LP's Technology Weapon — IP Cameras

April 2013 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

By Bob Johns, associate editor

IP cameras offer Goodwill Industries of Denver the ability to better protect its inventory and reduce shrink.

Unfortunately for many retailers, law enforcement tends to look at retail crime as a low priority. When the product you sell has been donated, theft is looked at as a harmless crime, if a crime at all. This is part of the problem Goodwill of Denver faces in its ongoing fight against retail theft. However, when you look at the fact that the Denver nonprofit company did $62 million in sales last year, employs more than 1,400 people, and assisted more than 21,000 people in need in 2012, you realize the thefts are far from harmless to the company.

Goodwill Industries of Denver is affiliated with the Goodwill Industries International charity, which does more than $3 billion in retail sales each year, but operates independently to serve the Denver area. Its retail division relies on donated goods to create inventory and keep the shops full. Recently the company moved into a new 240,000-square-foot warehouse and retail outlet facility, which posed several LP challenges due to layout and location. LP director Stan Smith knew an analog CCTV system was just not going to cut it, so he began researching IP cameras and digital technology.