ECRA Loss Prevention - Program Update

ECRA’s Loss Prevention Forum consists of a group of companies who have been working together for three years in developing many tools and resources for the FMCG industry to assist in efforts to fight ‘shrinkage’ - primarily focussing on reducing theft of product in store. 

Forum members have been working to determine the potential for a research project designed to provide clear understanding of the loss risks associated with new and emerging shopper technologies, with a focus on Self Scanning Checkouts and Mobile Payment technologies in a project - Staying ahead of the Game - managing the impact of technology on loss. 

Following a workshop in Sydney attended by industry experts across retail, supply, service and equipment providers and leading academics from Australian National University and NSW University of Technology, the project is progressing quickly through a study into relevant research on self-checkout (SCO) and learnings that will be directly of relevance to the next wave of mobile payment technology in regards exploitation leading to loss. 

The intent is to utilise the insights from this research to build a strongly supported view of what will be the key considerations for industry stakeholders in moving to m-payment in regards loss mitigation and report these along with the key insights behind those considerations back to the ECRA LP forum. 

Following this phase, if approved by the Board and funded, the project would move to working with the retailers, m-payment technology providers, and suppliers to develop robust approaches to loss mitigation ‘ahead of the game’ through development of best practices supported by guidance and tools. 

ECRA recognises the generous sponsorship provided by Checkpoint Solutions which has supported project work to date. 

Many tools and guides for industry on the topic of shrinkage and loss prevention can be accessed on the ECRA website here.