ThisisLondon

“Leading retailers including Boots, Next, Asda and Dixons will meet in London on Tuesday to discuss the issue. They want to tag more to combat the growing problem of shoplifting - or ‘shrinkage’ as it is known in the trade. Latest figures show that shrinkage is costing UK retailers £3.2 billion each year, equal to about £67 per shopper in increased costs and well above the European average of £53. ‘The object of the meeting is to have a huge rise in the amount of radio frequency (RF) tagging technology,’ says Neil Matthews, managing director of tagging company Checkpoint Metro.”

RFID assists in supply chain shrinkage reduction by providing accurate and timely information on stock location. An RFID reader logs stock shipments as they leave the distribution center and upon arrival at a retail outlet. This information is monitored for inconsistancies or tampering.

From a ECR Report on fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in Europe:

“Recent research reveals the true extent of the cost of stock loss to food retailers and their suppliers in Europe. Each year the industry loses £11.2 billion, of which £5.6 billion is lost through staff and customers stealing. Put another way, the food and FMCG sector is losing 2.31 percent of its turnover or £31 million a day through shrinkage. More worryingly, most companies do not know where, how or when most of their losses occurred: £6 billion of stock loss cannot be accounted for in the sector.”

While these estimates may be liberal, they indicate the uncertainty in contemporary retail distribution methods.