Asset Protection

The Ready Stance for the Food Industry

In sports there is something called “The Ready Stance.” It’s the optimal positioning to allow your body to swiftly change directions. In The Ready Stance, a persons’ core muscles and major muscle groups are engaged and at the ready so they can ...

The Key to Better Coping

This past weekend my wife and I took our rising sixth grader to the local mall on a pre-school clothes shopping spree. We were preparing to leave my daughter’s favorite clothes venue when store staff suddenly started ushering everyone into the ...

From Top to Bottom, Retailers Must Proactively Prepare

In our first ever Asset Protection in Food Retail 2022 report we surveyed food retailers about their asset protection activities and found there was a top-to-bottom list of asset protection areas where food retailers have proactive ...

Breaking Down Active Assailant Incident Response

Another tragic shooting has befallen our industry in recent days and left us both heart-broken and in search of answers to that perennial question – what motivates this violent behavior? As we ponder the state of a society in which such acts occur, ...

How Does FMI Know the Current State of the Food Industry?

The answer is from YOU. We know because the industry tells us each year when we ask, as we have been doing every year for more than 70 years. The first ever The Food Retailing Industry Speaks (Speaks) report appeared in 1949. Seventy-three years ...

The Time to Prepare is Now

Every year, more than 2 million workers become victims of workplace violence (WPV), and close to half of human resource professionals say their organization has experienced a WPV incident. In fact, workplace violence has become so pervasive, it’s ...

Inspire People to Greatness

Developing a strong aptitude for impactful communication in your personal and professional life is a goal everyone should strive for. Likewise, thoughtful and strategic communication skills should be the goal of every asset protection professional. ...

Are You Prepared for Potential Threats?

In today’s world, the margin separating a completely average day from a day where yet another violent incident takes place feels razor thin. False and misleading narratives have undermined public trust in our institutions. Increasing societal ...

Finally, a Report for Asset Protection Professionals

Asset protection leaders safeguard company success. Their expertise in theft, shrink, vandalism, and consumer and employee safety are critical to the wellbeing of all food retailers. That’s why they need the most up-to-date, substantive information ...

Ramping Up Food Retail Resilience

Asset Protection was once a term strictly associated with shrink reduction. In recent years, it has evolved into the protection of not just product, but employees, customers, and entire physical ...

Q&A: Why Employees Need Verbal De-escalation Training Now

I recently discussed the importance of de-escalation training with Bill Flynn, former DHS principal deputy assistant secretary and co-founder of The Power of Preparedness (TPOP). Under Bill’s leadership, TPOP provides online training for verbal de-...

Tools and Tactics for Bolstering Asset Protection

Nowadays, the same old story keeps cropping in the news. It goes something like this: Dozens of people enter a store in unison and take as much product as they can as quickly as they can, and then as fast as their crime began, it’s over – as the ...

Emergency Preparedness: Recognition Can Stop a Problem Before It Starts

We’ve all seen the viral videos of irate customers, often in grocery and convenience stores, getting into heated altercations with staff and customers. While these situations can be meme-worthy fodder online, they are often intense and potentially ...

Celebrating Supermarket Employee Day

On February 22, 2021, I will be celebrating the hard-working heroes of the supermarket by joining with the industry to proclaim it Supermarket Employee Day. The supermarket has long been acknowledged as the backbone of our communities, but its role ...

2020: The Year of the Food Industry

From the cashiers and stockers to the store managers and executives, the drivers and food processors and pharmacist and nutritionists, to the data analysts, delivery experts and farmers, our industry is filled with true Food Industry Heroes who have ...