August 10, 2026
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Vertical Solutions

Doing More With Less – Retailer Strategies For Loss Prevention And Mobility

In the increasingly competitive retail space, there is a constant need to implement, expand and improve loss prevention programs to secure assets, decrease shrinkage and increase customer safety. With that, budget cuts in the manned loss prevention (LP) staff industry in all store ranges – from mom and pop shops, to big box retailers – have retailers exploring the latest in efficient and affordable LP management through video surveillance and the vast amount of add-on monitoring and analytic programs.

By Trenton Thoms, Milestone Systems, Inc.

According to loss prevention and inventory shrinkage consulting firm Jack L. Hayes International, in 2012 nearly 1.15 million shoplifters and corrupt employees were apprehended, up more than seven percent from 2011. The threat is real, but the cost of managing these issues is easily streamlined by technology currently available to nearly every retail manager in the business.

Milestone Systems’ partners cater to end users in all retail environments looking to expand or improve surveillance systems, offering a complete solution, backboned by Milestone XProtect. XProtect meets virtually all retailers’ needs because of its open platform technology, which provides retailers with the freedom to choose from a nearly unlimited number of possibilities when it comes to retail surveillance solution hardware or software.

As budgets are cut, working with legacy monitoring equipment is vital to save costs while keeping a store environment safe and shrinkage down. Channeling a store’s video feed through mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, however, gives managers the ability to monitor goods, customers and employees from anywhere – even the back office!

Milestone Mobile offers retailers the ability to view security system output in any store — whether stand-alone or on a corporate or franchise level — through mobile devices. Live video and playback can be viewed at all times with an Internet or Wi-Fi connection. With Milestone Mobile’s Video Push feature, live video can be sent from a mobile device’s camera directly into Milestone XProtect, for immediate awareness of incidents, or shared from other cameras in the system.

With the ability to create and watch video exports on the go, Milestone Mobile provides operators with expanded remote capabilities, allowing them to take immediate action during an incident, or quickly review footage to gather evidence. Outputs, such as opening and closing doors and switching on lights, can also be controlled through the mobile devices.

With the open platform integration capabilities, Milestone’s video sequences can be linked with personnel, goods, receipt and transaction data gathered from POS, ERP or ATM systems. Video linked with each transaction can be integrated within the system to help reduce fraud by identifying and sending alerts to mobile devices about suspicious activity, including deceptive use of gift cards, discounts, fraudulent or stolen credit cards and refunds.

However, the benefits of mobile surveillance extend beyond loss prevention to include many aspects beyond security! Integrations with numerous analytic offerings can add valuable marketing tools like people counting, traffic patterns and queue management or product placement aids.

Video monitoring through mobile devices can also ensure manufacturing, packing, shipping, and logistics, are running smoothly within a retail environment. Milestone has been installed in a broad range of production and distribution centers around the world to increase full-chain visibility for managers, executives and other decision makers.

IP video can also be an essential component in the day-to-day operations of an online retailer, especially when authorized personnel have access to live and recorded video on a smartphone or tablet. From the second an item is removed from a warehouse shelf, it can be monitored through the conveyor system, measured, weighed, tagged and made ready for shipment, all with video surveillance insurance and proof of processing. Management knows and can document exactly what is happening at every point to assure quick and effective delivery of its in-demand products.

Milestone VMS solutions are versatile and effective tools for retailers large and small. No longer does an internal security team have to worry about downloading evidence to USB drives, or spend hours watching tapes to search for an event. Many retailers have seen the extraordinary benefits of IP-based surveillance and the cost efficiency and flexibility of Milestone Mobile, helping retailers stay up to date with store locations’ vital information.

