Industry Focus
Re-Inventing the Retailer and Vendor Agenda
ORIS Forums Unveils New Collaborative Vendor and Retailer Risk Forum
ORIS Forums, the not-for-profit organisation that brings together retailers, logistics, and hospitality providers to share best practice to reduce business risk, has become synonymous with starting big, industry-wide conversations around how and why collaboration is the new competition.
Retail businesses that are sworn enemies for high street spend openly share their risk challenges with industry peers through the Forums in the spirit of co-operation to reduce collective losses as well as understanding and disrupting malicious activity impacting member organisations and the wider industry beyond.
Now—in its most ambitious project to date—ORIS Forums is seeking to achieve the same positive momentum among the vendor community and how they engage with retailers, logistics, and hospitality businesses to deliver workable and more innovative best-in-class solutions.
Unveiled
Plans for the new Forum were unveiled at the ORIS Forums Risk Summit in May, which was attended by almost two hundred representatives of the retail and vendor communities. Louise Kadege, managing director of ORIS outlined a vision of replicating the success of the established Forums with the wider vendor community, many of whom have deep knowledge of the challenges because they come from a law enforcement or security background or from inside the very sectors they now serve in a supplier capacity.
“Retailers and vendors have typically operated independently of each other, with retailers looking to vendors to provide solutions to solve their loss prevention and risk challenges,” she told delegates.
“But no vendor has a “one size fits all” solution, which results in retailers having to invest in costly, multi-layered solutions.”
“Vendors—in most, but not all cases—are in competition for retailers’ business and typically operate independently of each other for fear of giving away their “trade secrets”, which can limit “big picture thinking” and ultimately lead to them losing out on business opportunities,” she continued.
“Conversely, retailers have been collaborating for almost 20 years now, so why can’t vendors do the same in order to develop collective solutions that benefit the wider industry?”
When Best Practice is NEXT Practice
Delegates were told that vendors and retailers were already collaborating on best practice boutique solutions, as proven by an integrated solution at NEXT, which was looking to introduce an RFID solution to provide crime intelligence to identify stolen items and prosecute store thieves while at the same time providing dynamic stock replenishment data to immediately replace the inventory.
No off-the-shelf model existed, but NEXT, which had an existing relationship with Dutch EAS specialists NEDAP, worked in tandem with the TAG Company—with which it had no existing relationship—to provide a new bespoke tag offering and an overhead ceiling-mounted solution.
An Open Mind
The Risk Summit fired the starting pistol, and two months later ORIS—together with twenty household name brand retailers and vendor founding members—held the inaugural meeting on 9 July.
Ground rules and terms of engagement were established, including leaving commercial interests at the door and entering with an “open mind”.
“No idea is a bad idea, and everyone’s voices are equal, regardless of whether you are a vendor or a retailer,” said Louise.
“We need to make sure that this Forum is productive and drives outputs, and if an agreement cannot be come to on a particular point, we need to accept that and move on to the areas within which we can make a difference.”
“It doesn’t have to all be about product—it could be about market intelligence—can vendors and retailers collaborate to create better data streams for the industry, for example?”
“Or what sources of intelligence do retailers and vendors tap into for product development or budgeting purposes? This is about improving the industry as a whole, so everything is open for discussion and consideration.”
It Will Take Time
She added: “I think the retailers who are members of various ORIS Forums will vouch for the fact that it can take some time for a Forum to gather pace and for everyone to feel completely at ease with each other.”
“But there is also nothing to stop members from picking up discussions outside of meetings—in fact, this is encouraged because this Forum is all about creating new solutions and better ways of working.”
“What I can guarantee however, is that once a Forum gains its momentum, and all members work collaboratively, it is one of the best and most informative groups you could wish to be a part of,” she added.
“It is a great opportunity for honest discussions among like-minded people to provide tangible outputs—it will showcase both optimism and realism.”
Peter Page, group head of security at Travis Perkins said the new Forum was an opportunity for both vendors and retail businesses to learn from each other’s pain and gain.
“All-too-often, suppliers talk to me about what I want and need, but they are often way off the mark which answers a key question for me about the importance of informing the debate—why would I not want to be involved in helping to shape this?”
