This case study shows how RadiusPoint managed a retailer’s loss prevention program and decreased their false alarm costs by 95%. The term “loss prevention” describes a number of methods used to reduce the amount of all losses and shrinkage. Each of those methods is a part of the total “Loss Prevention Cost” a retailer has to pay in order to maintain their program.
Challenge
A national retailer with over 10,000 locations was being charged for multiple false alarms at a location level. Typically, an alarm permit fee costs $25 a year. However, the District Manager wasn’t aware some of the stores did not have permits on file. Without this permit, the fees ranged from $100 to $500 each time the city or county police responded to an alarm.
Another issue involved the CCTV equipment that each store used on a daily basis. The equipment had set warranty dates and specific hourly rates for install costs. Because the retailer’s accounting department had no way to capture the warranty data and dates of installation of each piece of equipment, vendors were issuing bills that were not at the negotiated contract rates.
Solution
RadiusPoint began an immediate loss prevention investigation into the False Alarm billing. We identified those locations that did not have a permit with the local police department and permits were filed.
Additionally, the RadiusPoint team entered the permit information with contact information, annual costs and expiration dates into our proprietary Saas Platform, ExpenseLogic™. These two actions eliminated the issue of non-permit fees: RadiusPoint could now notify the District Managers to renew their permits before they would expire.
Furthermore, the outsourcing to RadiusPoint of invoices for processing on ExpenseLogic resulted in the effective management of vendors’ contracts for the various warranty and labor costs. It also created an asset database used to manage the complete inventory of security cameras and other CCTV equipment.
RadiusPoint implemented the loss prevention program methodically until completion.
Results
In the first six months of the implementation process, RadiusPoint managed to reduce the cost of false alarms by $66K, i.e. 95% of the original cost.
False Alarms can spell disaster for a retailer, especially when repetitive or when occurring on high-sale days. However, Accounts Payable teams can be stretched thin, and keeping track of every invoice can become a huge challenge. RadiusPoint effectively manages loss prevention programs for clients in a variety of industries.
Contact us to discuss how RadiusPoint could help your organization today.