Your retail inventory is where the rubber meets the road with your business. Because of this, you need to protect this inventory to the best of your ability.
But what’s the best way to go about doing this? Is there a system you can use that allows you to track everything?
Thankfully, yes. Let us guide you so you’re in a good position to do this on your terms.
1. Use a Quality Retail Inventory Management System
The technology you choose will dictate your ability to protect your inventory. A retail inventory management system gives you the help you need in this regard.
When you have the right system in place, you can stay on top of the inventory turnover ratio and other matters. It’s important that you only have managers and other trusted employers checking and maintaining this system, so you can catch discrepancies.
By allowing a select few to access this system, you lower the likelihood of internal theft issues.
2. Set Up Policies That Promote Awareness and Teamwork
Vigilance is the name of the game when you’re looking to prevent theft in your business.
Everyone needs to be on the lookout for shoppers that appear to be stealing or otherwise mishandling the retail inventory. Have a system and policies in place that makes it easy to point out these issues and report them.
This is something that you will see when you enter into many axe throwing locations like Down the Hatchet. Since it’s an open and fun location to throw axes around, it’s important to have guidelines in place. It’s not just about protecting your business and it’s inventory, it’s also about making sure everyone else is safe and having fun as well.
In addition to each person needing to follow the rules, waivers are also required for signing. This helps keep both the customers and the business protected at all times.
3. Hire Security Guards
Few things curb theft like a strong security presence.
Simply knowing that a professional is in place to stop and arrest them will deter most shoppers from taking that risk. Be sure that you hire security guards that are qualified and skilled to handle any kind of store that you run.
Paying a few great guards offers an excellent investment into your company. You can hire a security guard for between $12 per hour and $20 per hour if they are unarmed, and could cost between $18 per hour and $25 per hour if they’re carrying a weapon.
The next time you go to a jewelry store, you will likely see a security guard at their location. If you would like to learn more about the hiring process, be sure to ask the store owner. I’m sure they would be more than helpful with any questions you might have.
4. Buy Security Systems and Surveillance
As the old saying goes, the eye in the sky doesn’t lie.
When you have video surveillance, you’re able to prevent shoplifters from succeeding. Decide on the camera resolution you want, in addition to what sort of security features.
Above all, make sure you have the cameras set up in place to catch all different angles. You’ll also need a DVR with a big hard drive or a cloud subscription service that can store and organize your video files indefinitely.
Use your discretion on whether or not you want to post signs that let your shoppers know that you have security cameras in use. You can also staff someone in the video room to watch the footage in real-time, in order to prevent shoppers from walking out with merchandise.
If you want to see what the best selling products and brands are in relation to security systems, all you need to do is visit a site like Amazon.com. Since they are actively selling the most products and brands, that is where you are likely going to find the most updates information and a wide range of customer reviews to read through.
5. Are You Keeping the Brand of Your Business Safe
As much as we would all like to think about the importance of our inventory and customer data, there are other things that should be considered for protection as well — such as the name, company brand, and logo of your business.
While a trademark or copyright isn’t always required, it’s definitely something to consider.
The internet makes it extremely easy for someone to register a domain name and create something, then call it their own.
Business owners should secure the .com, .net, and .org domains for their business, so other businesses and companies can’t steal your brand identity.
The same holds true for keeping your brand safe on social media.
6. Document All of Your Inventory Online and Offline
Should something happen to your business and everything inside of it, would you know what was lost of damaged?
Every retail location should have a backup online of all of their data and inventory, while also having an offline and easily accessible list as well. After all, what if someone steals your computer or if it gets damaged in an unfortunate event?
In times like these it’s important to make sure you have all of the necessary precautions in place to protect your business.
Protect Your Inventory to the Best of Your Ability
Your business rides on how well you are able to protect the retail inventory. Because of this, it’s so important that you do everything you can to use the strategies above.
When you are looking into the best technology to help you out, we’ve got you covered. We specialize in all the software and electronics info your business needs to thrive.
With 2019 now in full swing, it’s important to make sure you are protecting your business with all of the tools and securities possible. It’s so much easier to have these precautions in place, versus trying to repair them after the damage has been done.
Be sure to read through the list above and see which of these methods are already implemented within your retail or online business, and also make a list of any that you still need to put in place.