Justifying Physical Security Technologies

It’s natural to expect that rising unemployment and other economic realities would increase the number of security events that organizations face, and this assumption has held true during the current crisis. Because of the economic downturn, statistics reveal that companies are suffering more burglaries, shoplifting, robberies, workplace violence, and insider theft. Like all aspects of business, small business and corporate security are under the thumb of the sagging economy.  Risk and vulnerability assessments still inform many security executives about the amount of security spending that is necessary, but the actual resources at the disposal of the security department depend on harsh economic realities.  In a recent trip to the NRF Loss Prevention Conference, if I heard it once, I heard it one thousand times, “We must do more with less,”   and I know the retail sector is not the only one’s facing this issue. 

The resources a security department receives may or may not conform to what security assessments say is called for, some of you may not even have an assessment, yet to know your vulnerabilities. Security executives and business owners are surely not alone in facing this challenge.  All department leaders are being asked to scrutinize their spending, identify waste, and find solutions that deliver cost savings to the company. But when it comes to security, the challenge and the stakes are higher than in other functional areas.

This presentation discusses how to better justify the Physical Security Technology budget and ways to measure your Return-on-Investment (ROI) of your solution.  We will review vulnerabilities and how countermeasures from companies such as Stanley CSS can help.  And, at the same time, we may be able to help some of those other department managers do their jobs better with less.” 

Even for intact security departments, security executives now face a uniquely challenging situation. While all department leaders are being told to do more with less, security executives must do so while also contending with the risks that a collapsing economy intensify.  Mired in the worst recession most security directors have ever witnessed, the pressure is clearly on. Security purchases that promise a return on investment must deliver as expected.  


I look forward to further discussion, I know many of you have added between 2% -30% to your company’s bottom line with the proper use of today’s technologies, please feel free to comment, I look forward to your perspective.

September is National Preparedness Month 2010

WebSite 

What Is National Preparedness Month (NPM)?

September is National Preparedness Month! This awareness month is sponsored by the Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and the Ad Council. NPM is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities.

How Do I Register My Organization?

You can register to become a NPM Coalition Member by visitinghttp://ready.adcouncil.org.

In the past we have had as many as 3,200 NPM Coalition Members who worked to create a culture of preparedness in the United States. We hope your organization will join us in spreading this emergency preparedness message in 2010!

What Does It Mean To Be A NPM Coalition Member?

By joining the Coalition, your organization would agree to promote emergency preparedness in any way that it can during September.

Who Can Sign Up To Be An NPM Coalition Member?

NPM Coalition membership is open to all public and private sector organizations at no cost.

What Do I Get For Being A Coalition Member?

Once you register you will receive access to the NPM Website where you can find a toolkit that includes templates, resources, and tips to assist you with promoting emergency preparedness. You will also find an NPM calendar where you can post your events and see what other organizations are doing in your community. In addition, you can share your success stories and read about the successes of others.

Your organization will also be listed on our Web site!

Stanley Convergent Security Systems (CSS), Installer of the Year...

…or will they be the company of the year? I remember going to this great booth at ASIS, or was it ISC West a few years ago?   I’m not sure, but it was for HSM Electronic Protection now known as Stanley Convergent Security Systems (CSS).  In less than three years Stanley CSS has nearly doubled its customer base to 300,000+ and its annual revenue to around $500,000,000. They won “The Installer of the Year” award from SSI and won the Sammy award for best sales brochure.

Now with 75 Branch locations and 4 UL and FM approved Central Stations, the company can design, install, monitor with audio verification courtesy of the Sonitrol acquisition, (false positives are such a big issue) and service security systems everyone. It seems that the goal at Stanley Convergent Security Systems is to form a true partnership with the customer based on trust, performance and 100% satisfaction.  Stanley CSS calls it their five customer touch points:

• Account Management
• Service
• Monitoring
• Installation, and
• Billing.

They use a Facility Summary Report (FSR), this allows all leaders to see performance in real time and adjust accordingly.  What more can the customer want?  Will Stanley CSS be the company to beat on every deal in the future, or are they already there?  

