20 years in Loss Prevention: Helping XBR customers then and now

This year’s NRF Protect Conference marks my 20th year since presenting a breakout session called ‘LP exception reporting and our success.’ Where have the years gone? I know…working and promoting the world of exception based reporting to everyone in the LP industry. I have enjoyed the success of implementing, consulting and providing training for many EBR platforms and exclusively with XBR for over 10 years. It has been a rewarding 20 years as I have been privileged to not only work for great companies, but to also be able to work with outstanding companies who have shared their enthusiasm and allowed me the opportunity to provide best practices, customizations and improve ROI (return on investment) in their EBR platform.

Bringing greater value to the reporting and your organization

When I look back at my initial implementations of XBR, I even surprise myself at how much the industry has grown from the early days of looking at basic exception types like Cash Refunds, Employee Discounts and Post Voids. Today, we analyze a broad spectrum of data elements such as All Tenders, Ecommerce Sales, Inventory Results, and Customer Info, as well as the utilization of dynamic and interactive dashboards that further drive results. At SkillNet, we are always looking to expand our data mapping to enhance the exception research, like adding Inventory results, Time & Attendance records, additional employee information (like home and email addresses) and elements from other corporate sources. This effort is what brings a greater value to the reporting and an organization.

For many of the customers that I have interacted with throughout the years, my XBR consulting has proven many times to bring the customers a new perspective on their operations. Each experience is different from another as each customer has different challenges in the EBR world. But often times in the initial review of the current setup of a customer’s EBR platform, I immediately found where reports were broken, had incorrect links, and helped identify specific usage areas not being utilized by the customer. My reward is not just making fixes, but showing them new exceptions, having them understand the ‘how’ and ‘why’ to establish better control points (with an understanding of the thresholds) and providing best practice advice and setup specifically tailored to their business needs and opportunities. In future blogs, I will expand upon my findings and share more on these opportunities.

Need an XBR refresher?

We at SkillNet provide customized training sessions on all versions of XBR. Many times a refresher class for one day makes all of the difference and helps many users clarify how to maximize the efficiency of setting up a productive XBR system. Also included in this basic functionality training, we provide insight on how to investigate with XBR. It is a good start to know how to function through the application, but ultimately everyone really wants to know “where are my cases”? We can show you the areas most common to each specific retailer and get you started by showing you the true value of the XBR application.

Are you considering an upgrade to XBRi?

As an Oracle Gold Partner focused on global retail, SkillNet is a trusted leader in the industry. We can evaluate your current platform and help determine whether, when and how to upgrade so your company can best utilize key new features. Let’s discuss your plans and goals so we can start answering your questions.

Please contact me if you are interested in speaking with us about your own situation or interest in XBR. You can learn more about SkillNet’s Oracle Retail XBRi Loss Prevention services in our data sheet.

See you at the NRF Protect Expo 2017

On June 27th and 28th, we will be attending the NRF Protect LP Conference and Expo in Washington DC to share how we can secure your future and protect profitability with our Oracle Retail XBRi Loss Prevention services. If you would like to setup a private meeting during the two days, please feel free to reach out to me and we will schedule a specific time that works with your schedule during the show. You can reach me at michael.elliott@skillnetinc.com.