So, you have decided to make a move from the retail side of loss prevention to the supply chain. What does that look like? What skills, attributes, and talents will you need to get hired? What will you need to progress and get promoted on the supply chain side?
The world has changed dramatically over the years, especially since COVID-19. I remember starting in the loss prevention industry, first at Neiman Marcus and then at Sears. In those days, if there was a problem or issue in the supply chain (i.e., a warehouse, distribution center, cargo theft, etc.), usually a store LP person in the area would be sent to the location to resolve the issue. The visit would usually result in “an” issue being resolved, and the LP person would return to their store. I say “an” issue because the reality is that on many of those occasions, the real issue was never addressed. It was not that people did not care, it was just that the symptom was taken care of, not the illness.
Today’s supply chain is enormous. A supply chain industry professional today could look at manufacturing issues, trans-oceanic shipments, distribution centers, warehouses, cross docks, railways, last-mile carriers, brokered shipments, and so on. Today’s supply chain is NOT dependent on brick-and-mortar locations. We face the development and evolution of daily upgrades and changes. In some markets, you can sit at your desk and place an order online and have it delivered to you within one hour. Every one of these elements creates unique supply chain security and loss prevention challenges.
The supply chain loss prevention professional of today must approach the profession from a very different angle than we did even ten years ago. To be successful on the supply chain side of things, we have to start with a different outlook. Supply chain loss prevention is bigger than just retail or each of us getting the goods we buy faster. Think about the house or apartment complex being built and the products required to finish that project. Look at the cement to build our roadways and bridges or the parts needed to build or repair our vehicles. Products are moved and delivered via multiple methods and a loss or mistake can happen at any point in the process. A few companies have created and purchased their own fleets of aircraft so they can expedite the delivery of product anywhere in the world and not be impacted by other companies’ delays. The supply chain impacts every aspect of our lives. Today, we have LP professionals in areas of business that did not exist ten or fifteen years ago. These professionals have been challenged to perform their jobs in ways they did not think possible.
Here are a few things to ask yourself: What are some pitfalls or issues to avoid? I’m the new LP manager—how do I get up to speed quickly? What are a few of the major differences between the retail side of the business and the supply chain side? What skills do I need to focus on and build on?
Be a Good Team Player
Every one of the people that I spoke to about this article prioritized the same two issues as most important. Number one is being a team player, and this starts from the first interaction with the supply chain team. That team has a multitude of moving parts and players; it is critical to make immediate contact with key players and to have good questions to ask them. For instance, you will definitely want to speak to the head of transportation—they will know what issues they face. Their issue could be high-value loads, which they may describe as a load worth a specific dollar amount, or it may be classified that way because it is a high-theft item. Maybe their issue has been the loss of product due to fictitious pickups or because of brokered transportation deals. If it is fictitious pickups, then you have one set of possible solutions. If the problem is loss due to problematic brokered transportation, then you need to have conversations with whoever is putting together transportation contracts. I point these out because being a team player and being able to communicate and interact with multiple people is one of the most significant skills you need. Granted, you also need to know how freight moves both domestically and internationally (understand the business of the supply chain, not just the movement of products), how loss occurs in the supply chain, how loss impacts the customer base, and the operating model of the organization that you are now part of.
There are still people who operate under the belief that the transportation department will handle whatever issue or loss occurs. But it is not that simple; insurance, contracts, and other factors become important in these matters, and you might be the person who has to interact with the various departments to work things out. The team player must look at the overall picture—not become singularly focused on the loss and just catching the bad guy.
Hit the Ground Running, Then Keep Running
The second most important element that every person brought to my attention was the issue of self‑motivation. Prepare to hit the ground running, and then keep running, but run with purpose. I’m going to also throw leadership to this category. Plenty of people hold loss prevention manager positions and are good managers. But the operators and LP executives I spoke with all said the same thing: We need leaders—not managers—who will put the work in and make the decisions that need to be made. Be a self-starting team player.
We called it leading from the front when I was in the military. This will require you to listen to your team; it will mean you need to study your team and add value to it. A critical element here is having a great understanding of your customer base. You may or may not have direct contact with a retail client, so your new base is important. The employees will most likely be your biggest customer base, but you will also need to view vendors, contractors, and others as your customers. Do not forsake your customers—be motivated to interact with them regularly. You are the only person who has control over your work ethic. I have not found a way to teach drive, passion, or energy, but those elements will show through with your motivation and leadership. Distribution operators want our help, but they need us to be strategic and not get in their way. Your communication style and approach can be the difference between success and failure. For any of us who have been around for a while, we do not have the time or desire to micromanage. We want you to engage and to be successful in that engagement. Do not be afraid to make a mistake; lead, learn from the mistake, and move on.
Other Considerations
Freight is constantly on the move, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. A good amount of retail loss prevention is driven by audits, which are certainly important. Audit experience is helpful in the supply chain, but what other elements can assist you in this new role and what can help you get hired? Experience in program creation and implementation is a big one. It is a plus if you have experience performing security vulnerability assessments, which should translate to a good understanding of camera systems, biometrics, access control, perimeter security, and other work that we do in this field. I inherited an 860,000-square-foot building once with $900 million of products inside. The alarm system was the same type of system we had in the company’s 4,000 brick-and-mortar stores, which were 3,000 square feet each. The senior vice president of logistics wanted to know why the alarm kept going off and evacuating the employees. It was the wrong system for the building and required a costly fix. Operators also want to know that you have or can have a good working relationship with multiple vendors. Budget experience and control are helpful and become more important as you progress.
Finally, the supply chain is inherently a vast network of challenges and problems (i.e., train derailments, strategic targeted attacks, shortages by the truckful, weather problems, and more). Embrace the supply chain and the people in it, learn to think and apply yourself in new ways, and most importantly, join the hardest working and craziest people on the planet. Remember, right this very minute the good people of NASA are working on Project Artemis which will take us back to the moon, then to Mars and back. At some point, the plan is to put a colony in space. Who are the people who will be able to handle loss prevention in space? Could it be you?