Automatic Merchandiser - 23

decisions, from their expenditures to
their losses, including theft.
"With the industry hit hard by the
pandemic, every dollar counts right
now," Kevin Galaida, vice president of
business development at Breakroom
Provisions Company, Inc., said. "However, operators now also have a unique
opportunity to rebuild their businesses differently and take advantage
of recent technology innovations. Loss
prevention, optimized efficiency and
maximizing sales potential are more
critical now than ever."
Breakroom Provisions' Theft
Detective surveillance technology,
which is specifically designed for
micro markets, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize patterns
and behaviors to help identify theft,
streamline surveillance video management efforts, and improve accessibility via a cloud-based platform.
This technology solution addresses
challenges operators have historically
faced as they operate remotely from
the market, including networking and
connectivity problems and having
limited resources to dedicate to the
loss prevention process.
"Theft Detective improves the
process each step of the way," Galaida
continued. "With Theft Detective,
operators can catch three times as
much theft as using conventional void/
cart cancel reports, and also identify
the problems and communicate them
to clients in a fraction of the time
required with traditional methods. By
preventing losses and reducing direct
labor costs, operators can capture thousands of dollars of additional profit per
year from average-sized markets."
Rich Morahan, a consultant for
Lock America, asserted that a reduction of face-to-face transactions during the pandemic
has made stealing
products from unattended retail more
enticing to thieves.

High security locks provide
the best protection against
theft of products and credit
card data.
"Some operators look to video
surveillance systems as a deterrent
and also to electronic alarm locks that
alert an operator about theft," Morahan
said. "Data thieves often gain access by
inserting skimming devices into kiosks.
The only way to keep skimmers out is
with a high security lock. An operator
needs to do more than watch a thief:
An operator needs to stop a thief."
Bryan Allen, ESS/OEM east region
sales manager at Medeco, said operators should ensure their operations
are efficient while also minimizing
shrinkage, especially as there may be
limited traffic near vending machines.
Security should work consistently,
regardless of environmental factors - such as extreme temperatures
that outside machines may encounter - while people may intentionally
damage indoor machines. He has
seen a rise in the use of electronics for
security, along with the necessity of
being able to control access and record
and audit a trail of who is accessing the
equipment and when.
"For both product replacement
and collection of profits, operators want this information to have
accountability for dollars and to evaluate productivity of their operations."
Electromechanical solutions, such
as the Bluetooth-enabled Medeco XT
Intelligent Key system, enable operators to remotely audit and change
access rights for key holders, saving
them time and travel to accounts during the pandemic.
"If you have a limited amount of
field techs, a high security mechanical system with key control may
be enough to secure your operation and account for who has
keys to access field resources,"
Allen said. "However, if you are
in an environment where there

is large turnover or a much
greater number of employees,
controlling access and having
an audit of all activity may be
required to maintain the desired level
of security and accountability."
High-security mechanical cylinders can help deter thieves who
attempt to quickly grab cash from the
machine, while intelligent cylinder
locks discourage operators' employees
who may skim, as these locks provide
an accountability trail.
"Most theft is opportunistic in
nature," Allen said. "No one wants to
get caught or to get fired for stealing.
Any product that provides a visible
audit of where people have been, when
they were there and for how long will
help prevent theft from occurring.
If individuals within an organization know this information is being
recorded and tracked, they are less
likely to attempt it in the first place."
Wei Hsu, sales manager of
BatonLock, recommends operators
find a hardware security system they
can adjust as their company grows or
has employee turnover. Master key
systems or user-changeable systems both work well with company
growth, he said. With user-changeable
systems, operators can use a change
key to reprogram all the locks in the
group of keys. If a key gets lost or if
an employee with access to the keys
leaves the company, operators can
simply reprogram the locks.
"Both [systems] are just $1 to $2
more per lock, so, with planning, you
will save a lot of money in the long
run," Hsu said.
Hsu also reminds operators to
change locks when they acquire a
company or purchase new equipment
that includes preinstalled locks.
"Many people think of buying locks
as a one-time purchase when it should
be viewed as insurance," he said. "You
need to regularly review your locks and
have key auditing at least once a year

August 2020 * VendingMarketWatch.com

http://www.VendingMarketWatch.com

Automatic Merchandiser

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