As I reflect on the initiatives driven by the RILA LP team in 2011, two things stand out to me about the loss prevention profession. First, retail LP continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Second, LP executives are stepping out of their corporate silos to collaborate with industry peers and external stakeholders.

Gone are the days of LP professionals living their professional lives as crime stoppers. Retail crime remains a significant risk that will require our ongoing attention. But, today there is much more to retail LP than fighting crime. Thanks in part to corporate reorgs and budget constraints, LP professionals have been forced to diversify. Individuals hired years ago to catch shoplifters have taken on additional roles, like safety manager, hazmat specialist, human resource investigator, and auditor. With diversification comes the reality that LP professionals may not always have the answer, and they may need to look outside their organizations for help. All one needs to do is look at RILA's key LP initiatives in 2011 to see how diversified the LP function has become, and how the spirit of collaboration is alive and well in the industry.

Workplace Safety

Our Workplace Safety (WS) Committee grew exponentially with nearly 100 safety professionals representing forty retailers. The numbers in and of themselves show a desire on the part of retailers' to collaborate. In 2011 the committee convened regularly to discuss emerging trends (the good, the bad and the ugly), top challenges, and leading practices for minimizing workplace injuries.

In the fall committee members met in Washington, D.C. and welcomed the unprecedented participation of executives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), delivering on our commitment to look outside our organizations for sustainable solutions.

Throughout the year, the WS committee commissioned several benchmarking surveys covering a broad range of topics including fall protection, corporate safety programs, and trends in general liability and workers' compensation claims. RILA closed out the year by hosting more than 150 safety professionals on a webinar addressing the impact of OSHA's enforcement actions on the retail industry.

Disaster Preparedness

2011 saw its share of natural disasters, both domestically and overseas. With each event came a reminder to LP executives of the critical role of preparedness in a retailer's response and recovery efforts. This past year, RILA's Disaster Response and Preparedness (DRAP) Committee was keenly focused on corporate and industry preparedness, working together and with external stakeholders to develop strategies for mitigating the impact of disasters.

DRAP members met regularly to discuss preparedness and response protocols, leading practices, and strategies for streamlining industry efforts. They "downloaded" in the days following significant weather events to share challenges, successes, and lessons learned. They developed a communication mechanism to facilitate information sharing during a crisis.

In addition to peer collaboration, we...once again...looked outside our industry for answers. We forged strong partnerships with key external stakeholders, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In the spring FEMA hosted DRAP at the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) in Washington, D.C., where Administrator Fugate and other FEMA executives spent a full day brainstorming with committee members about methods for driving public-private partnerships and opportunities for enhancing the agency's initiatives to better align with retailers' needs and capabilities. Several months later, RILA and DRAP members played an important role at FEMA's first national conference on building resilience through public-private partnerships. And, RILA takes pride in the fact that two of the four companies to sit in the private-sector seat at the NRCC this inaugural year were DRAP members.

One of the most humbling experiences of my professional career occurred this past year when I had the opportunity to travel to Joplin, Missouri, to lead DRAP members and 250 other volunteers from RILA retail member companies in "Retailers Rebuilding Joplin," a large-scale cleanup and rebuilding effort following the F5 tornado that ripped through the small Midwestern town.

Operational Audit

This year, the Operational Audit Committee (OAC) released the second edition of the RILA Store Operational Audit and Loss Prevention Guide, written in partnership with KPMG. The guide is a resource tool to help retailers develop, enhance, and update store audit department structure and reporting hierarchy, store audit processes, selection criteria, and reporting. Following its release, committee members helped lead a webinar to review the guide's contents with the more than 250 audit professionals in attendance.

Throughout the year, the committee commissioned several benchmarking studies, including surveys on regulatory compliance, store and distribution center inventory practices, and store-level receiving processes and controls.

Technology

Helping to drive the development of cutting-edge, theft-deterrent technology is a key objective of RILA's Horizons Committee. Committee members kicked off 2011 in Chicago to continue their work on creating an industry business requirements document designed to provide suppliers with retailers' common requirements for solutions that address retailers' top loss prevention concerns.

Retail Theft

RILA's Crimes Against Business (CAB) Committee was more active this past year than in years past. We expanded our focus to include all crimes against business, recognizing that organized retail crime (ORC) is one of many criminal risks retailers face. Consistent with this expanded vision, we broadened the scope of RILA's annual crime trend survey to solicit information regarding emerging crime trends and new solutions for mitigating criminal risks.

In the fall CAB members met in Minneapolis to hear presentations discussing such topics as intelligence infrastructure, use of force during apprehensions, workplace violence, in-store portable POS units and proof of purchase, cargo theft via rail cars, use of the RICO statute in prosecuting ORC cases, internet fulfillment and LP strategies for online fraud, video solutions, serial robbery investigations, alternate-source suppliers, and using tactical, strategic, and administrative analysis to combat ORC. And, RILA announced a partnership with Verisk Analytics to help drive participation in CargoNet and LERPnet2.0 as part of our ongoing effort to help stem the tide of ORC.

Industry Leadership

I am particularly excited about RILA's Asset Protection Leaders Council (APLC), and I believe it will be a game-changer for the industry. Setting aside the fact that the APLC is comprised of the top LP executives from the leading retailers in the world, the APLC's process-driven shrink initiative has gained significant momentum since its launch just a few months ago. This initiative is part of a collaborative industry effort to better understand shrinkage, identify the most significant operational risks causing shrink, and develop sustainable solutions for mitigating loss.

In the fall APLC members, product manufacturers, and renowned academic researchers convened in Minneapolis to discuss shrink and to develop a forward-looking research agenda to zoom in on the shrink implications of the emerging operational retail environment. In the coming year, the group will be focusing on the true cost of shrink, the next generation of self-scanning, and engaging the business in LP.

LP Conference

Finally, a recap of the year's accomplishments would be incomplete without reference to RILA's 2011 Loss Prevention, Audit, and Safety (LPAS) Conference. Record-breaking attendance, a sold-out exhibit floor, unprecedented networking opportunities, and thought-provoking session content led by topical experts helped make LPAS 2011 a huge success.

Looking Ahead

2011 was a banner year for RILA and the LP executives who helped drive our initiatives. Looking ahead to 2012, we will continue to drive initiatives that reflect the key priorities of LP executives, keep pace with the evolving LP function, and facilitate collaboration among our membership for the good of the entire industry.