Welcome to NRF's event blog, a great place to stay plugged in before, during and after NRF's Loss Prevention conference. Keep checking this blog regularly for Q&As with keynote speakers, advice for first-time attendees, and show highlights.
The event is over and so is the primary blog coverage. We’d love to know what you thought…..step up to the microphone, so-to-speak.
Leave a comment below to share your thoughts about this year’s NRF Loss Prevention Conference.
Below is a quick list of all the conference coverage:
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 2009 NRF Loss Prevention Conference - June 15-17, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA
The 2008 NRF Loss Prevention conference ended with an entertaining general session led by Joe Marlotti, Bridgeworks Times-Four. Joe provided a funny look at the various generations in the workplace and the differences between then. To kick things off Joe donned different costumes while providing some quick stereotypes.
How to describe his presentation? It was fast-paced and hilarious. After the brief intros of the different generations Joe jumped from generation to generation highlighting the ideals unique to each group.
Gen-X is more in tune with their families than the workplace, baby-boomers think it’s all about them, traditionalists, well they’re a bit scruffy. Millenials like being called geeks and are often perceived as high-strung. However the millenials are coming into your workforce, all 67 million of them.
During his program Joe brought up members representing each generation to play musical recorders as part of an orchestra to demonstrate types of leadership.
I must admit it’s difficult keeping up with Joe, laughing too much. What a great way to end the event.
One of the last breakouts of the conference tackled the issue of developing and leading an LP team. David Shugan, CFI, Carter’s Inc and Mark VanBeest, JCPenney Company, Inc. led the discussion.
David started his presentation off with some definitions of some key terms: Manager, Leader. In the dictionary ’success’ is not included in the definitions of those words. Shouldn’t it?
The difference between management and leadership? Management is about getting people to work to accomplish a goal. Leadership is about helping people examine their values and clarify what matters most.
Ownership is a key component of leadership. Does your team own their work? Make them decision makers to assist with buy-in. This makes them a valuable part of the team.
What is loss prevention leadership?
- Company 1st and Loss Prevention 2nd: The store doesn’t have your name it.
- The “Mack-Truck” Theory: If you were hit by a truck, can your team carry on?
- Burn down the building: Allow others on the team to provide solutions.
- “Rocking Chair” philosophy: It’s about helping others with their careers.
Mark from JCPenney first addressed the subject of hiring the right talent. It’s crucial that you hire the right talent. There are plenty of ‘good’ candidates, the challenge is finding the ‘great’ ones, or the ones that have potential to be great.
Operating a successful LP team starts with the right person for the right job. Once you have the staff provide them the tools and training to make the most of their situation.
Next comes leadership, where are you going? Let the team be part of this definition process.
Once you’re established you need to continually grow, otherwise complacency might set in. Ultimately you control your own personal development. You need to define where you are and where you want to be. What’s the path to getting there? What skills are your lacking? One area that you can immediately approve upon is your appearance and presentation.
During the process constant get feedback, this could be via peers, direct reports, 360 surveys or mentors. Constantly course correct on your path. This applies to your own personal growth and your team’s growth.
There are five fatal flaws in leadership
- Inability to learn from mistakes
- Lack of core interpersonal skills and competencies
- Lack of openness to new ideas
- Lack of accountability
- Lack of initiative
One of the highlights of the EXPO Hall at this year’s event was the Secure Store, a mock-up of a retail location with the latest in LP technology. A number of vendors displayed their products in the ‘real world’.
Entering the store one of the first things you noticed was the windows, or more accurately the window coverings and display cases. The security rolling shutters and product cases were provided by QMI. The shutters and cases are custom made to meet/fit any need.
Looking up you would see a number of security cameras and one very tiny 360 degree pinhole camera. All of this surveillance gear was monitored by ClickIT. Their video analytics package offered a number of ‘views’ of the Secure Store as well as analysis tools to combat loss.
Once you ’see’ the suspect it’s good to know who they are. Riverview Systems was on hand to demonstrate their visual recognition software. The service allows retailers to put a face to, and track individuals that have been no-trespassed in all their locations.
>Protecting merchandise is obviously a key issue and Universal Surveillance provided tag solutions and booster bag detection systems. Universal displayed a number of innovative tag solutions to easily and attractively display merchandise, while maintaining security.
The Secure Store also provided solutions for tracking product and returns with Siras. The system tracks products during their entire lifecycle by serial number. The goal is to avoid fradulent returns and deter theft.
Siras also provided some great examples of ‘fake’ returns, i.e. original packaging with fraudulent items inside.
Stopping shoplifters on the way out was the responsibility of Carttronics. Their RFID-based Push-out Prevention System (POPS) stops customers from exiting the store with a cart-load of goods that has not paid at the register.
