TAGIT EAS
TAGIT EAS

Truecount RFID partners with Canadian EAS firm to create new single application, “hard-to-defeat” tag for inventory management and loss protection

Developer of advanced item-level RFID software TrueCount Coporation and TAGIT a developer of Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) and Electro Magnetic (EM) systems, today announce a joint partnership and a new solution for retailers. Effective immediately, the two firms are combining the logistical, rapid counting and accuracy prowess of RFID with EM’s article surveillance capabilities to create a singular, highly advanced system for tracking items, fortified with the most effective EAS available today. As a result, retailers can now track all inventory from source to destination, in real time via advanced RFID, redundantly backed up by a strong EAS that is almost impossible for criminals to defeat, the Circumvention Resistant RFID (CRRFID) Tag.

“The Truecount/TAGIT-EAS technology makes it simple for retailers to accurately manage inventory and aggressively fight retail crime at the same time,” says Zander Livingston, Truecount’s CEO. “Everything is in one label, so no extra work or hardware is required.”

Nolan Wheeler, CEO for TAGIT points out that with retail loss on the rise in each of the four major areas—shoplifting/ORC, employee theft, internal errors and supply chain mistakes—Truecount and TAGIT are wrapping a 360-degree security “lock” around merchandise items to jointly attack and reduce every area of shrink. [see addendum at end of release]

“Globally, theft cost the retail industry $119 billion in 2011,” says Wheeler. “Criminal activity, from employee theft to organized crime rings, accounts for 80 percent of retail loss. By combing Truecount’s near perfect (99+ percent accurate) inventory tracking and loss intelligence capture with our powerful electro-magnetic (EM) EAS technology, we bring to retail a new world of article surveillance and inventory management.”

Livingston adds that while both RFID and EM are exceptionally effective independently, when combined, each technology becomes more powerful. “The result is a system that is, to date, the toughest and most sophisticated in the world for shrink control,” he says. “We anticipate substantial, if not unprecedented, reductions in loss for retailers and their supply chains.”

According to Livingston and Wheeler, their consolidated system delivers a “double knock-out punch” in the fight against retail crime. “Now, retailers can capture criminals in the act, reclaim merchandise, protect against fraudulent returns and internal dishonesty, while simultaneously building a case for prosecuting,” say the partners. “We are excited to bring this to the marketplace at a time when the retail industry is focused on operational efficiencies and protecting the bottom line.”

Livingston and Wheeler point out that working as one system, Truecount/TAGIT-EAS unites the latest technology for security, with intelligent EAS gates, and the comprehensive item-level inventory management capabilities of RFID. They add that the system detects retail fraud and theft at all levels alerting the retailer to the event as it is happening, while providing precise, real-time data about every item, and every incident. “Each technology backs up and reinforces the other,” says Livingston. “Whatever the cause of shrink for a specific retailer, there is now a potent, cost-effective way to fight back.”

Wheeler emphasizes the simplicity and cost saving benefits of Truecount/TAGIT-EAS. “The price tag is the RFID tag and the security tag,” he says. “The system is easy to implement, and the tags are inexpensive when compared with barcoding multiple step tagging procedures.”

Equally important, according to Livingston is the system’s open platform. “We are hardware neutral,” he says. “We do not lock the retailer into using just one hardware vendor, so there is ample flexibility for the retailer to utilize legacy hardware or shop the market for the most competitive pricing and even deeper cost savings.”

Wheeler points to other key advantages, such as safeguards against false alarms and the solution’s unlimited ability for alarm output (push video, door delays) including linking to existing closed circuit surveillance TV. TAGIT EAS cannot be shielded by booster bags, foil lined artifacts or everyday household items such as cell phones and car keys. “It is exciting for us when we are notified by a retailer that just recovered a booster bag full of artifacts from a store,” says Wheeler.

“The TAGIT-EAS labels are simply changing the economics of theft,” says Wheeler. “These labels are either too difficult for would-be thieves to locate, or are a critical part of the packaging of the item—like our thermal scale labels for meat and cheese. When you consider that booster bags cannot defeat the technology, and that ‘out-of-the-box’ the systems come with CCTV output for alarm and image capture, stealing from a TAGIT-EAS protected store is a great risk.”

“Together, Truecount and TAGIT-EAS provide near ‘bullet-proof” visibility throughout the supply chain,” says Livingston. “Ultimately, this very solid, highly redundant solution will lead to near zero opportunity for theft, and enhanced revenues for retailers.”

With the improvement to the existing RFID tag, the single application, single tag is more than just a labor savings for tagging articles. Professional shoplifters and ORC “need” those price tags in-tact in order to resell online. “Note the difference between ‘New with Tags (NWT) vs. New without Tags (NWOT)’ on eBay,” says Wheeler. “The professional shoplifter removes hard security tags at home, with no impact to profit. However, removing the price tag impacts resell values up to 80 percent, thus we’ve created an EAS-enhanced price tag the shoplifter cannot afford to remove.

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