March 10 2020
What if you had to stop using your phone or computer and have a technician come to you every time you wanted to update your system or fix a problem? We don’t accept this inconvenience with our personal technology – why should loss prevention agents accept this with their Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS)?
Our world has become much smaller and faster. Technological innovations are making every industry more efficient and setting new standards for growth. The Internet of Things (IoT) places information at your fingertips, helping you optimize the impact of your decisions using artificial intelligence and advanced information-gathering processes.
How do these information superhighways work? Connection. The ability to connect and collaborate –people to people, people to machines, or machines to machines – is the single most important aspect of our modern reality.
New and improved ways to connect and collaborate through technology help increase efficiency and prevent loss. Connection empowers loss prevention agents to:
- Get remote service for systems.
- Keep systems up to date and the best quality.
- Connect a network of stores with important individual data to create an overall picture of the collective EAS Data.
Remote Service
Being able to diagnose and modify systems remotely saves valuable time and money. Imagine being notified about an EAS hardware issue instantly, then diagnosing and solving the issue without needing a technician onsite. That keeps the store focused on serving customers and reduces instances requiring a complete system shutdown while you wait for service. Sephora Loss Prevention Agent Efrain Orta said, “We get notified every time an EAS system becomes disconnected from the network. Because EAS alarms affect store conversion rates, store personnel often decide to switch off the entire system[, which causes] an increase in losses due to theft at certain peak times.”
Without remote service, solving issues can take days, leaving your store without protection. Reducing costs and system downtime is possible only through a connected system.
We get notified every time an EAS system becomes disconnected from the network. Because EAS alarms affect store conversion rates, store personnel often decide to switch off the entire system [, which causes] an increase in losses due to theft at certain peak times.”
Efrain Orta – Sephora Loss Prevention Agent
Always the best, most updated systems
With a connected EAS system, valuable updates and firmware upgrades are delivered remotely through the network instead of by an onsite technician. This makes having the most updated hardware a true reality, preventing internal glitches and ensuring peak performance.
With continuous updates from the network, your system will never be outdated. This is incredibly valuable and more accessible than ever with new technologies like RFID making headway in this industry.
Connected analytics
Data is being collected all the time, and you can harness its power to your advantage. Mr Orta explained, “We know in advance what is happening in stores, what problems we are facing. We have much better visualization regarding the failures that we are experiencing.“
A connected system allows loss prevention managers to look at their stores individually and also see big-picture EAS data compiled from all of them collectively. You can benchmark and leverage store data across your fleet to make informed decisions. A few examples:
- Customer counts: keep an efficient amount of staff on hand at all times.
- Dwell time: decide when your staff should be on the highest alert, as well as where to put items with the highest potential for theft.
- Alarm activity: tag products that shoplifters consider the most valuable targets.
This type of actionable data is only possible with connected systems. Connection provides opportunities for greater efficiency and security.
We know in advance what is happening in stores, what problems we are facing. We have much better visualization regarding the failures that we are experiencing
Efrain Orta – Sephora Loss Prevention Agent
Being connected without having to physically be in the same space is revolutionary for decision-making, machine learning, and increasing efficiency and security. Humans are social beings. We strive for connection; it empowers us to relate to the world and have an impact on it. Why should we expect anything less for the technology we’ve built?
Connection should be at the forefront of our minds when investing in new technologies. Will this connect and communicate with my current IoT ecosystem? Does this new technology set me up for future connection opportunities?
Without connection, loss prevention agents are held back by human error, subjectivity, and wasted time and money on diagnosing, maintaining, and updating systems. In addition, the data derived from connection is essential for performing at the highest levels.
The technology is there. It’s time we leverage the power of being connected to the IoT.
Account Executive US Sales
Tom Bolanos
