eBay P3 Newsletter

Dear Retail Industry partner,

You have received this email because our paths have crossed in the past as we worked together for loss prevention in the retail industry. As you may know, I spent the last 25+ years managing loss prevention efforts for retailers including Limited Brands, Sunglass Hut, Target Corp. and Federated Department Stores. I am thrilled to have recently joined eBay’s team of trust and safety professionals to bolster the company’s ongoing efforts to prevent the sale of stolen goods. Through vigilance and strategic partnerships with law enforcement and retail partners like you, we are working to address this issue head on. View this short video about eBay law enforcement to learn more about our efforts.

Below is a copy of our new quarterly newsletter, “The P3 Report.” Please take a moment to click on this link to SUBSCRIBE. If you do not subscribe, you will not hear from us again.

PROACT: What is it Anyway?

PROACT. It stands for “Partnering with Retailers Offensively Against Crime and Theft.” eBay’s PROACT program is a way to report evidence of theft to eBay for investigation. We’re working to add new features to support our retail partners, including:

1. A dedicated fax hotline at 866-316-7698 for retail investigators to report suspicious activity
2. A dedicated email address to facilitate quick communication with eBay about retail theft investigations: proact@ebay.com
3. Analysis of past cases to develop rules to stop the problem before it occurs
4. Forensic audit of sellers for suspicious patterns and adherence to eBay standards
5. Full partnership with your investigations, such as 3-day delivery of critical case information, records and law enforcement referrals
6. Assistance with developing and maintaining an undercover account
7. Daily and weekly exception reports to help us detect and resolve potential bad actors, and build controls to stop them
8. Monthly calls and Webinars to train site users and address any issues

Visit our Police Blotter, where we share information with the Community about our efforts with law enforcement around the world.

Retail Loss Prevention departments in North America seeking assistance with an investigation relating to eBay and/or PayPal may contact eBay’s PROACT program for assistance. If your company is not yet enrolled in the PROACT program, please contact us at PROACT@ebay.com for additional information.

Thank you for joining us in the fight against stolen goods.

What Others are Saying About eBay’s PROACT Initiative

“eBay through Proact is making a meaningful difference in assisting retailers with their stolen goods issues. I am excited about the partnership.”

– Barry Grant
VP Loss Prevention, CPI Corp.

“This is another fine effort by eBay in building relationships with retailers. This demonstrates eBay’s commitment to educating their team which will assist them in their efforts to build effective industry relationships.”

– Gene Smith
President, The Loss Prevention Foundation

“We are experiencing positive results working with eBay in tackling the issue of ORC [organized retail crime]”

Scott Sanford*
Barnes & Noble, National Director of Investigations

*Note: Stay tuned to the next issue of the 3P Report to learn about a newly-developed product Scott is using in his investigations.  Don’t forget, you have to subscribe to receive it!

Shrink Analytics Webinar Today

the Rila Team continue to build comprehensive offering for the entire spectrum of Loss Prevention issues.  I am excited that this webinar is happening today and encourage all of you to sign up.  We saw a version of this information at this years Rila conference and it was leading edge.

 

August 19, 2009

How to Develop Effective Shrink Analytics August 19, 2009, 2:00 p.m. EDT Register Dear Colleague:Don’t miss the final opportunity to register for the How to Develop Effective Shrink Analytics Webinar today, Wednesday, August 19, 2:00 p.m. (EDT). You can develop your own effective shrink analytics, just by using Excel and your relevant data. This session will combine theory and practical application, and focus on statistical theories and the analysis tools available within Excel. This session will provide participants with real-world examples to help you grasp key concepts, with which you will be able to build a shrink predictor using as many metrics as you want. Join RILA and featured speaker, Michael Sanders, shrinkage control analyst for J.C. Penney, in this reprisal of one of the most popular sessions at this year’s Loss Prevention, Auditing & Safety conference.      RILA Partner

Retail Industry Leaders Association
1700 N. Moore Street
Suite 2250
Arlington, VA 22209

Our New Reality-Old Message Still Relevant

In my last role at The Retail Industry Trade Association I wrote a note to LP leaders with recommendations and thoughts that I would take if I was leading a Loss Prevention function during these difficult times.  I believe much of the note is still relevant and wanted to share it as a reminder.

Our New Reality
The last nine months seem like an episode from The Twilight Zone.  So much has happened in such a quick period of time and it adds complexities to our personal lives, our profession, our country and the entire retail sector. I have had far too many conversations with good LP people who are now unemployed through no fault of their own.

It is clear to me that the increased complexity that has been thrust upon us is here to stay for the forseeable future. I have not heard any news of a retail bailout or, more specifically, a loss prevention bailout on the horizon, so we must take responsibility for this complexity ourselves.

Part of our new reality seems to involve doing the “best with less.”  It is clear that our risks are rising as a result of this economy, and our staff and budgets are reducing. We need to review our game plan and formulate a plan to do the “best with less.” This plan will include distorting the focus, expenses and energy we give to key areas and maximizing our current investments. I would recommend reviewing your energy and expenses to ensure that every person on the payroll is engaged at a higher level than ever before in supporting the loss prevention program. The requirement for such a high level of engagement suggests to me that we need to enhance our training and awareness programs and ensure they are driving action and helping us to fill the gaps created through downsizing and expense reductions. If you do not have an awareness program that is exciting and educational with rigor built into the process then it is time to distort your dollars and upgrade your current program. The same old program will not cut it in our new reality.

I also recommend that we conduct a full analysis of the technology that we currently deploy and ensure that we are absolutely maximizing it and gaining our full benefits. I am a fan of inviting our solution providers to participate in a review like this and be part of the driving force, ensuring we gain every benefit from the technology they provide us. Three technologies that come to mind and are often underutilized are electronic article surveillance, exception reporting and refund management.

Now is also a time to review our operating practices to determine if a new procedure could drive improved controls.

Finally, during this time, we need to remember our responsibilities to communicate the complexities and risk that are real and growing so our senior leaders are not surprised when the risks manifest themselves in financial results. In a few conversations with LP leaders, I have suggested a monthly report card to roll up the aggregated data and potential risks in a format that ensures our senior leaders understand the current risks and our strategies to mitigate them.

If leadership were easy, anyone could do it. It takes a special person to be able to lead during these tough times. The loss prevention leaders today have proven over the last decade that they are ready, willing and able to step up to the challenges presented and design their programs in a way that ensures continued results. I have no doubt that we will embrace our new reality of doing the “best with less” and lead our companies through these turbulent times.

If you employed any of these tactics, please share with me your thoughts or ideas on how we may help eachother sustain great shrink results over the next year.  paulj17947@aol.com–

Fire The Jerk Now———- Happy Friday

I saw this article today and thought it was worthy of sharing.  In my time in retail I have met my share of jerks and watched many of them make dumb decisions.  I always wondered how they fooled people.  It sounds like people have caught on to the fact that Jerks make bad decisions….

Take a read

Jerks make bad decisions