The pandemic crisis has and will change everything, but it is hopefully a once in a generation event. However, for the retail sector, and for those in loss prevention roles, leading and supporting stores in the management of retail losses such as shrink, waste and markdowns, the change is likely to have been significant.
For some, it has been a case of putting a stop to most, if not all planned store visits and working from home (WFH). Others have had their jobs and roles furloughed, while finally, and regrettably, for some their current roles have been eliminated and their contracts terminated.
If we were to just focus in on the positives, and look for silver linings, then the opportunity for personal and professional development leaps out. To this end, and to support retail loss leaders, we have created the ECR Loss Prevention Learning Centre (LPLC), an opportunity for individuals to learn, engage, contribute and reflect.
Our ambition in making this Learning Centre freely available is to help those WFH, in furlough, or seeking new positions, emerge from this crisis, smarter, stronger and better prepared to manage the challenges in the new post-pandemic retail world.
About the ECR Loss Prevention Learning Centre
The first programme offered by the LPLC consists of 12 Modules, each reflecting a specific area of research prioritised by the Group over the last 20 years, such as understanding the risks associated with self-checkouts. For each module, we have made available some key resources produced primarily, but not exclusively, by the ECR Group. These take the form of research reports, presentations and webinar recordings.
Each module also has an associated Activity, where participants are encouraged to reflect and record their thoughts on the relevance of the research, how it could be applied to their organisation and what might be some next steps in terms of the way you think about, organise and carry out your LP-related work in the future.
Finally, each module has a date and time allocated for an interactive online group discussion on the topic under consideration, where participants can ask questions and share their thoughts and feedback on the questions posed in each Activity. These sessions will be hosted by ECR and facilitated by Colin Peacock, Group Strategy Coordinator, of the ECR Community Shrinkage and OSA Group.
Getting Started
First of all, start by reviewing each of the 12 modules outlined below and determine if all, some or none of them would be relevant to your personal and professional development (or perhaps members of your team). Secondly, determine which of the modules you would like to participate in, and commit yourself to the learning by registering for the Group Discussion, making a note of the date and time when you will need to have reviewed the associated materials and completed the Activity.
There is no cost to participate, and no requirement to complete every module, however if you do commit to the Group Discussion, we do ask that you make time for the Activity so that the online conversation can be rich and rewarding for every participant.
12 Modules Investigating the Ever-changing Loss Prevention Landscape
| Module | Learning Area | What you can expect to learn? | Resources | Group Discussion Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Measuring and Scoping Retail Loss | What are the 42 different types of retail losses? Where are there inter-dependencies between the different causes of losses? For example, food waste and lost sales from out of stocks. And how should organisations think about either keeping to a narrow definition or expanding to a broader scope of retail loss prevention? | WebinarReportActivity | Thurs May 7th 1.30pm GMT |
| 2 | Inventory Record Accuracy | How do you measure Inventory Record Accuracy? What % of Records are wrong? What is the impact on sales when they go from wrong to right? What are the potential interventions? | WebinarReportActivity | Thurs May 14th 1.30pm GMT |
| 3 | The Habits of Low Shrink Retailers: The Loss Prevention Pyramid | What are the key practices of low shrink retailers? How can retailers develop a more integrated and over-arching strategy to manage loss prevention? What are the 11 factors that make up the Loss Prevention Pyramid? | WebinarReportChapterActivity | Thurs May 21st 1.30pm GMT |
| 4 | Engaging the Retail Buyer | How do buyers perceive the Loss Prevention team? How can Loss Prevention engage the buyers? What are some case studies in success? | ReportActivity | Thurs May 28th 1.30pm GMT |
| 5 | Understanding Hot Stores | What explains why some stores have higher shrink than others – is it geography, management or both? | ReportActivity | Thurs June 4th 1.30pm GMT |
| 6 | Employee Engagement & Retail Loss | What is the role of people in retail loss prevention and the impact they can have on the management of the problem? | ReportActivity | Thurs June 11th 1.30pm GMT |
| 7 | Reflections on Staff Dishonesty | What explains why retail staff steal? What is the role of opportunity? What are the implications for managing retail losses? | ReportActivity | Thurs June 18th 1.30pm GMT |
| 8 | Preventing External Theft in Retail Stores | How can thieves be deterred from stealing? What are the possible interventions? What is the available evidence on their effectiveness and limitations? | WebinarReportEAS User StudyActivity | Thurs June 25th 1.30pm GMT |
| 9 | E-Commerce – The True Cost of Online Returns | How are online returns managed? What is the true cost? What are the levers to prevent and reduce the cost of returns? | WebinarReportActivity | Thurs July 2nd 1.30pm GMT |
| 10 | Self-Checkout in Retail | What is the scale and nature of losses at self-checkouts? How are retailers tackling the risk of loss? | WebinarReportActivity | Thurs July 9th 1.30pm GMT |
| 11 | The Use of RFID in Retail | How have 10 retail organisations gone about building their business case for RFID? What have been their key achievements and what were their key lessons on deployment? | WebinarReportActivity | Thurs July 16th 1.30pm GMT |
| 12 | Food Waste & Markdowns | What is the scale and nature of the food waste problem in retail? What is the relationship between waste and on-shelf availability? What are the best practices to preventing food waste? | ReportBest Practice ListActivity | Thurs July 23rd 1.30pm GMT |