SOLUTIONS SHOWCASE

DTT

DTT Combines Video Surveillance and LP Services to Generate Profit

As a leader in video surveillance and loss prevention solutions, DTT provides operators with an extensive collection of managed services along with superior hardware and software. DTT has equipped, serviced, and supported more than 30,000 clients, offering a solution that makes managing locations simpler and also improves the overall operation. DTT’s solution is entirely customizable to suit the needs of any operator. Following are comments from various convenience-store operators, specifically.

Chris Zimmerman, COO Gilligan Oil Company, 67 Units

“I was tired of dealing with different vendors for security systems and wanted to implement one that could work across my entire enterprise. When I was introduced to DTT, it was not only the most convenient choice, but also turned out to be a high-quality system that makes sense for my operation.

“Both the SmartAudit™ reports and MyDTT™ portal have become a critical part of my business. I can’t be at every location at one time, so I rely heavily on my team to run the operation on the ground. I need to be sure that what I am pushing down from the top is working properly at the store level.

“The SmartAudits let us know what areas we need to work on. DTT’s loss prevention department acts as my eyes and ears in the stores.”

Bruce Holbrook, Owner Express Stop AZ, LLC, 19 Units

“Our stores are spread across the four corners of Arizona, so we manage a multi-unit operation more or less remotely. As a result, surveillance is vital for us as it provides the opportunity to check in without having management physically present.

“Convenience stores tend to have very few people on duty at a time—as few as one person at times. That means that management may not always be around, so monitoring the store and fuel islands is challenging. The exterior cameras are crucial. We need to know what’s going on at the fuel islands, including customer accidents, damage to company equipment, customer and employee interactions, and fuel spills. The video helps us to quickly view incidents, document how they occurred, and aid in determining next steps.

DTT has equipped, serviced, and supported more than 30,000 clients, offering a solution that makes managing locations simpler and also improves the overall operation.

Preston Bartow, Loss Prevention Mickey Mart Food Stores, 30 Units

“We use the system mostly for spot-checking things like customer service, internal and external theft, and accidents. The system helps to keep employees on their toes. We often watch the stores live and will call to address concerns right on the spot, which lets them know we are paying close attention.

“With the DTT system, I was able to uncover product theft at one of our c-store locations. I caught on to a cash shortage and, upon review, found that the store clerk was handing cigarettes out the window for free. We quickly provided the video footage to the police department and the employee was terminated and arrested.

“Overall, I find that the DTT system helps with LP, protecting company assets, and employee behavior. It’s a tool that my team and I utilize every day.”

“We use the Live View portion of the MyDTT portal daily to dial into all our stores and get a good idea of what’s happening across all areas of our operation. With the MyDTT portal, we find the case-management software useful because of the need to review and document store-level incidents. In the past if an incident occurred, someone needed to go to the location and burn footage from a local DVR. Now, DTT does the work collecting the data and we simply review the video of each incident.”

CHECKPOINT

Checkpoint Introduces Intelligent Merchandise Availability Program Directly to Retailers’ Showrooms

Retailing has always been a challenging business—tight margins, pricing pressures, demanding and knowledgeable consumers, and intense competition all raise the stakes for retailers trying to succeed in their markets. Not surprisingly, smart retailers are looking for new ways to optimize their business processes and deploy tools that help them improve both their top and bottom lines while enhancing shopping experience.

Today, those pressures have been intensified by the development of trends such as omni-channel retailing, just-in-time inventory, and faster merchandise refresh rates. All of these challenges contribute to the difficulty in overcoming what has emerged as retailing’s number one challenge—reducing out of stocks so the right merchandise is available at the right time, at the right place, when the shopper is ready to make a purchase.

The iMAP Store is a mobile display, designed to simulate a variety of retail vertical markets and demonstrate Checkpoint’s innovative solutions. The store can be temporarily installed almost anywhere, helping retailers prioritize the types of customized features needed to be deployed to make it a powerful tool specifically for their store environment.

But iMAP is more than an innovative concept built around reducing out of stocks and improving merchandise availability. It is a reality today and can be demonstrated at retailers’ headquarter sites as a working prototype, illustrating solutions to multiple scenarios faced in a store environment. This iMAP Store gives retailers the ability to do much more than imagine a solution—it lets them experience how a solution would apply in their own store environment.

The iMAP Store

The iMAP Store is a mobile display, designed to simulate a variety of retail vertical markets and demonstrate Checkpoint’s innovative solutions. The store can be temporarily installed almost anywhere, helping retailers prioritize the types of customized features needed to be deployed to make it a powerful tool

specifically for their store environment. This “traveling store” comes with RF/RFID hardware, software, EAS tags and labels, and Alpha high-theft merchandise protection solutions. Retailers can see examples of such applications as: Exit door solutions, Sales floor merchandising options, Point-of-sale checkout and deactivation systems, Inventory receiving area, Physical inventory, and High-theft solutions.

