...resulting in dramatic reductions in shrink, decreases in merchandise out-of-stock, increases in sales and customer services.
Checkpoint Systems, Inc. has announced that more than 45 percent of the top-50 global retailers as identified by Deloitte are now source tagging some merchandise categories using Checkpoint Systems processes.
Source tagging shifts the security tag application process from a manual labour-intensive process at the store to an automated process at the point of manufacture, allowing store associates to focus on servicing their shoppers rather than applying tags. With a source-tagging throughput between 15,000 and 30,000 labels per hour, the process saves retailers a considerable amount in store labour costs while ensuring application compliance, protecting brand presentation and enhancing customers’ shopping experience.
Checkpoint’s source tagging program is used by more than 45 percent of the top-50 global retailers throughout the world as identified by Deloitte in a recent report. These retailers represent different vertical markets, from drug/pharmacy, to discount store formats, to supermarkets, to general apparel and specialty accessories like shoe stores. For example, retailers in the US like Family Dollar among many others.
At the 2014 National Source Tagging Symposium attended by a wide range of consumer package goods manufacturers and retailers, including Mike Silveira, vice president Loss Prevention CVS/Caremark and Mark Mellor, divisional vice president, Loss Prevention, Family Dollar, a Fortune 500 retailer noted that EAS and source tagging are the backbone of his company’s merchandise protection program. He added that source tagging provides the first line of deterrence and detection of shoplifting activities and that visible source tagging was proven to provide even greater deterrence over hidden labels. Attendees, who met again in December 2014, agreed that visible source tagging should be the key focus of the industry.
In fact, globally, millions of SKUs are being source tagged annually using Checkpoint’s program. Over the past 20 years, Checkpoint has evaluated over 75,000 different merchandise categories in its globally located Source Tagging Evaluation Centers.
“We know that if we protect high-value merchandise, there’s a corollary impact on sales and gross margins. High-value merchandise can be out on display, yet protected, creating a better in-store experience and improving our in-stock position,” commented Julie Giblin, VP of loss prevention at Family Dollar.
Internationally, retailers like the Bennet Group in Italy have had positive results with source tagging. Luigi Forgione, a director of the Bennet Group, said, “Checkpoint’s support has been invaluable. The company has worked closely with our technical team to create a solution, which offers superior merchandise protection without affecting the store aesthetics.”
Berluchhi, an Italian winery company, is source tagging today its Cuvee Imperiale Brut and Cuvee Imperiale bottles. The company protects at source its bottles against theft without compromising the aesthetics or the image of the brand on the bottle.
Among the reasons for the rise in source tagging use by retailers and CPGs is that product categories that were previously considered too difficult to tag, such as liquids, perishables, some specialty apparel, hard and soft goods, meats and even small cosmetics can now be source tagged. The sale velocity for some of these merchandise categories make it difficult to tag at the store, but without protection, the merchandise became an easy target for shoplifters creating out-of-stock situations and negatively affecting the shopping experience.
According to Per Levin, president and chief sales officer for Merchandise Availability Solutions for Checkpoint Systems, “Checkpoint’s source tagging program is a proven and evolving high-impact program both on store sales and for a reduction in shrink around the world. New products in combination with new methods and more partners are creating increasing momentum in the market place, making it further attractive to join this program today.
