Telaid Tech Connect

In this episode of Telaid Tech Connect, we're speaking with Amber Bradley, owner of Calibration Group and host of TalkLP. Amber explores the changes occurring in the loss prevention space and how this is evolving the industry as a whole. Amber dives into the importance of safety in today's environment and how LP teams are working to promote safe environments.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [2:52] What are some common themes or challenges that you're hearing from LP professionals?
• [4:40] What security technologies do you see coming to the forefront and impacting day-to-day business?
• [7:35] What are the privacy concerns associated with facial recognition and other video technologies?
• [10:15] Are LP leaders looking differently at technologies based on integration with other technologies versus siloed use cases?
• [14:15] When other departments identify use cases for technologies that were traditional "LP technologies," how does it impact LP leaders?
• [17:00] – Is there any particular technology that you feel will have a big impact on how loss prevention teams are going about their day-to-day?
• [24:50] What will LP/AP look like five years from now?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• LP leaders are laser-focused on safety for customers and employees. In the midst of growing ORC, violence and active shooter incidents, LP has been tasked with really focusing on safety. As a result, these teams are identifying the technologies that can help them and exploring how these technologies integrate with their current ecosystem.
• Retailers are looking for technologies that can help separate employees from conflict. One example is carts that automatically lock when pushed out of a back exit door. This stops the push-out incident and associated loss without involving an altercation between an employee and the thief. Another example is face-matching technology, which can identify an active shooter and alert the manager prior to them pulling out a gun in the store.
• The life-saving applications for facial recognition technologies have made it a highly desired and important technology in retail. At times, legal pushes back due to privacy concerns, but in many cases, this is based on misinformation.
• Technology vendors need to be prepared to work with others to harmonize technologies. LP leaders who are receiving alerts from multiple different systems working independently may quickly become overwhelmed. Users want dashboards and integrated technologies.

LINKS MENTIONED

TalkLP News

Calibration Group.com

LinkedIn

BIO: Amber Bradley

Amber Bradley, the founder of Calibration Group, LLC, is a brand-positioning expert with extensive experience across multiple business disciplines, including marketing and public relations. Amber's proven success in creating multi-tiered, strategic marketing and communication campaigns continues to yield unmatched results for solutions providers, as well as retail loss prevention and operations professionals.

Amber is the owner and host of TalkLP which provides valuable content to loss prevention and asset protection professionals through unscripted interviews about all different types of topics.

Amber also serves as Executive Director for the Restaurant Loss Prevention and Security Association (RLPSA) and is a contributing editor for the D&D Daily, a daily e-news outlet specializing in providing the most relevant news for retail loss prevention, safety, and security professionals.

Today we're speaking with retail loss prevention industry leader, Joe Davis, who has led LP/AP teams in big box, specialty and other retail organizations. We explore key market trends and technology shifts in retail and their impact on LP/AP teams. Joe explains the potential for AI and data analytics to help combat loss and how LP/AP teams are evolving alongside retail.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [1:50] What are some of the key market trends and technology shifts in retail and their impact on LP/AP teams?
• [3:30] What are the impacts of these technological advancements on the LP/AP industry?
• [6:10] How do you assess new technologies and the potential impact they will have on loss?
• [8:55] What are new types of loss that are occurring due to technologies like self-checkout?
• [10:50] How do data analytics impact the LP/AP team's decision-making process?
• [14:15] What does the ideal LP/AP team look like today versus what it looked like in the past?
• [16:05] Is there any particular technology that really could be a game changer for LP/AP space?
• [19:00] What will LP/AP industry look like in five years?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Increasingly, recruiting individuals with diverse backgrounds and capabilities is valuable for growing an effective LP/AP team. As data becomes available and critical, recruiting individuals like statisticians, those with IT capabilities or even legal training can be valuable.
• AI has given LP/AP teams better visibility into people who cause malicious loss and exposes more consistently and effectively loss-causing deviated transactions.
• There is value in collaborating early and often with IT teams and cross-functional groups when it comes to emerging technology deployment plans. This provides an opportunity to learn about these technologies and to earn a seat at the table to debate and voice challenges.
• As data proliferates, the winners are going to be those who can leverage it into an actionable, proactive response. Just because we have the data does not mean it's valuable.

LINKS MENTIONED

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joetdavis/

https://www.telaid.com/

BIO: Joe Davis

Joe Davis is a loss prevention veteran with over 30 years' experience in the retail industry. Joe started his career as an in-store loss prevention associate and was promoted into a multi-unit role supporting multiple complex markets across the US. Joe has led teams in the corporate, field, technology, investigations and risk management areas with a diverse group of retail organizations during his career. Currently, Joe is building out a new asset protection organization focused on recruiting talent, leveraging technology, improving product availability and driving increased profitability.

