The 22% Shrink in High-Value Components

A camera upgrade treats detection as prevention. The likely failures are access control, escort, and inventory discipline. The cage gate is propped open because the badge reader faults; that is a known bypass, and employees have normalized it. Contract cleaners with master keys and no escort create an unsupervised population with access to the cage. The 12-foot blind spot between cage and dock lets someone move product out of camera view. Drivers entering the break room expand the unescorted population. Bag checks stopped, so there is no exit control. A 22% loss in SSDs and memory modules suggests targeted, repeatable removal, not random error.

Data to request: badge transaction logs for the cage and dock by employee, contractor, and time; all work orders for the badge reader; CCTV of the cage corridor for the last 60 days; cycle counts by SKU, location, and shift; the cleaner roster and escort log; driver sign-in times; the union grievance and current check policy; and receiving paperwork for high-value shipments. Compare loss timing to shifts and access events. If losses spike on 22:00-02:00, cleaners and night shift are the priority. If they spike during receiving, dock process is the priority. This data prevents spending $18,000 on a camera that records a door that should not be open.

First 14 days, low cost:

• Repair the badge reader under the existing maintenance contract. Until fixed, post an officer at the cage gate during receiving and log every entry.
• Add a door contact or local alarm on the cage gate that alerts the guardhouse if it is held open longer than 60 seconds. Approximate cost: $600-1,200.
• Require cleaners to be escorted by security from 22:00-02:00, or move cage cleaning to day shift. No new spend if hours are reallocated.
• Stop driver access beyond the guardhouse; deliver paperwork to a window. Enforce with signage and supervisor presence.
• Reinstate bag checks with the union as a random, witnessed, same-sex, documented process applied consistently to all employees. Training cost only.
• Start daily cycle counts on the top 10 high-value SKUs rather than waiting for quarterly counts.

Purchases: one additional camera covering the 12-foot gap and dock door ($2,500-4,000 installed); access-control reader repair ($1,500-3,000); door contact/alarm ($1,000); two handheld scanners for cycle counts ($1,000); remaining funds for training and audit hours.

Metrics: gate-open events over 60 seconds, badge exceptions per shift, cleaner escort compliance, shrink rate on top SKUs, and bag-check completion. Review at 30, 60, and 90 days. If shrink does not fall, move to covert monitoring and an HR-led interview process.

Explain with data: cameras document but do not stop a propped gate. The fault and the escort gap are the proximate causes; a camera may help after those are fixed. Offer to include the camera as one layer, not the first purchase. On the union issue, do not impose checks unilaterally. Meet the union representative and propose a random, witnessed, documented check protocol applied to all employees, including managers, with a private area and no profiling. If bag checks remain blocked, substitute package-pass controls and dock inspections, and document the residual risk. Give the general manager a one-page decision memo with cost, risk, expected impact, and the union constraint. This keeps the conversation on loss reduction rather than a technical objection.