Protecting the back door of the Secure Store was DETEX. The DX Bolt provided additional security against break-ins. The code-compliant kits are easy-to-install and can be added to most existing systems.
Of course if you have a number of doors you’ll know that re-keying is always an issue. Amphion demonstrated their Reduce, Reuse & Recycle system. Amphion allows retailers to easily re-key doors by re-implementing your existing hardware and then recycling old hardware. Re-keying a door is as simple as turning a key.
Managing the ‘cash’ in the Secure Store was the responsibility of RSS Partners and their patented money counter, The Banker. The system offers consistent ongoing accuracy in counting currency. The goal is to reduce labor costs and provide true cash control.
As we all know the human element is a key factor in LP. Metro One Loss Prevention Services Group provided on-the-floor security as well as store detectives and investigators.
Educating staff about LP issues was achieved by working with Global Compliance SM. Their interactive kiosks, multimedia presentations and print pieces truly stood out from the standard ‘memo’. Informing staff about the issues and risks involved with LP helps you sell and implement programs internally.
Signage in the store was hard to miss. Large LCD monitors offered dynamic messaging via Vital-Signz, a Santa-Barbara based media and technology company. Transitioning from flat printed displays to dynamic displays immediately offers greater impact and flexibility.
If you stopped by the Secure Store we’d love to know what you thought…leave a comment below.
One of the first forums on day three of the conference offered some career advice. Christopher McDonald, Babies “R” Us, and Mark Stinde, Circuit City Stores, Inc. presented on becoming a loss prevention director, and the first 90 days.
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Chris led off with a brief recap of how this session came to be. In 2007 Chris assumed control of LP and after his first thirty days he began to panic a little bit, what was he supposed to achieve in the first 90 days? Despite years of preparation in the organization, what was he to do under his own guidance? That’s the purpose of this session, it’s about educating those new to leadership on what’s expected in this industry.
Mark jumped in a provided an overview of the topics, one of the main issues was highlighting two pyramid heads in their first 90 days. The discussion will focus on succeeding in new roles and avoiding common pitfalls.
Chris works for Babies R’ Us, they has sales of $2.6B in sales, 265 stores with an LP team of 20 members. Of course Babies R’ Us is a sister division of Toys R’ Us.
For Mark, Circuit City has sales of $11.7B, 680 stores including Circuit City and ‘The City’. They have an AP team of 68.
While Chris and Mark have similar roles, their career paths were different. Chris has been with the company for 12 years and slowly worked his way up the LP ladder. Mark, however, has only been with Circuit City for 9 months, but has plenty of experience with other retailers.
The new view at the top:
- Conversations get shorter (the world of bullet points, memo’s/analysis/ROI)
- Being tactically direct - sound bites and snippets
- Business intuition becomes critical (experience, reaching out to experts, SMEs)
- Self-awareness of your position
- Leaving your old role behind
- Personal and professional balance (take time for perspective, benefits of stepping away)
What’s critical is that you need to let go, you don’t need to know everything, build a team that can work together and help you.
The first 90 days…
1. Promote Yourself
2. Accelerate Your Learning
3. Match Strategy to Situation
4. Securing Early Wins
5. Negotiating Success
6. Achieve Alignment
7. Build Your Team
8. Create Coalitions
9. Keep Your Balance
10. Expedite Everyone
Promote Yourself
It’s not about self-promotion, it’s allowing yourself to move on to the next level. It’s moving from the tactical to the strategic. It’s about letting go of previous roles. There is often a new peer group with a different time focus. It’s all part of growing your credibility.
Accelerate Your Learning
Learn about the organizational culture. What is the current business state? What are the companies priorities? Who are the key stakeholders and who are the key members of your AP team? What exactly is your new role? Do you understand it? For larger organizations how do you interact with sister divisions like .com and international?
Match Strategy to Situation
Begin to fine-tune a successful program, that may include killing off some sacred cows. A key issue is to avoid internal complacency and raising the bar. Understanding the organizational capabilities is key, this helps establish consistent expectations. If you’re coming from another retailer you need to realize that a strategy that may have worked their, might not work at your new position.
Securing Early Wins
Developing a short term and long term strategy will help prioritize things for those initial wins. Sometimes this involves securing additional staff/budget/resources for the team. Sometimes it may involve staying the course with successful strategies and taking credit for the continuity. Always remember your boss though, what are they looking for?
Negotiating Success
What is your relationship with your boss? Who else do you need to work with: buyers, planners, allocation, internal audit group, IT. Do you need to adjust your supervisor’s expectations, current year/fiscal year? There are also transformational challenges, sometimes senior management changes, this sometimes resets the clock. You need to tell your story over again.
