One of the biggest threats to the retail industry’s long-term growth is inventory loss from theft, fraud, or error. Most reports note that the retail industry loses billions of dollars annually to inventory loss, with analysts estimating the annual number to be around $100 billion. That’s why many retailers are increasingly relying on intelligent video surveillance solutions to enhance every aspect of their operations, increase efficiency, protect employees, engage customers, and remain profitable.
The latest advanced solution to hit the market is Hanwha Vision’s SolidEDGE camera system—a perfect example of new technology meeting a market need.
Available in two models—the PNV-A6081R-E1T (1TB onboard storage capacity) and PNV-A6081R-E2T (2TB)—SolidEDGE addresses an industry need for scalable and cost-effective surveillance solutions, combining a dome camera, an embedded WAVE VMS server, and onboard Solid-State Drive (SSD) storage into one system.
This system design eliminates the need for a separate network video recorder (NVR) or server since the SolidEDGE serves as the camera and NVR, saving space in server racks, making temporary deployments easier, and simplifying installations and system management. Plus, it gives retailers one more tool to add to their store arsenal for monitoring and detecting suspicious activity.
The SolidEDGE system aligns with a growing shift in the retail industry away from traditional on-premise servers and NVRs and toward cloud-based solutions. With SolidEDGE, organizations can deploy self-contained systems while fully realizing the potential of edge storage, multi-camera recording, remote access, and on-premise security system management. This solution allows retailers to easily customize and grow their surveillance systems based on their specific needs.
Deploying a system with the capabilities of SolidEDGE traditionally required a separate server, more wires, a larger installation footprint, higher installation costs, and a system that was hard to manage. SolidEDGE removes those headaches, making it an especially useful solution for retail operations. The system effectively enhances overall store efficiency in various ways: monitoring store traffic volume and customer shopping patterns to reduce checkout times, placing merchandise for optimal visibility, and allocating staff appropriately.
From the checkout lines, entrances, exits, and aisles to stock rooms, staff areas, loading docks, and parking lots—SolidEDGE is useful for internal or external investigations, as a stand- alone system, or as a complement to a larger primary system for overt or covert surveillance. Retailers can actively deter crime or suspicious activity by letting everyone entering a store know that the entire retail space is being recorded. Then they can view forensic evidence from anywhere with an internet connection.
The SolidEDGE camera system runs the full capabilities of Hanwha’s WAVE VMS on the edge. A single SolidEDGE camera can connect to and record up to five additional cameras for a total number of six cameras on each EDGE system. Also, up to thirty servers can be merged with SolidEDGE through WAVE Sync, giving users incredible flexibility.
One sample retail scenario is placing a primary SolidEDGE camera over the register in a retail location, with another camera positioned toward the front door. The user can build from there with cameras at various positions. Other systems would have to put another edge recording camera at each location. Instead, with SolidEDGE, users can put Hanwha cameras in other form factors at that front door and be able to record back to the primary SolidEDGE camera. Maybe there’s one for the rear entrance, delivery entrance, or employee break area.
As that same store grows and expands to multiple locations, SolidEDGE grows along with it. The unique addition of WAVE Sync allows easy remote access and system expansion. If a franchise has three or four locations, they can now connect them together and have a unified platform to view everything—again without needing big expensive servers to manage and maintain it.
Now it’s a plug-and-play system solution, as opposed to a group of disparate pieces and parts. If users want to change recording settings for one camera, add users, change camera names, create layouts, configure alarm I/O or audio talk down, they can do that easily because it’s all visible through the Wisenet WAVE VMS and the WAVE Sync architecture.
For sites with multiple locations, users can merge the SolidEDGE cameras at each site, each with up to five additional cameras for multi-camera recording, and then manage the entire system in one pane of glass in the WAVE client through the cloud‑based WAVE Sync platform. The WAVE client also has a Cloud Layout feature that can bring cameras from multiple servers into customizable layouts to easily view sites without merging servers.
The potential applications can cover any type of organization, from the enterprise level to small and medium-sized businesses. SolidEDGE can fit any type of operation that might only need two or three cameras now but also needs a system that can quickly and easily expand to accommodate growth or when surveillance requirements expand.
The system is ideal for a pop-up store or seasonal event, or if a retailer is evaluating a new region or site for a new store and wants to avoid the risk and expense of building a new store in an untested market. SolidEDGE allows them to operate a trial location and keep it secure, easily and at a low cost.
If a store is damaged by a natural disaster or undergoing renovations and a retailer must move to a backup site, this system is easy to install and maintain temporarily for only a few weeks or months.
There may be a situation in a distribution center that requires an effective camera system but doesn’t warrant the logistical headache of running 1,000 feet of coax and tying that to the current system. In this case, an owner can power up the SolidEDGE camera, add up to five more models, connect to a wireless router, and it’s up and running—and it communicates seamlessly with the WAVE platform.
Retailers today are challenged to do more with less, and they require more effective loss prevention and asset protection solutions. Intelligent video surveillance options like SolidEDGE combine image quality, performance, and analytics—meeting retailers’ needs for safety, security, and shrink management while delivering new insights into every aspect of a retail operation.
Kevin Darnell is Sr. Business Development Manager at Hanwha Vision America, focusing primarily on identifying new security and surveillance solutions to help retailers and cannabis professionals enhance overall operational efficiency. With more than three decades of retail loss prevention experience, his priority is partnering with customers to find the technologies that best fit their needs.