Today we're speaking with innovation and continuous improvement leader, Brooks Thompson, who explains the 3 horizons as they relate to the future of retail. We explore the 3 horizons framework and how retailers can successfully implement technologies to combat their business challenges today while being aware of and prepared for emerging technologies that will be critical to their viability in the future.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [1:40] Understand the concept of 3 horizons in retail and how they relate to the future of retail.
• [2:58] What is horizon 1? What does it look like and what's driving it?
• [6:12] What is a use case for AI/emerging technology around sustainability?
• [8:15] What is horizon 2?
• [13:02] What does horizon 3 look like?
• [14:15] What does it look like when we get into a space where every retailer has a virtual store?
• [16:36] – Do you see any major barriers or risks that may keep retail from moving to the virtual world?
• [19:10] What groups and resources should companies build to be ready for the next horizons?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The 3 horizons method helps guide senior leadership in retail and tactical teams in conceptualizing disruptive technologies – both those that are being deployed today and future technologies.
• Horizon 1 is now. This includes technologies that have been tested and validated multiple times. Supply chain disruptions and labor shortages drive horizon 1 in retail today.
• Horizon 2 includes the future technologies that are 1 – 2 years out from widescale deployment. Some first movers are experimenting with them but use cases will have to be proven and promoted to put these technologies on the technology agenda for mainstream retailers. These are technologies like VR/AR.
• Horizon 3 includes massively disruptive technologies to be deployed in the next 3 – 5 years. There is not enough data yet available to fully understand the implications of these technologies. An example would be retailers shifting away from brick-and-mortar stores to completely virtual stores.
• Technologies like computer vision will enormously impact achieving sustainability objectives. ESG goals can be difficult to measure but computer vision can help companies understand how much waste they are producing, for example, and if it's really diverted from the landfill.

LINKS MENTIONED

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooks-thompson-2b1b457a

BIO: Brooks Thompson

Brooks Thompson is an innovation and continuous improvement leader focused on ideation, prioritization, strategy, and emerging trends. Brooks has worked for leading companies including FedEx, The Giant Company, and Ahold Delhaize, tackling the challenges of today's operations but strategically planning for future technology disruptors. Over the last nine years, he has leveraged technologies like camera vision, robotics, and machine learning to help companies implement their vision and drive positive outcomes, savings and profit growth.

This week's episode of Telaid Tech Connect features Andi Huels, Head of AI, North America for Lenovo. We explore the AI ecosystem, the different components and stakeholders, and the potential for AI to transform businesses in all segments. Andi outlines insightful use cases and explains how to establish scalable, optimized infrastructure to support AI for applications now and in the future.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [2:58] What is the AI ecosystem? What does it look like and who are the players?
• [5:08] What are the benefits of working together from an ISV perspective?
• [7:25] What are some of the top use cases for AI that you are seeing today?
• [12:06] What should customers be thinking about today to futureproof their AI solution?
• [14:19] What are some reasons to consider investment in hardware as a service?
• [16:36] Where is this technology going? What do the next 5 years look like?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The AI ecosystem is made up of edge servers loaded with software from an independent software vendor (ISV), which processes the data on site and transmits the relevant processed data to the cloud. GPUs and CPUs power the solution and integrators like Telaid bring all those components together with deployment and ongoing maintenance.
• A common challenge with AI deployments is a failure to spec the correct hardware. The results can be anything from the system causing a fire hazard to sub-optimal performance or needless expense. It's important to spec the correct hardware to support AI applications.
• There are use cases for AI in everything from autonomous checkout to customer experience, safety, inventory management and labor management.
• Keys to helping future-proof your AI ecosystem include:
• • Think about the different elements of your operation and consider how AI could help you gain better visibility or better manage those elements to identify current and future use cases.
  • Consider physical space needed to accommodate additional hardware.
  • Evaluate the potential to access the latest hardware with an opex investment.
• Sound and voice AI have the potential to improve security as well as offer all people greater access to retail.

LINKS MENTIONED

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/servers-storage/solutions/analytics-ai/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreahuelsai

BIO: Andi Huels

Andi leads Lenovo's Enterprise AI business in North America. A global go-to-market executive with expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics, Andrea helps F500 companies drive agility and re-invent their operations with AI. Her passion for evangelizing AI solutions inspires executives in retail, restaurants, CPG, supply chain, and manufacturing think differently about how they can harness the power of artificial intelligence to make smarter decisions, increase operational efficiency, and enhance customer experience. A deep understanding of AI solutions, combined with her ability to cultivate technology ecosystems with software vendors, GPU and CPU manufacturers, system integrators, and channel partners, enables Andrea to become a trusted advisor to CXOs.

