Checkpoint Systems: Achieving an Appealing Display Without Compromising Security

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Checkpoint Systems: Achieving an Appealing Display Without Compromising Security

Change is inevitable, but transformation is a choice. The black Givenchy dress altered the direction of winds for the fashion industry, and the same disruptions were reflected in the music industry with the introduction of iTunes. Likewise, the course of various industries has changed over the years, and it is not any different for retail as well. Today, there is a paradigm shift in the way retailers operate. They are leveraging best of breed technologies to make sure that their listed inventory remains up to date and in-stock, subjugate the growing cases of shopliftings and myriad of other transformations that were unimaginable in traditional retail. “Seeing the rate at which the industry was transforming, we knew from the start that we have to align ourselves with its trajectory in order to cement our position in the global hierarchy,” says George Babich, Jr., President and CEO, Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP). “This is the reason, retail organizations will find proficient data analytic engine, latest radio frequency technology, market leading RFID hardware, software, and comprehensive labeling capabilities in our offerings,” adds Babich.

As one of the prominent suppliers of merchandise availability solutions for the retail industry, Checkpoint enabling retailers to achieve accurate real-time inventory, accelerate the replenishment cycle, prevent inventory out-of-stocks and reduce theft—while improving merchandise availability and the shopper’s experience. With Checkpoint’s end to end solution, customers are benefited with increased Return On Investment (ROI), and assured availability of the right merchandise at the right place and time. “We are committed to helping retailers grow with profitability by providing our customers with a wide variety of solutions,” adds Babich.

Merchandise: Sell More, Lose Less

The brand names that are listed on the ‘direction dashboard’ of the shopping malls could have many things in common. However, the one thing that remains above all is—attracting consumers and giving them a memorable experience. As shopping centers are becoming one of the most visited destinations of local community, the retailers are grappling to keep their environment secure, and theft in check. The constant growth of retail and increasing sophistication of larceny over the years has compelled retailers of all sizes to adopt “Electronic Article Surveillance” (EAS) technology to make products accessible to shoppers while avoiding cases of theft. According to the Association of Automated Identification Manufacturers, over 800,000 EAS systems have been installed worldwide, primarily in the retail arena, and this figure is only going to expand in future. Knowing its potency and importance, Checkpoint’s broad range of portfolio is built on the bedrock of EAS systems, accompanied with Alpha high-theft security solutions.

Alpha High Theft Solutions, a division of Checkpoint, empower retailers with smart, well-designed, and affordable ways to protect items most likely to be stolen. “We have pioneered many high-theft protection formats for safeguarding items that carry hefty price tags, like designer handbags,” says Babich.

Checkpoint has raised the bar for operational excellence by introducing the next generation in integrated merchandise visibility and loss prevention: the RFID-Based EAS Overhead 2.0 Solution

This platform is validated by several third party research studies, which is now used by various big brands of retail to enhance their bottom line and increase ROI. Apart from creating a trench around the shops to keep security intact, EAS is also leveraged by checkpoint to extract viable insights into what retailers need in order to sell more and lose less merchandise. “We translate those insights into noticeably superior products and solutions that address retailers’ needs and challenges,” adds Babich.

Deploying EAS is not the complete solution for establishing secure environment for retailers; EAS should also integrate seamlessly with the retail operations to provide customers an increased return of investment. In light of this, Babich says, “We have developed EVOLVE-Store, an app that delivers real-time information through a smartphone or tablet, providing real-time visibility and engagement with your EAS theft prevention systems.” EVOLVE-Store enables organizations to improve their consumer conversion rates by providing visibility around number of shoppers in the store and measuring policy compliance by managing response times to alarm events.

“We translate those insights into noticeably superior products and solutions that address retailers’ needs with a clear return on their investment”

Filling the Cracks for Optimizing Security

Customers want to know they can find perfect leather jacket, silk made trousers, or a simple plain shirt even though these items are not there on their shopping list. This is the opportunity to leave a halo effect on the customers for retailers, but often they fall in the deep cracks of shrinkages. Shrinkage–the unpleasant shortfall between the values of the inventory retailers thought was in stock versus what's actually there–is a topic that experts believe too many dealers ignore, or deny, or dismiss with overly generous benchmarks. Extending their support to the retailers, Checkpoint has introduced shrink management solutions to help its customers increase sales and profits by improving their supply chain efficiency, and building a secure, open merchandising environment. “Merchandise is protected from shoplifting, and is available to consumers when they’re ready to purchase,” says Babich. Large retailers, who often go through an uphill battle while keeping track of their large inventory, can heave a sigh of relief with Checkpoint’s variety of labels and tags. “Our Radio Frequency tag and label development, as well as source tagging are developed by our renowned engineers, building our portfolio on the bedrock of innovation,” says Babich.

“With this, we enable our customers to optimize their product security mandates and supply chain capabilities.” Retailers that are looking to tag a higher percentage of their merchandise can count on Checkpoint to deliver label solutions that are smaller, more accurate, and versatile than ever. Checkpoint also has excellent programs for specific industries, such as apparel labeling solutions that improve on-shelf availability, enhance customer’s shopping experience and increase sales.

Intelligent Merchandise Availability

In the retail industry, the forte of Checkpoint extends to the segments of fashion, pharmacy, and electronics as well. Fashion is one of the fastest-moving consumer-driven businesses in the world, and apparel retailers need to have flexible solutions to support high-impact branding, secure their merchandise, and provide real-time feedback on product availability throughout a complex supply chain. From high-end suits and leather coats to smaller items such as footwear, apparel retailers and their suppliers also need to ensure that their merchandise is suitably protected, available to consumers, and is easily traceable. “Checkpoint has raised the bar for operational excellence by introducing the next generation in integrated merchandise visibility and loss prevention: the RFID-Based EAS Overhead 2.0 Solution,” says Babich. This latest solution by the company delivers a new dimension in RFID based merchandise availability, as it is smaller, more flexible, easier to deploy, and able to deliver better performance than previous overhead solutions. “Overhead 2.0 serves as an EAS system that alarms and identifies stolen merchandise,” says Babich. It improves operations at the point-of-exit while enhancing the customer shopping experience, giving retailers unprecedented confidence and flexibility in optimizing their stores for intelligent merchandise availability.

For vendors in the pharma and electronic space, Checkpoint has brought Soft Labels, Source Taggings, and EVOLVE Exclusive F10 platforms, which allow customers to be shelf ready and secure, and provide efficient customer experience at the same time. “Just like Overhead 2.0, EVOLVE Exclusive F10, is also gaining a lot of traction from small and medium sized retailers,” says Babich. He adds, “The EVOLVE EXCLUSIVE F10 is an entirely invisible EAS solution designed for retailers whose stores require a totally discreet EAS solution, without sacrificing performance.”

These products are designed from the ground up by the prominent engineers of Checkpoint, which are provided with the best environment and culture to strive and thrive in. the company also takes immense pride in making its portfolio environment friendly—that helps customers reduce energy and waste. In addition to keep developing best-in-class solutions and platforms for retailers, Babich says, “Another important goal of our company is to produce eco-friendly products, support the use of renewable natural resources, reduce waste and dramatically cut our carbon footprint.” With such principles and motivation to ameliorate the retail industry, Checkpoint will be seen exploring new opportunities and emerging technologies to enable retailers deliver a “wow experience” to their consumers.