Their focus is clear:

• Commercial
• Residential
• National Accounts
• Government

Their website says it all "You've come to the right place if you're looking for security without compromise."  More to follow…..in the mean time check out http://www.stanleycss.com/index.html for additional information. I especially liked their literature page at http://www.stanleycss.com/literature.html

Minimal resources are the sign of the times in the world of “Retail Loss Prevention”

That was the major theme at the National Retail Federation’s (NRFs) Loss Prevention Conference & Exposition this past June 14th-16th. Every Loss Prevention or Asset Protection Executive I spoke with said the same thing “We need to do more with less!” With reduced budgets in today’s economy, many organizations may not be able to afford a designated security individual who has the time or expertise to manage a physical security program. There are many regulatory agencies that require safe working environments for employees or anyone else on your property. You also have an obligation to protect your company assets. In addition to the initial process of our Physical Security Survey and project management, the requirement of a security management plan enters into the factor. A security management plan can be described as how you manage all projects related to security issues whether it is technology, policies and procedures or general interactions with people under normal and emergency situations or an unplanned security incident.

At MASSBIZ, LLC—CONSULTANCY SERVICES our experience and certainty means achieving real business results that allow you to transform and not just helping you maintain your security and operations. We offer superior consulting services to assist Fortune 500 and other enterprise client’s strategies to transform and engage your associates in providing safe and secure environments for their people, property and other assets. Our expertise is in the areas of Physical Security, Risk Management, Loss Prevention and Compliance. We actively seek and apply the best possible solutions and methodologies today, making sure to holistically factor in people, processes and business issues.

Our services are designed to protect clients “Brand” and pinpoint fraud & loss prediction and prevention program strengths and weaknesses, cure or reduce operational deficiencies and at the same time maximize existing resources. We do not provide any security services nor sell security products and is therefore unbiased and objective when assessing critical requirements and recommendations on behalf of their clients. We provide impartial balanced thought and advice helping our clients make the right solution decision. With a diverse background our team can deliver a comprehensive range of security, fraud deterrence, loss prevention, operational risk management consulting services to multi-sector clients. Our aim is to exceed the client's expectations on each and every project, no matter how large or small the objectives.

The primary purpose of all of our assessments is vulnerability identification or threat (exposure) determination and to make the task of analysis of the existing risk more manageable by establishing a base from which to proceed. We believe in the premise that vulnerability threats that occur, whether the source is fraud based, physical security, logical security or a general liability issue, are not random occurrences, they occur when the conditions are right for them to occur. Our assessments attack the root causes and enablers of these vulnerabilities.

Our thesis is that improving organizational policies and procedures to eliminate threats, improve awareness that protect assets, minimize exposure and reduce losses is the single best defense. Then we follow up with the latest technological countermeasures that reinforce your policies and procedures to act as an overwhelming deterrence and insure compliance and evolve as changes require over time.

We will manage your physical security plan to keep you abreast of all the latest changes in technology, regulations and review your policies and procedures relevant to security. We will also work with you to maintain necessary training or equipment inspection documentation. To learn more just email me at James.McDonald@PST-Mail.com or call me at (877) 214-2900.

What LP Executives, Auditors and CEO’s Need and Want? A Solution with 1,000 Percent Return-On-Investment (ROI)…. Webinar: gaspland@reteltechnologies.com

Turbo ROI

What Do LP Executives and CEO’s Need and Want?  A Solution with 1,000 Percent Return-On-Investment (ROI). What better information do you want from your company, district, division, operation or business investment? Here is the list I used when I ran a store for 12 years.  Share price is a stretch, but I was the 3rd most profitable unit out of 1,200.

• More Productivity (Do More With Less)  
• More Sales
• Less Internal and External Theft
• Better Customer Service
• A Safer and Cleaner Operation
• Increased Bottom-line Profits
• Increased Share Price
• Increased ROI

ROI (Return on Investment) is probably the most important calculation one needs to make to ensure the long-term viability of their business. It is not enough to build in a profit margin on the product or service being offered. One must track with proficiency the amount of dollars being invested into attracting sales and how much ROI those dollars put back into the business. If the investment meets too little return, a product line is doomed to fail in the long-term.  I do not intend to give you a thorough analysis of the ROI calculation process. Calculating an accurate ROI is hard to do, but explaining the full scope of ROI calculations in less than 1000 words is far more difficult.  As such, this article is only intended to introduce you to the basic concepts behind ROI calculations. 

