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Preventing the loss of retail goods (shrinkage) is a never-ending battle for retailers and distributors. According to the National Retail Security Survey, any retailer's total shrinkage can be value at as much as 2% of their annual sales. 

While that percentage may seem small to some, shrinkage cost retailers nearly $35 billion in 2007 and is estimated by some at as much as $50 billion today. According to the National Retail Survey, the two major sources of retail shrinkage are: 

• Employees -Easier access to retail goods like consumer electronics, appliances, food and other consumer non-durables makes employee theft more common than shoplifting accounting for 44% of shrinkage.
• Customers – While shoplifting accounts for less shrinkage than employee theft, it still costs retailers approximately $10 billion annually.

While many retailers are vigilant in their efforts to combat both internal and external theft, the total amount of retail theft continues to grow each year.

To help minimize product shrinkage and provide greater visibility throughout the supply chain, many retailers are investing in location-enabled monitoring solutions. A small tracking device, monitored with feature-rich software tools, placed discreetly in the packaging of high value retail items like flat screen TVs, video games, or appliances provides greater visibility into the location of a particular item at any time. Omnilink’s FocalPoint™ has the ability to track a high value retail item in real time indoors and outdoors, through almost any tracking device selected by a retailer.

Unlike RFID, more advanced LBS solutions extend visibility beyond the store allowing for recovery of the stolen or misplaced item. Existing RFID systems can be greatly enhanced by functionality like enter/exit zones or motion reports, included in solutions built on FocalPoint™, which automatically alert the retailer if a specific asset leaves a designated area or begins to move when it should remain stationary.