Major Australian retailer upgrades with Geutebruck

Major Australian retailer Harvey Norman has chosen to upgrade its video security systems with Geutebruck IP technology. During the last year the franchisees at around a third of its stores in Australia and New Zealand have been enjoying Geutebruck’s high quality images and ease of use. And, as word spread through the Harvey Norman grapevine others are clamouring for their turn!
In Australia Harvey Norman is a franchise operation with 250 stores trading under the ‘Harvey Norman’, ‘Domayne’ and ‘Joyce Mayne’ brands, and selling electrical, computer and entertainment equipment, furniture and bedding in different sectors of the market. It takes the interests of franchisees very seriously and its commitment to store security is one expression of this. It maintains a very high level of technical expertise within the organisation and provides the franchisees who handle their own day to day security operations with both the security hardware and specialist security support. Until relatively recently all stores were using surveillance systems with analogue cameras and DVRs, but as system reliability and image quality issues mounted it became imperative to find a new long term replacement.

Top of the list of requirements was good image quality, but important too was 90-day storage capacity, hybrid operation with existing analogue cameras, and easy-to-use client software. – In this environment, where systems are operated by store managers without specialist skills or knowledge, this last criterion is particularly significant so good intuitive design is key.

Besides meeting these requirements Geutebruck also enjoys a reputation for offering the most cost-effective IP systems. As Bill Elkass, Harvey Norman’s general manager of loss prevention reports, “Geutebruck technology is user friendly. Its client software is very easy to navigate through and it was particularly useful to us that there are Geutebruck staff here in Australia who could provide answers and help in devising a good solution.”

For the stores with upgraded systems the frustration of poor images is a thing of the past. Elkass continues, “Now we find that when we are looking at an incident of theft, we can see exactly what is going on: what the suspect picks up and where he conceals it. Our new systems provide the clarity which enables the police to take action.”

Installations vary depending on the size of the store and on the existing kit which has been incorporated. Small stores have 40 to 50 cameras, large ones around 110, and the average is 60 to 70. Some solutions are hybrid systems, using Geutebruck re_porter hardware and combining existing analogue cameras with new IP ones sited to monitor critical areas. – Cameras over cash registers for instance, to provide a detailed record of transactions and spot discrepancies. While other stores have pure IP systems using super micro servers with 30 cameras per server. “Running Geutebruck software on super micro servers is a good solution for us,” explains Elkass, “because it gives us the storage duration we wanted. We find we need 90 days because it takes time for the police to put a case together, and it can be some weeks after an incident that they request video evidence. In the past we had usually overwritten the relevant recording. Now, 9 times out of 10 we still have it.”

The overall plan is to upgrade the majority of sites over the next five years. New or refurbished stores will get pure IP systems, as may some of the larger stores. Systems in the remaining stores will be replaced with hybrid ones as and when these require attention.

So how has the new technology gone down with the non-technical store-managers? Elkass is fulsome in his praise, “The image quality is excellent and is providing the information they need: for example allowing them to recognise known offenders. I have to say, they are absolutely loving it. The franchisees talk amongst themselves and they all want Geutebruck technology.”

SMARTair™ brings flexible access control to a new Dutch superstore

London, April 2018 – Witzand has been a trusted supplier of building materials since the 1890s. Their largest retail outlet — dubbed “XL” — and head office is at Almelo, in the eastern Netherlands. Here the company designed a new building with openness in mind, to stock and display a wide range of their products, including a specialist woodwork department. The new premises also needed a brand new access control system.

A combination of SMARTair™ devices — wireless, battery-powered escutcheons, cylinders and wall readers — ensure security at the new Almelo building meets the demands of a busy mixed-use environment. Authorised employees can use offices and warehouse spaces they need; shoppers only access the retail areas of this new Witzand superstore.

“This building is our showroom and must come with a modern access control system: SMARTair™ is the right system for us,” explains Kevin Hoitink at Witzand Almelo.

Flexible rights management made easy

With SMARTair™ wireless access control, Witzand facility managers tailor the precise security levels they need for different areas of the building. It’s easy to manage and amend access rights for every site user, to ensure authorised employees come and go freely, while everyone else is kept out.

The Almelo installation runs via an Update on Card system, which is ideal for premises with medium to high daily user traffic. With Update on Card management, administrators can set time-limited access rights and order audit trails when needed. Strategically located wall updaters provide a link between the software and the SMARTair™-protected doors.

It’s easy even for non-specialists to manage a SMARTair™ installation with the bundled, full-featured TS1000 admin software.

