication system, information can be easily transmitted across various departments throughout the retail operation, facilitating effective business decisions.

To maximise the retailer’s investment, the Evolve solution can be developed according to the changing needs of retailers to fully benefit from Checkpoint’s solutions and services. “We can
add on gadgets if the customer requires, such as for people counting or upgradesfrom RF to RFID (radio-frequency identification), using the next-generation system,” Nge elaborates.

The Evolve is designed for easy maintenance. Servicing via remote access also reduces the number of site visits, minimising operation costs and further ensuring the store environment stays conducive
for shoppers.

Aside from Checkpoint’s EAS System of tags and sensors, Certis CISCO boasts a large manpower base in Singapore of over 4,000 professionals, comprising 3,600 well-trained and armed auxiliary police officers and 1,139 unarmed protection officers who protect the majority of the city-state’s government, commercial and residential premises, on top of the company’s monitoring solutions such as CCTV sand alarm systems.

Poon says: “With our monitoring station, whenever an alarm goes off at one of our clients’ premises, our central stations will inform the owner immediately.” The owner who is unable to be at the scene can request for a Certis CISCO response team to be dispatched, he adds. In essence, Certis CISCO’s approach gives retail customers peace of mind, freeing them to focus on other aspects of the business and improve their customer relationship.

The company also suppports retailers with secure logistic services to manage their daily transactions such as moving the day’s takings from outlets to a designated location, be it the company headquarters or bank.

Taking this further, retailers can even engage Certis CISCO to process their cash transactions. “In other words, the retailer will simply pass the day’s earnings in a sealed bag to the Certis
CISCO officer who transports the money back to our cash-processing facility on site where the money is counted, under CCTV surveillance, and then deposited into the respective banks,” Poon elaborates.

Certis CISCO also encompasses a consulting arm, which helps retailers put together affordable solutions they can incorporate cost-effectively into their stores’ systems for various needs.
“One interesting concept which we adopt is the CPTED or ‘Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design’.

It incorporates the principles of security in the design of the retail shop,” adds Loh. In so doing, Certis CISCO helps retailers facilitate in merchandising on the shop floor and customer flow.

“We also specialise in security audits because systems that retailers may already have in place to prevent loss in their businesses may not be operating to full capacity,” says Loh. “For instance,
the retailer changing the store layout may not have shifted the positions of cameras or security systems accordingly,” he explains.

“We are not just about security,” he asserts. “We are about helping our customers in their business operations as well. In short, we are a one-stop solution for our customers.”

And, Certis CISCO strives to support its clients at home and abroad with the necessary set-up to maintain uniformity in technology and service standards. “We have a very simple philosophy:
We follow customers wherever they go. That is our objective when we expand overseas,” states Poon, reiterating the company’s emphasis on its holistic


M3 approach in business. Corporatised only three years ago, Certis CISCO already has a presence in 63 cities in the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, Poon reveals. Prior to this, the company operated under the name CISCO Security Pte Ltd.

To this Loh adds: “Moving forward, our objective will be to expand our regional footprint, and expand our suite of services, such that we truly become a one-stop security service provider, from
manpower and technology to consulting and other services.”
 

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