A win-win for retail merchants and operators

Merchants intent on growing sales and operators eager to reduce shrink can both find something to like in a new service offering from global loss prevention leader Tyco Retail Solutions.

Tyco took the concept of software as a service, commonly referred to as SaaS, and applied it to the world of asset protection in a way that offers benefits to merchants and store operations executives looking to reduce shrink.

The company introduced Source Tagging as a Service, or STaaS, which it describes as a data-driven merchandise protection program to maximize the value of retail source tagging initiatives. The offering is based on the premise that retailers have limited time and staff to manage electronic article surveillance (EAS) programs, but with a STaaS approach retailers can rely on Tyco to oversee their entire EAS tagging program to help increase sales, solve shrink issues and optimize store labor by designing and executing turnkey source tagging programs.

"Our team of uniquely qualified experts analyzes and designs customized data-driven action plans so retailers can maximize the benefits of their source tagging program," said Tony D'Onofrio, Tyco’s vice president of marketing, global accounts and source tagging. "Retailers are achieving solid ROIs from our innovative service, resulting in higher sales, lower shrink and happier customers."

The approach involves a systematic analysis of retailers' data to pinpoints key shrink trends by department, category, vendor and UPC to identify high shrink items. Tyco then compares the results to retailers' existing item protection strategies for maximum payback. After conducting extensive store audits, Tyco specifies items to be tagged, certifies optimal tagging placement, supports engagement of suppliers and provides a monthly one page dashboards track progress and program compliance to predetermined success metrics.

According to Tyco, its STaaS approach means retailers have actionable data to make sure the right items arrive protected and ready for immediate placement on the floor. The data-driven approach and category management processes also allow retailers to merchandise products with confidence, while refocusing associates to serve customers and drive sales.

As evidence of the effectiveness of STaaS, Tyco said unidentified leading mass merchants using its new source protection service have reported double-digit increases in sales and double-digit decreases in shrink.