Procurement and Quick Wins
Guy Tucker from Kings Secure Technologies raised the issue of the role of procurement and the all-too-often “race to the bottom” approach to tendering for business. It was therefore decided that one of the first priorities of the Forum would be to look at ways to engage with and educate procurement teams about how solutions can go beyond price and in many cases result in greater savings across the life of a contract, for example.
“Vendors and retailers could move to create more collaborative, dialogue-based solutions at the pre-tender stage so that all stakeholders are involved in order to develop fit-for-purpose, budget-achieving delivery models based on specific outputs,” he said.
Influencing the Board
Further supercharging the debate were issues around supporting the creation of business cases for internal stakeholders, as many heads of LP have to pitch the benefits—its sustainability, rapid return on investment, etc—in order to secure funding, which again can take time.
This process can be protracted, during which time a vendor may be required to invest time and energy in case building to support the heads of LP to get the solution over the line.
This can often lead to negative behaviours that can sour retailer/vendor relations. An example of this would be when a retailer is forced to lean on a vendor for free trials or proof of concepts just to put a solution in place temporarily, but knowing it is unlikely to progress to roll out.
Other questions raised included experiences of vendor versus retailer relationships outside of the UK, particularly in the US where there is a mature LP market and strong relationships between retailers and their suppliers.
For example, ThinkLP—a founding member of the Forum and based in Canada but working across the USA—works with twenty-five industry partners, and its learnings could help trigger a wider collaborative discussion around best practice lessons from global operators.
Evaluating Impact
Success and what it looks like is key to the establishment of any Forum, and the new Vendor and Retailer Risk Forum is no exception. It has set out its objectives as well as some initiatives and activities, all of which will be reviewed at the first face-to-face meeting taking place in the autumn, along with agreement on how to measure its impact and success.
Case study examples of good practice, different applications of technologies and their integration could be brought to the table to highlight more collaborative working.
And, as in other ORIS Forums, discussions around emerging trends and technologies, such as the use of AI and how it is being used in risk management would also constitute a major first step in the success of the new Forum.
“We have made significant progress by getting leading retailers and vendors together to talk about their pain and gain,” said Louise Kadege.
“Now, the real work begins in turning ideas into achievable solutions which could help deliver real value to the wider industry in terms of unlocking the potential for the future partnership working, something that would have been unthinkable in the past.”
Founding Members from the Vendor Community
ADT Fire & Security, part of the Johnson Controls Group, which specialises in integrating best-in-class product, installation and service capabilities across controls, fire, security, HVAC, power solutions and energy storage, said: “As a business we recognise the responsibility we have to work in partnership to develop technology that will protect retail colleagues, customers, and assets and to alleviate pressures on the police to allow them to allocate their resources to the incidents where they are most needed and have the technology resources required to lead to convictions.”
“From this Forum we are looking for collaborative problem-solving with retailers and other suppliers to spark innovative ideas and solutions that might not be developed independently. Our shared expertise will also allow us to pool knowledge and experiences which can lead to more effective strategies and technologies for preventing retail losses.”
“We believe membership will provide market insight and trends and help gain more in-depth insights into the specific challenges retailers face, allowing us to tailor our products and services to meet their needs better. Also, it will allow us to be part of discussions on emerging trends and technologies which helps us stay ahead of the curve and adapt our offerings accordingly. We see it as influencing industry standards, shaping the future and gaining access to resources and support where members can seek advice and assistance from peers facing similar challenges. It will also drive technological advancements through R&D and collaboration allows us to be among the first to benefit from new technologies.”
Axis Communications, a designer and manufacturer of smarter safer network video, access control, and audio devices that enable a better and more profitable retail experience, said: “Axis Communications has a strong retail customer base globally and therefore has visibility of solution design and application to trending challenges. We have experience in the team that understands the retail customer and can translate operational challenges into technical solution requirements for end-to-end operations. We pride ourselves on being leaders in the market with an open technology mindset that enables wider IoT opportunities.”
“We are interested in helping this group achieve a smarter and safer video network that delivers more than just visibility. Being part of this group, we will learn more about the trending challenges in this region and help to find cross-functional solutions to problems. We want to share our global retail experience with the group and gain trust that Axis Communications can support profitability and safety.”