Today we're speaking with Atif Kureishy, Founder of Vistry, about practical applications for AI in restaurant automation. We explore computer vision, voice and IoT as sources for AI data and specific applications for improving throughput in the drive-thru, improving order accuracy, reducing abandonment and improving the customer experience. Atif also makes some predictions on what restaurants will look like in 5 – 10 years.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [2:45] What are some specific challenges in the restaurant industry that AI can help address?
• [4:47] What are three data sources we think about related to AI?
• [6:27] How can AI help reduce abandonment in the drive-thru?
• [8:30] What is a specific use case for computer vision, voice and IoT?
• [14:19] What are some use cases in the kitchen for AI?
• [20:21] For restaurateurs who want to leverage AI to gain efficiencies, how long and how much data does it take to begin to achieve those efficiencies?
• [24:55] What is the restaurant space going to look like in 5 – 10 years?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• A few of the major challenges restaurants today face include labor shortages and high turnover, supply chain volatility and food costs due to rising inflation.
• Restaurants have introduced technologies that provide diners greater access to convenience and autonomous ordering, but fulfillment of those orders in an expedient and accurate manner has been difficult and is now a focus of attention for restaurant operators.
• Predictive analytics uses information collected via cameras at the drive-thru to produce actionable insights. For example, computer vision can use information about the type of cars in the drive-thru in to predict order volume. The system learns that typically a minivan will be associated with larger order volumes than a coupe.
• Vistry processes data that is collected from existing hardware in the restaurant, making it a cost effective solution. It is also scalable so that restaurants can begin with a specific use case and add on as their needs evolve.
• The future of the restaurant industry may involve the construction of completely autonomous restaurants that have a distinct value proposition of order delivery. But another likely trend is the deployment of AI, computer vision and other technologies in existing kitchens to help them address challenges of their current operation.

LINKS MENTIONED

https://www.vistry.ai/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/atifkureishy

BIO: Atif Kureishy

Atif is the founder and CEO of Vistry. Vistry is focused on AI for Restaurant Automation - which provides restaurateurs insights and automation services needed to address their digital and labor shortage challenges. Vistry's platform leverages vision, voice, and IoT data analytics to help measure and improve speed, production quality, and guest experience.

Today, we're speaking with Craig Cartwright, lead project manager at Darvis. In this episode of the Telaid Tech Connect Podcast, we explore AI, computer vision, and machine learning and how these technologies work together to solve critical business problems. Craig also discusses the industries using AI and some of the critical business applications.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [03:38] What is the definition of AI? What is computer vision and what is machine learning?
• [09:00] Which industries are ripe for AI applications and what are some of the use cases?
• [17:40] How does computer vision support visibility and better management of the supply chain?
• [19:00] In what ways does AI support loss prevention and security?
• [21:00] How do business and personal begin to blend in the world of AI, virtual reality, the metaverse and augmented reality?
• [24:00] What will these technologies look like in five years?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• AI is the simulation of human intelligence by machines. Whereas traditionally computer algorithms focused on one process at a time, there is now a focus on building computer intelligence that can consider multiple factors simultaneously.
• Machine learning is a branch of AI that focuses on using data and algorithms to mimic the way humans learn. It attempts to simulate human behavior and learning for artificial intelligence. Deep learning is a subset of machine learning and artificial intelligence that seeks to mimic the functioning of the human brain based on artificial neural networks.
• Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain that high-level understanding from digital images or videos. It seeks to understand and automate tasks like the human visual system can, either through machine learning, deep learning or other artificial intelligence techniques.
• We have seen how computer vision technologies bring efficiency to processes in healthcare, logistics, and retail. Tracking is vital for them and, through AI and particularly computer vision, they can track information with greater efficiency and accuracy.

LINKS MENTIONED

www.darvis.com/

www.linkedin.com/company/darvisinc/

[email protected]

BIO: Craig Cartwright

Craig Cartwright is a creative with a passion for technology. Craig is always thinking of the next innovation to hit the market and how Darvis can ensure they're ahead of the curve. He believes artificial intelligence is necessary to automate processes that have historically been a major cause of inefficiency within organizations. AI is capable of revolutionizing the way we live, work, and play, so it's important to maintain a sense of wonder and curiosity to discover the next big innovation.