After seeing the live demonstrations on site, many retailers have taken the next step and tested different solutions at their stores with a measurable improvement in reducing out of stocks.

Learn more by scheduling an iMAP Store demonstration today to see how Checkpoint’s emerging technologies can positively impact your merchandise availability and increase your shopper satisfaction.

Out-of-Stock Situations

That’s where the Intelligent Merchandise Availability Program (iMAP) comes in. This concept, pioneered by industry leader Checkpoint Systems, helps retailers reduce out-of-stock (OOS) situations. OOS are primarily caused by two main factors, shoplifting and operating inefficiencies related to inaccurate inventory management. Checkpoint’s iMAP program helps retailers address both aspects with proven solutions that reduce shrink and new innovative technology that enhances merchandise visibility.

Only Checkpoint offers this unique program, which integrates multiple retail operational processes in order to provide real-time intelligence and critical insights into the store’s merchandise availability. Built upon EAS and high-theft solutions for loss prevention, as well as the unique capabilities of RFID technology, iMAP supports retailers’ critical efforts to employ sophisticated analytical techniques to understand the sources of out-of-stock situations and measure the effectiveness of initiatives to mitigate them.

ALPHA

Alpha Spins a Continuous Web of Innovation

Loss prevention managers and retailers have one goal in mind when it comes to shrink management—develop more sophisticated ways to prevent or detect theft, while creating an “open merchandising” environment that encourages shoppers to buy more. To meet that goal, Alpha leads the industry when it comes to designing and engineering many of the most innovative and utilized high-theft solutions.

Case in Point—The Alpha Spider Wrap

The original concept of the Spider Wrap was developed by Alpha in 1996 after studying the shrink challenges encountered by one of their large consumer electronics customers. The retailer was having difficulty protecting boxed merchandise of different sizes—in particular boxed hard drives—and they required a single, “one-size-fits-all” solution. Previous attempts at protection ranged from employing plastic and metal bands to various types of collapsible bags. However, these concepts distracted from the branding and merchandising set and were difficult to apply, especially on the sales floor. Alpha’s General Manager Larry Yeager and their team of engineers were determined to provide a solution for six-sided box security—one that would be adjustable, but also secure enough to deter theft. Their efforts paid off, and the “Universal Wrap” was born.

The solution offered the adjustability needed to fit a variety of boxes while providing EAS deterrence. Through the use of retractable cables that wrapped around each side of a box, the Universal Wrap pioneered a new era in security. Once the cables were ratcheted into a cinched position, the Wrap could not be removed without a specialized magnetic key. The solution also provided flexibility with differing EAS technologies by offering RF and AM versions. Alpha filed for patent protection on the Universal Wrap, and was awarded a U.S. patent (5,722,266) for the technology in 1998.

Next-Generation Wrap

Despite the success, the Alpha team was not finished. They engaged retailers to provide candid feedback on the performance of the Wrap and, in response to that feedback, began to make improvements. The next generation no longer required the use of a separate tool to tighten the cables. An integrated, on-board cable tightening mechanism was now housed in a smaller body and on-board electronics would audibly alarm if a cable was cut. This pioneering breakthrough led to Alpha’s ongoing market leadership in alarming technology. Retailers were realizing that Alpha’s wrap solutions were a key contributor to meeting their shrink-management goals. When a retailer commented that the device body and cables were reminiscent of the body and legs of a spider, the Universal Wrap became the “Spider Wrap®,” which has become one of the most trusted theft-deterrent solutions in the global marketplace. The story of the Spider Wrap is just one example of the successes in innovation that Alpha has experienced. They continue to pioneer new solutions, and the results are continually recognized. One loss prevention director recently stated, “Alpha has filled a void by engineering very merchandise-specific, shrink-prevention devices that bring unequaled creativity and shrink deterrence to the market along with excellent customer satisfaction and increased merchandise availability.” Alpha is currently developing the next generation of Spider Wraps. Key features include a stronger locking mechanism, a smaller body for improved merchandising, “no tangle” cables, and dual EAS technology. An XXL size is also being developed to protect extra-large boxes for items like plasma TVs. Investing in research, development, and product management to fuel Alpha’s innovation pipeline is essential. It shows their commitment to solving retailers’ challenges by inventing the tools necessary to sell more and lose less. With nearly 200 patents under their belt, you can be sure that Alpha will continue to provide positive contributions to the industry.