Grow Business — Reduce Shrinkage: The 2% Solution By Steven May, LP Innovations

On a daily basis, retail loss prevention (LP) executives face the daunting task of diminishing corporate financial loss. Add protecting assets and increasing profitability to the mix, and LP executives have a lot on their plates.

Still, one thing is on almost everyone's mind: Shrink rates are on the rise, costing retailers upwards of 2 percent of their sales each year. It's a constant struggle to detect and prevent inventory shrinkage, as well as internal losses like check fraud, cash theft, and Internet sales fraud.

In their efforts to reduce shrink, though, many retailers overlook the big picture: growing their businesses. The majority of in-house LP programs are designed to apprehend thieves – but they stop there. In order to increase bottom-line profits, retail LP executives must proactively implement programs that are measured against bottom-line growth. This means not only staying abreast of methods for identifying, developing, and implementing successful loss prevention plans, but also ensuring that they have sufficient resources in place to execute a proactive plan effectively.