Equals Money, provides a solution which enables businesses to have greater control of their expenses with increased visibility, efficiency, and most importantly, convenience, said: “As a leading provider of expense cards and spend management solutions, Equals is well-established within the retail and hospitality industries. This year’s ORIS Risk Summit and round table sessions, along with the resulting conversations with our industry peers, highlighted that no matter what sector we work in, we share many of the same challenges and struggles. With our wealth of experience in providing financial services, Equals aims to bring both objectivity and new ideas to the process and we look forward to taking on an active role!”
“Having a shared Forum means we can actively engage, meet more members, and ultimately shape our solutions based on their needs and feedback. For us at Equals, it’s all about mutual learning, sharing ideas, and contributing to one of the key industries utilising our expense cards.”
Gatekeeper Systems, the leading global supplier of trolley push-out theft prevention (Purchek) and shopping trolley security systems, said: “Over the last few years, we have been involved in a number of initiatives to provide “secure programmes” in some form or another, which takes a combined approach in helping retailers address theft and aggressive incidents at stores. These programmes often take part with a collaboration of sorts, initiated and managed by the individual retailers at great expense of time and dedication in pulling everything together. It is Gatekeeper’s belief that this Forum will provide immediate benefits to our mutual customers and offers expertise in these types of programmes that are becoming increasingly necessary.”
“Most of the benefits will be for our retail partners, however it is important as suppliers within our industry that we recognise that our individual solutions only address specific issues in a multi-issue environment, and that quality complementary solutions exist, which helps us provide a collective and robust offering. Once this is embraced, a collaborative approach will offer a compelling suite of solutions for retailers which we are very excited to be a part of.”
Kings Secure Technologies, a leading security, fire safety, and risk management provider to the retail sector, said: “We have been working with ORIS for two years and we value the opportunity of talking to other vendors in a strategic and collaborative way. We are already proud to partner some of the most well-known innovators and disruptors, software developers and designers across the whole sector. So, this new development provides an opportunity to bridge the gaps that businesses face including the internal challenges around the procurement process. Being part of this Forum is exciting in that we can talk to more businesses to find out exactly what it is they need, and it could be that we work with others to build something better together that makes the retail environment safer.”
Lodge Service, a business with a focus on loss prevention through blended solutions incorporating hardware, software and people, said: “We listen to our clients’ needs to provide priority solutions in the most cost-effective manner whilst maximising the very latest technology—including AI—with best-in-class leadership and customer service.”
“Lodge is participating in this Forum to collaborate with industry leaders, address common and bespoke challenges, and contribute to the advancement of loss prevention strategies to ensure experience and best practice solutions are utilised and maximised by LP professionals.”
“We anticipate gaining valuable insights into emerging risks, enhancing our network with industry peers, and developing innovative solutions through shared knowledge and collaboration.”
Retail & Asset Solutions (RAS), a business that delivers comprehensive stock management solutions that ensure that the right inventory is delivered to the right place at the right time with accurate verified data that generates insight for its clients, said: “As a company, we strive to work collaboratively with our clients to deliver solutions that support their strategic objectives. We believe that some of the best solutions will emerge when you combine elements from best-in-market suppliers to provide a robust end-to-end service that delivers exceptional results. Our participation in the Forum offers us the opportunity to hear directly from a variety of retailers and suppliers so we can collectively deliver solutions that meet all of our objectives.”
“The ORIS Vendor & Retailer Risk Forum will be an opportunity to connect with like-minded people and participate in a shared experience. It will provide us with the opportunity to work with other vendors to enhance our solutions to support retailers as the retail market evolves and technology advances.
ThinkLP, a loss and safety intelligence platform with incident reporting, case management, smart audit/inspection, exception reporting, and analytics modules, serving hundreds of brands around the world, said: “We at ThinkLP are firm believers in being solution partners for our customers, including working on solutions together, which includes working with other solution partners. As with other ORIS-led events, we believe our participation will continue to help us identify the challenges faced by our customers and afford us the ability to work on inter-connected solutions.”
For more information about the Forum, contact info@orisforums.co.uk
