(MENAFN- EIN Presswire) EINPresswire/ -- As retail theft continues to surge across Canadian retailers, one Vancouver security firm is highlighting a practical five-step framework for businesses to safeguard their inventory, reduce shrinkage figures, and protect their bottom line. The dramatic uptick underscores the urgency for retailers and warehouses to adopt a proactive approach to loss prevention, one that extends beyond reactive security responses to a more structured, systematic strategy that protects businesses.

The different types of loss prevention

We discovered that retailers often point to three main sources of preventable loss:

Internal theft - Employees misusing access, skimming cash or processing fraudulent returns.

External theft - Customers concealing merchandise, or organized groups operating coordinated theft.

Administrative errors - Inventory mismatches, pricing mistakes or weaknesses in process control that allow unnoticed shrinkage.

While speaking with Herald Security, they mentioned their clients in the Vancouver area can reach $3,000 – $4,000 per week in lost inventory for grocery stores.

Lessons to prevent loss prevention

With the help of Herald Security, this free blueprint gives business owners a framework to begin assessing the gaps in their security for loss prevention.

Conduct a Risk Assessment: Evaluate your facility for blind spots, past incident patterns and inventory discrepancies to prioritize your most critical vulnerabilities.

Install Surveillance & Access-Control Systems: Use CCTV, alarms and door-control technology to monitor entrances/exits and high-value zones.

Train Employees on Security Protocols: Staff are your first defence. Good training builds awareness of suspicious behaviour, cash-handling best practices and internal reporting procedures.

Partner with a Loss-Prevention Specialist: Engaging professional security services-trained in retail shrinkage trends-can bolster your deterrence and incident-response capability.

Monitor, Audit & Adjust Regularly: A static plan is ineffective in a dynamic threat environment. Regular audits, inventory checks and surveillance reviews keep your controls up to date.

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