SOFTWARE TO CUT IGA SHRINK

DENISE ZIMMERMAN

SYDNEY, Australia -- The Asia-Pacific region of IGA here will install cashier-monitoring software in 120 stores to reduce losses due to employee theft.

"Theft is a major killer in our industry," said Greg Cutts, marketing director of IGA Asia-Pacific. He noted that stores in the region experience shrink losses on par with U.S. retailers, or about 1% to 2% of annual sales.

The software program, to be installed within a year and perhaps sooner, collects point-of-sale scan data for analysis of cashier activity. The program highlights suspicious behavior, such as excessive voids, and generates reports with recommendations for corrective action.

"We believe we could see a 20% to 40% reduction in voids, cash shortages and things of that nature," said Cutts, who noted IGA has not established specific loss prevention goals for the program.

Cutts said IGA operators can expect to see checklane productivity gains, due to employee awareness, and reduced cashier turnover because the program can help identify training issues.

"One of the most costly and most serious issues in retail training is the management of loss prevention," he told SN.

The cashier monitoring tool also will be put to use in the IGA Training Institute here, where IGA operators and nonaffiliated retailers send staff for retail training.

The software is from Trax Software, Springboro, Ohio, with which IGA Asia-Pacific signed a licensing agreement for 120 stores earlier this month.

IGA will begin marketing the program in late June and the rollout could possibly extend to all 244 IGA stores in the region. Additionally, IGA has rights to market the ShrinkTrax program to non-IGA retailers within the 11-state Asia-Pacific region.