When you run a retail establishment, chances are you will be selling at least some high end products. These products are often the very ones that internal and external thieves will zero in on for that very reason. High end merchandise is much easier for a thief to turn around and sell, and this makes it a target for them. With this in mind, how do you manage your high end merchandise to minimize theft? How do you avoid internal theft of high end merchandise?
The first step in managing high end merchandise effectively is to properly secure it on site. If you have a stock room, then these items should not be left out in the open. High end merchandise is somewhat easy to keep away from shoplifters because it can be removed from the sales floor. This is done by removing the actual merchandise from the packaging, and only displaying the box. Also, you can use dummy products to keep shoplifters at bay. For example, most all cell phone retailers put out dummy phones on their display counters.
While these tactics are highly effective at stopping shoplifters it does nothing to help with internal theft. To combat internal theft, you have to have a system in place. This system has to be regular and steady. If you fall back on the system, then internal theft will find a crack to slide through and your profits will slide.
The first step in the system is to relocate all high end merchandise to a locked room or cage in the stock room. This room should be off limits to all employees save for the manager and one trusted person per shift when the manager is not there. Whoever is in charge of a given shift should be the only one with a key to this room or cage.
The next step is to set up a motion sensitive hidden camera in this high end room. These cameras are wonderful at catching criminals, and also ruling out potential suspects. The cameras will only turn on when someone opens the door, and will turn off when the person leaves again. This means you will know any and all people that come into the high end stock room, and what they do when they go in there.
As a back up, you should also post a sign out sheet on the inside of the door. This means that every time someone brings something in or out of this room, that it is logged, dated and timed on the sheet. This makes it easy to compare the camera and the sheet and see anything that does not match up.
Inventory is the final step. This stock room should be inventoried every single day as part of the closing responsibilities. The manager should check behind the key holders often, and make certain that the inventory matches the entries.
If you implement this system, you will keep strong hold of the high end products in your store. Never take your eyes off the high end merchandise in your store. The key is to notice what is missing right away. If you know right away, it is easy to trace where the merchandise went.
