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Reducing Employee Theft through Inventory Tracking

64 percent of small business owners, who took part in a recent study conducted by a University of Cincinnati criminal justice doctoral student, said they have experienced employee theft . However, although more than half of owners indicated they’d experienced employee theft, only 16 percent reported the incident to the police. There are many ways that inventory shrink can occur, but one of the most emotionally charged and sensitive can be theft by employees. No one likes to imagine their employees would steal and, as they study would indicate, even less want to deal with an incident of employee theft after it has occurred. The only way to reduce the uncomfortable conversation and potentially costly expense is to take measures to reduce employee theft. There are a number of deterrence methods; however, new technology provides some of the best and most cost-effective solutions to this problem. Read on to learn more about how inventory tracking technology can help reduce employee theft.

Track Inventory at All Points of the Supply Chain

Shrink can be defined as the loss of products anywhere between the point of manufacturing or purchase from the supplier and the point-of-sale. As a result, a solution used to deter theft must be present at multiple points of the supply chain. Inventory tracking is comprised of a combination of hardware devices, online technology, and top-notch software. Whether retail goods are sitting in a store or being transported to a new location, with inventory tracking, each and every item can be fully monitored. It's completely up to a retailer as to the extensive nature of the inventory tracking system it chooses to implement. For example, inventory tracking tags with RFID capability can be attached to each and every item.  As technology evolves, inventory tracking software and devices have become incredibly affordable and significantly more effective. When employees or transportation workers move retail items from one location to another, the items are monitored every step of the way. If the items were to leave the boundaries of a predetermined "geofence," alerts are provided; which will inform a business an employee has not successfully delivered the items.

Automate Inventory Tracking to Prevent Human Error

As you’ve likely surmised, good inventory tracking is about more than just counting your inventory, but it’s also important to take advantage of technology that automates the inventory tracking process. When you use automated tracking, inventory items and their storage locations are bar coded. A central database keeps track of where items are stored and how many items reside at each storage location or bin. Not only does automated inventory control help reduce employee theft by helping you monitor the whereabouts of your inventory, it also helps to reduce human error associated with other inventory tracking techniques like Excel spreadsheets – which can be lost, destroyed, or even tampered with. To reduce the instances of employee theft, inventory must be tracked constantly. Thanks to advancements in technology, the best and most modern way to deter employee theft is via inventory tracking; fortunately, inventory-tracking systems are now both easy to implement and cost-effective. Ready to try inventory tracking for yourself? Learn how you can get a free trial of Wasp’s Inventory Control solution.