Business Security Strategy

What is the actual value of shrinkage loss recorded by UK retailers? The European Barometer in 2007 suggested loses were 1.34%, other research suggest losses even higher. We suggest this confusion is caused by the different methods used by companies when accounting for stock loss.

We will use the following when establishing the stock losses in your business:

'Actual loss is the difference between the cost of goods at retail delivered to stores minus actual sales' This can be calculated as a percentage of retail sales and a total monetary figure.

Whatever the true stock loss in the UK, it accounts for billions of pounds every year and has a significant effect on reducing company’s profitability.

How these stock losses occur, and what can be done to reduce these, is key knowledge for any organisation. Research says that process losses can account for up to sixty percent with internal, external and supplier fraud accounting for forty percent.

MGC can help you map these losses and provide you with guidance on how to significantly reduce them.

Security Strategy

How often do you review your security strategy to see if it is aligned to your business strategy? Your strategy must be right for your business and owned by your business. There are dynamic benchmarking tools that would help you review whether you are maximising your strategy.

By answering the following questions you will know how you compare against competitors and where there are opportunities to adjust and improve.

Is there senior management commitment to prioritise shrinkage?
Do all parts of the business recognise the value of shrinkage?
Do all parts of the business take action to address the problem of shrinkage?
Is there clear and strong leadership to effectively manage shrinkage?
Is there timely and reliable data on shrinkage available?
Does the company innovate and experiment to deal with shrinkage?
Is there a strong multi-functional and diverse team to deal with shrinkage?
Is shrinkage clearly and regularly communicated to the organisation?
Does the business recognise the link between poor process adherence and shrinkage?
Are managers and employees given the necessary data, tools and training to enable them to manage shrinkage?

We can help you map how well you compare to others under each of these headings. By doing this we will help identify the areas where you need to focus and we can further identify best practice and opportunities to reduce your losses and increase your profitability.

When spending your security budget do you establish a robust Return on Investment (ROI)? We have a system that will complete this work and can help you justify the expenditure to your board.

'Mike has worked with us on a number of key projects and helped us design our store risk assessment programme that led us to re-evaluating our security expenditure leading to a more effective use of our security budget. He worked closely with our guarding supplier and developed a contemporary approach to the role of security officers leading to a more effective service to our stores.

We have forged an excellent partnership with Mike and have no hesitation in recommending him.'

Duncan Miles
Head of Security
Iceland Foods plc