Craig spends most of his free time reading, writing, acting, traveling, and enjoying cigars. He's currently training for a triathlon and attempts to run 30 miles a week. He loves to be on stage, and he thinks the creative spirit and mindset are quintessential for start-up success!

Today, we're speaking with Terry Sullivan, LP/AP industry veteran and president of the Loss Prevention Foundation. In this episode of the Telaid Tech Connect Podcast, we explore the latest technologies in the retail industry and the impacts on loss prevention/asset protection (LP/AP) teams. Terry also discusses the walk-in walk-out experience, RFID technology, acceleration of AI, computer vision, and applications for facial recognition technologies.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [02:10] What has been happening in the retail industry lately, and what is the real impact on loss prevention?
• [04:30] Are there any vital technologies for loss prevention teams?
• [06:00] How does the walk-in walk-out experience affect LP professionals, and what are the concerns?
• [07:20] What is EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) and will it become obsolete?
• [09:35] How does the acceleration of AI and computer vision affect the future of RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) technology?
• [11:20] What is the current state of facial recognition technology adoption among retailers?
• [16:00] What will the loss prevention space look like in the next five years? What significant trends or shifts might be coming next?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The focus of LP/AP professionals has changed drastically over the last 30 months. Due to global pandemic, volatile economic conditions and labor shortages, the focus of LP/AP has shifted to pandemic preparedness, inventory accuracy, ORC prevention and employee and customer safety.
• Technology is evolving fast, and the evolution of CCTV into AI and machine learning has been very beneficial. AI and machine learning will continue to evolve as retailers find new business applications.
• Inventory accuracy is now more critical than inventory shrink. Retailers continue to pivot and grow in an omnichannel space, and therefore having accurate inventory is vital to the customer experience.
• Even though there are some privacy concerns, many retailers are reconsidering the use of facial recognition technology, testing and implementing it for theft and loss prevention as well as an enhanced customer experience.
• Imagine what CCTV will look like without the wires – when we can power cameras and transmit data efficiently without cable. These types of technology advancements and improvements are coming.

LINKS MENTIONED

www.yourlpf.org/

[email protected]

BIO: Terry Sullivan

Terry, a veteran of the LP/AP industry, continues to help shape the industry through education and media by overseeing the operations of our two business units: The Loss Prevention Foundation and LP Magazine. Prior to taking on the role of President for the Loss Prevention Foundation, Terry spent 29 years in the retail loss prevention industry, holding various senior leadership roles with Lowe's and with American Stores/Albertsons.

Today we're speaking with Jim Inglis, a 60-year home center industry veteran, executive, and author. In part two of this podcast series, we explore the ten principles of high productivity retailing gleaned from Jim's time with The Home Depot and his tenured career. Jim shares insights about how building brand, customer loyalty, trust and culture is critical for success in retail.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [01:45] What are the 10 principles of high productivity retailing?
• [09:27] How has the digital revolution impacted brand and customer loyalty and what's that interplay?
• [12:45] Where do you think the impact of the retail apocalypse is going to be felt?
• [17:30] What does the "self-service is the best service" principle mean to the retailer?
• [20:20] Why is the full journey to customer loyalty and trust so critical?
• [22:57] How does a retailer truly empower their people and drive culture for success?
• [26:30] What are your last parting words on the 10 principles of high productivity retailing?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Embracing change, delighting the customer, right pricing, measuring the success with gross margin return on investment, having low cost and low price, advertising, having self-service, becoming more service-oriented, and paying attention to the company culture bring productivity to retailing.
• There has been an evolutionary change in the retail business and an absolute revolution in marketing. Technology has become vital to businesses in communicating with customers.
• Bad malls were being driven out of business by good malls. It was a false premise that there was going to be a physical store apocalypse because of e-commerce. In fact, pure e-commerce players are unlikely to survive in the face of rising costs and online-only service delivery.
• The value-oriented retailers who design their stores to work well are growing and opening new stores.
• The "work good" versus "look good" dichotomy is choosing between the ambiance and shopping experience. Value-oriented players' operating models are focusing on designing their stores to work well, achieve efficiency and drive down costs.
• Culture drives employee performance. Leadership sets values and demonstrates behavior that instills a mission-driven culture with very specific goals and objectives.
• Bleeding Orange Culture was built on decentralization and delegation that requires the empowerment of associates. The associates take ownership, which means they adopt the culture and understand the mission-driven culture and begin to make the right decisions. Companies must educate and reward their employees for better results.