Here is a very basic equation for calculating the ROI:  

ROI = [ (Payback - Investment) / Investment) ] X 100

Your payback is actually the total amount of money earned from your investment in your company. Investment relates to the amount of resources put into generating the given payback.  In our little ReTel Technologies example, let’s say you have 2,000 retail locations; let us say they are either Convenience Stores or Quick Service Restaurants.  ReTel is watching or auditing each store 3,500 times a month, watching the video of key performance indicators, that your want them to audit, for a fee of only $99.00 a month.  

Your increase in sales, based on past performance, will be about $2,000.00 a week but for our purpose will cut that in half so you increase your sales by $4,000 dollars per location.  Your ROI = (4,000 – 99) / 99 X 100 = 3,940% (To Simple) OK let us say I am have right and we will even subtract your cost of good.  Let's say your mark up is 30%.  Now $4,000.00 becomes $1,200.00, which is your net profit. $1,200 – $99 /99 X 100 = 1,112%.  

So what would the annual increase to the bottom line?  Only $13,344,000.00.  

Either way you want to calculate the ROI on this technology you really need to hear the story on why Amazon needed a tool like this, why these Silicon Valley venture capital investors see it as a good idea and why a very low cost “Proof of Concept” within your organization is a real good idea.  Don’t trust my calculations, I only started in retail in 1977, do your own test. Just figure out what key performance indicators you need to audit or inspect on a regular basis. (If you need help with this part, I can help.)  

This will help put the “Prevention” back into LP and put any criminal on notice that “If they try to steal from here, they will be caught”.  Also, your understaffed and overworked LP/AP team will be more productive and they will generate better evidence, if someone's temptation and perceived opportunity get the best of them.  Finally, in my experience if your employee’s perceive that you have better controls in place they all seem to do their job better.  They never know when they are being audited. 

George Aspland (gaspland@reteltechnologies.com) the CEO of ReTel Technologies www.ReTelTechnologies.com is putting on a number of webinars later this week and next week.  They only last about 30 minutes and they give you a very good and quick overview of the proven technology being used by companies like SHELL OIL, DUNKIN DONUTS, JACK-IN-THE-BOX, KASA, FRAICHE and others that are getting phenomenal results.  

Just e-mail George at gaspland@reteltechnologies.com and he or someone from his team will set up a mutually convenient time for your webinar, do it now, they only have so many open slots to prove their concept.  ReTel is on Pacific Coast Time so you can always schedule your appointment later in your work day. - Please let me know what you think about this solution, I think it's fantastic!

Great Time at the NRF LP SHOW

By the way I did have a great time at the NRF LP 2010 Show. I know this post is a little late, but I have been very busy on follow-up.

 I am very sorry to see Rhett Asher leave the NRF, but I understand change, just ask my wife.  I feel it was the best NRF LP event ever and it is going to be difficult for the NRF to fill Rhett's shoes.

Superior topics:

• E-Commerce Fraud
• Retail Special Event Security
• Positioning the LP Department for the Economic Comeback
• Return Fraud Update and New Ideas
• Inspect what you Expect 
• ORC Updates
• Putting "Prevention" back into LP

And the round table discussions were excellent, I wish I got to them all.  

And don't forget the Networking Reception at the "Hard Rock" in Atlanta sponsored by SIRAS.  It was a great event.  I had a great time and met some good new friends as well as some professionals I have been lucky enough to know for the last 20 or 30 years.

Thanks' again NRF and good luck Rhett.

Does Your Organization Have A Robust Integrated Security Architecture Strategy?

Many organizations have ad hoc security measures in place or have implemented security procedures and technology as needed without a system wide review of what is necessary from all departments. Unplanned security architecture can leave holes in the environment that are not readily apparent or security spending can be on the wrong technologies without a full understanding of where the risk truly lies in the architecture. A robust integrated security architecture strategy is an end-to-end analysis of potential risk based on client business requirements.

Our Solution—Business Focus Beyond the Technical Domain

Your overall security and loss prevention is the focus of implementing good solutions over time.  A forward looking, detailed security architecture strategy can help you fix your current weaknesses, and anticipate or predict future risk and implement mitigation solutions. A solution will be developed that is specific to the available resources and maps closely to the business goals of the organization. Risk mitigating measures are developed with security technologies that fit the corporate framework.

To learn more send an email to James.McDonald@PST-Mail.com or call me at (877) 214-2900.