The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities offered by recent developments within the sphere of product Auto Identification (Auto ID) technologies to impact upon the problem of shrinkage in the retail sector and their suppliers (both manufacturers and third-party logistics providers). Its purpose is not to provide specific strategies for its implementation, but to consider the potential to impact upon shrinkage in the short, medium and long term.

There is a need to measure shrinkage in order to determine its extent and trend. This white paper presents a review of shrinkage measurement in grocery retail and the findings from a survey of European companies in this sector.

This report details the findings from the second ECR Europe survey on stock loss in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector in Europe.

Stock loss in Europe's consumer goods/grocery industry is an astounding €18 billion per year, causing the typical retailer to lode one-third of their profits. Since 1999 ECR Europe has worked to show how companies can collaborate to address this issue. The success of the ECR approach is demonstrated in the concrete results achieved by companies that applied the shrinkage reduction roadmap.