LINKS MENTIONED

www.breakthroughretailing.com

www.telaid.com/solutions/retail-automation/

BIO: Jim Inglis

Author of How a Bleeding Orange Culture Can Change Everything! Jim Inglis has more than 50 years of experience in the home improvement retail segment. He served in executive positions with The Home Depot for 13 years and has served on the board of several retail-related associations and businesses. Since founding Inglis Retailing in 1998, Jim has advised leading home improvement retailers worldwide. In 2015, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Global Home Improvement Network and the European DIY Retail Association.

Today we're speaking with Jim Inglis, a 60-year home center industry veteran, executive and author. In this episode, we explore the story of how The Home Depot grew from its first few stores in 1979 to become the largest home improvement retailer in the world. Jim shares insights about how the Bleeding Orange Culture practices of empowering teams, delighting customers and embracing change led to The Home Depot's success.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [03:00] What was the market opportunity in the home center space and why was this market ready for The Home Depot?
• [05:20] Why were the founders so critical to The Home Depot's success?
• [09:15] What were the challenges on the cultural and systems integration sides?
• [13:15] How did the "everyday low-price" approach work, and why was it not sustainable for competitors?
• [16:05] How was The Home Depot's merchant team's approach different, and why was it so successful?
• [18:00] There was a CEO change that brought some major financial and cultural impacts. How was The Home Depot able to handle this?
• [23:10] What are some other reasons for The Home Depot's success?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• In 1980, The Home Depot revolutionized the market by opening big box stores, bringing economies of scale and better pricing to the home improvement segment.
• The founders created a customer-centric culture and their mantra was, "We will give our customers no reason ever to shop elsewhere." Although those founders had very different viewpoints on the business, the combination was magic.
• Companies should empower their associates so they can take responsibility and ownership. If companies can build a mission-driven culture, associates will take that ownership.
• Bleeding Orange Culture was built on decentralization and delegation.
• Company culture determines the response to change, and culture is essential to the success of a business.

LINKS MENTIONED

www.breakthroughretailing.com

BIO: Jim Inglis

Author of How a Bleeding Orange Culture Can Change Everything! Jim Inglis has more than 50 years of experience in the home improvement retail segment. He served in executive positions with The Home Depot for 13 years and has served on the board of several retail-related associations and businesses. Since founding Inglis Retailing in 1998, Jim has advised leading home improvement retailers worldwide. In 2015, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Global Home Improvement Network and the European DIY Retail Association.

Today we're speaking with Steve Latham, Founder and CEO of Banyan Hills Technologies. In this episode, we explore the digital transformation, what it means, how it's occurring, which industries are taking early action and the challenges associated with managing tens of thousands of connected devices. Steve shares insight about Canopy™, an IoT platform that enables the centralized monitoring, management and control of large networks of devices and control systems.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [01:48] When we say "digital transformation," what are we really talking about?
• [02:56] Which industries are embracing the shift from analog to digital?
• [06:10] What are the correlating technologies that are part of this package?
• [12:42] What is an example use case and ROI for the use of Banyan Hill Technologies' Canopy solution?
• [19:05] What will the landscape look like in five years?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Every business today has the opportunity to migrate from analog to digital technologies that allow them to reduce costs and achieve greater efficiency.
• Industries that are ripe for digital transformation include those that are highly regulated, those that depend on extensive human labor to operate, and those where security is table stakes.
• As companies deploy more technology devices, managing the fleet of devices across those locations becomes extremely complex but also very critical to the business. Often there are challenges of visibility and automation.
• Canopy is a remote device operations platform that can connect a diverse array of devices and receive and process information at scale and layer in business applications to achieve business results.
• In one case of thousands of digital monitors deployed worldwide, Canyon was able to improve availability of digital signage from 40 – 45% to 99%.
• Connected environments are going to fuel AI and machine learning capabilities by providing valuable, quality data for analysis.

LINKS MENTIONED

https://banyanhills.com

[email protected]

BIO: Steve Latham

Founder and CEO of Banyan Hill Technologies, Steve Latham has been in the technology field for over 20 years and has extensive experience in cloud-based software and the Internet of Things. In 2013, Steve founded Banyan Hills Technologies, an Internet of Things company that provides businesses with end-to-end IoT services and brings to market a cloud-based IoT platform called CanopyTM. The company was named to Connected World IoT Innovations and, in 2018, and ranked number 1,203 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the United States.

Prior to Banyan, Steve served as CTO for the Entertainment division of NCR, and led the planning, architecture, implementation and delivery of NCR's Blockbuster Express kiosk business.