Achieve Alignment
First and foremost get buy-in around new strategies. This can involve internal and external team members. For example your new LP strategy may not be in line with your merchant’s expectations. Identify gaps within alignment and fix. Training can assist with team alignment, follow this up with auditing to make sure the training is working.
Build Your Team
An obvious starting point is internal promotion, but cross-pollination can also work. Cross-pollination brings in team members from other divisions with different perspectives. It also expands LPs footprint as people move laterally within the organization. Sometimes you need to make tough decisions, like letting people go.
First you need to understand your team’s current capabilities. Next is to gain the trust of your team and setting the right expectations.
Create Coalitions
Understanding all of the stakeholders is crucial in creating coalitions. As you move up to a director level you work more with other groups, rather than your core group. This can include: Merchandising, Inventory Control, Internal Audit, Finance, etc. Each of these groups has their own culture and expectations.
Keep Your Balance
Sometimes in a new leadership position you ride off in too many directions. Prioritizing and delegating helps with this. You will often find yourself working in and out of your comfort zone, it’s a challenge, but you need to get over it. While your role is often strategic, you do need to stay grounded in the tactical. It’s also about knowing when to be flexible and when to dig your heels in.
Expedite Everyone
Can your team educate others within the organization on the importance of LP? Always look for teachable moments and career development opportunities for your staff. Don’t forget yourself, look for advisors to help you improve your skills.
Day two drew to a close with a general session led by Sam Geist of Geist & Associates Inc. Sam’s key message, execution of ideas is key. Sam said, “I’ll give you dime for a good idea, but I’ll give you a dollar for good and execution.”
Organizations need to move from strategic thinking to strategic doing. There is a direct correlation between strategic execution and loss prevention. Sam asked the audience to rate their own firms on ‘execution’. Take a realistic look at your organization.
Execution doesn’t sit by itself, related items are: people, distribution channel, resources, customer and the company. All of these items must execute on their own for the organization to execute properly. To learn, step back from what you know.
Dimensions of Change
There is a structural change going on in business. The business model is changing, however our organizations often don’t change enough to keep pace.
Too often companies use price as a key differentiator, 8 out of 10 marketers use price to drive their market. This price erosion seriously cuts to gross margins. In the past 80% of a companies assets were tangible, today 80% is intangible. The business is not selling lemonade, it’s about ‘how to sell lemonade’.
Another key factor is value-chain deconstruction. Organizations are bypassing traditional channels to save money. Think ATM/bank tellers. Related to this is the power of customer. Changing is tough, not changing is terminal.
How well do you know your customer? What’s a primary motivating factor for many? It’s time. Time is the key currency today.
How are you and your organization creating value for customers? It’s not about selling more stuff. Think about lettuce. A standard head of lettuce is less than a dollar. Now, people are buying bags of pre-cut lettuce for $3-$4. People are paying to the time savings and the perceive value.
Breaking the Code
How can you break-through for change? Sam thinks the big issue with retailers is over-promising and under-delivering. Often customer service is the reason a customer leaves.
Customerizing is in, that is each customer is unique. A great example is Dell, they developed their entire system to serve a customer of one. Compaq and HP initially lost out to Dell, but they have resurged. Why? Execution.
One way to break the code is listening to your customers and developing your value propositions based upon their input. Most savvy companies are doing this now.
A brand is a promise. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. There is a big difference.
The challenge is how do you get your people to execute. Every brand is nothing more than the sum total of the actions of its people.
There is a vicious cycle: Underachieving -> Underperforming -> Low Morale -> Becomes the Norm
Breaking down the barriers for execution has to start with breaking down the barriers of communication. Does your staff know what percentage of profit is lost to LP? What’s the cost of turnover? Associates need to know this information.
Taking Charge
Ownership of the process is key to taking charge. Sam quoted a Japanese proverb, “Vision without action is a daydream, action without vision is a nightmare.”
Don’t think outside the box, stay in your box. Think about your box…how can you make your box better?
What’s important is to move from management to leadership. Many people struggle with this. Leadership is not just a position, but a process.
One of the stumbling blocks of execution is accountability, or more importantly the lack of accountability. We can use all the tools and consultants to ‘learn’ and ‘know’ but the key differentiator is the ‘doing’.
That’s it for day two….off to the reception!
The early afternoon slot on day two featured a diverse set of roundtable discussions. Topics included: Background Investigations, Brand Protection, Civil Liabilities, Crisis Management, e-Commerce, Exception Reporting, Food Sector Loss Prevention, Gift Card Fraud, Internal Theft, International/Multinational Business Operations, Organized Retail Crime, Professional Development, Specialty Stores, Strip Center Stores, Supply Chain/Cargo Security, Technology Strategies, Training/Awareness Programs and Women in LP caucus.
If you attended one of the roundtables we’d love to hear from you. What were your key takeaways? Leave a comment below.
Below are some select photos from the discussions:
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