Witzand’s new flagship building was awarded a score of 56.6% by the Dutch BREEAM sustainability certification program*. Its employees, customers and valuable stock are kept safe by SMARTair™.

About Witzand: Witzand has been a renowned supplier of wood and other building materials since the 1890s. For more information, visit www.witzand.nl.

*: see www.breeam.nl/projecten/nieuwbouw-uitbreiding-witzand-almelo-0

Safety boost for Berlin’s “traffic light man”

London, June 2018 – The Ampelmännchen (“little traffic light man”) from the former GDR is a cult figure around the globe. For tourists, the shops of AMPELMANN GmbH in Berlin are a big draw. Branches are spread over the entire city, and to reduce the burden of employee and staff key assignment, the company sought to optimize access rights management. At the same time, branch security needed to be state-of-the-art. The CLIQ® access control solution from ASSA ABLOY met all these requirements with flying colours.

Founder and owner Markus Heckhausen sought a locking solution for eight AMPELMANN GmbH branches and a 2,200 m2 logistics centre, to meet the needs of a decentralized branch organization. This creative company, which manufactures and sells a wide variety of products under the AMPELMANN brand with the Ampelmännchen, did not want a complex system suited only to large companies with thousands of employees. It should be practicable and fast for a company with around 150 employees, yet still able to secure branches reliably.

Easy administration, maximum security

Small and medium-sized retailers face the same access control challenges as their large competitors. Employees need access to the store, warehouse and offices — but not every employee should have the same authority. Branches must be accessible to customers during opening hours, yet sufficiently secured after closing time against unauthorized access. Key management is often an elaborate, time-consuming process, even more so when keys are lost or stolen. In such cases, all locking systems must be replaced, which requires more effort and significant costs.

AMPELMANN GmbH in Berlin also faced these issues. Its eight branches are located in the best shopping areas in Berlin, each staffed by several employees. External service providers such as cleaners also need access to the building. A large staff roster and significant distance between branches create a major key management workload.

eCLIQ ensures branch security

Together with the Berlin locksmith Hinz, AMPELMANN owner Markus Heckhauen found a solution in the flexible, decentralized and reliable electronic locking system from ASSA ABLOY.

Uli Hahn, Managing Director of Hinz, has been providing security in and around Berlin for more than 50 years. He says: “The eCLIQ locking system is very powerful and safe compared to conventional systems. It is easy to handle and to assemble. Above all, it enables quick and easy administration of access authorizations, making it the perfect choice for medium-sized companies such as AMPELMANN.”

eCLIQ comes as a “plug and play” solution and is ready to use immediately after installation. The system works without cabling, so the extremely compact eCLIQ cylinder can be used in a wide variety of doors at any location. Power is supplied by batteries in each programmable key, which can be changed easily and without tools. A built-in chip makes every electronic key unique. Keys can be programmed directly on the cylinder, remotely or with easy-to-use eCLIQ Manager software.

In addition to compact design, the system is characterized by robust, durable and safe components. An integrated lubricant reservoir ensures the cylinders remain maintenance-free for up to 200,000 cycles. A high-quality processor protects the locking system against manipulation and intelligent attacks. Keys are also highly resistant and waterproof (IP67). eCLIQ cylinders and keys are VdS-certified (BZ +) and comply with the DIN EN 15684 standard for electronic locking systems. A wide range of different cylinder types makes the system suitable for many applications — from the company’s entrance gate to securing alarm systems, elevators, doors and cupboards.

Convincing solution

“Decisive in our choice of eCLIQ was that we could control access authorizations easily and flexibly at any time,” explains Markus Heckhausen. “If a key is lost, we can easily deactivate it and disable it.”

eCLIQ even makes time- and location-limited authorizations easy — for example, to allow cleaners to enter only at certain times. The allocation of access authorizations can now be coordinated conveniently by individual branch managers, within a system that ensures maximum security for all AMPELMANN GmbH shops.

For more information, please visit https://campaigns.assaabloyopeningsolutions.eu/cliq.

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