Weapons were coming in and stolen items were going out at Saks Fifth Avenue’s distribution center. The challenge was to enhance security without making life miserable for employees. 

Saks Fifth Avenue, an iconic American luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City, needed to protect its assets by reducing theft at its 400,000-square-foot distribution center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, while also eliminating the number of weapons entering the facility, thereby enhancing employee safety. 

The company was deploying metal detectors at the distribution center to screen workers, but the screening process was slow, causing employees lengthy delays. 

Saks’ challenge was to find a seamless, associate-friendly solution that would improve throughput while keeping worker safety and asset protection a priority. 

They turned to Vector Security Networks, which demonstrated Thruvision’s People Screening product as a solution that could address Saks’ needs. The next-generation people screening technology can effectively and efficiently screen for both metallic and non-metallic items on the body, so it seemed to fit the bill for detecting both weapons coming in and concealed merchandise going out. Saks Fifth Avenue opted to deploy the technology. 

To address the issue of throughput, Vector Security Networks, along with their partners at Thruvision, consulted on the layout and traffic flow of the screening area. Ultimately, they designed and implemented a walk-thru screening solution that consists of two units that would face each other so employees could be screened front and back simultaneously. This design helped to significantly expedite the screening process, whether inbound or outbound, by eliminating the need for each employee to stop during the screening process. 

“Implementation of the units is essentially plug and play, taking from 30 minutes to an hour in most cases,” says Allan Watters, Head of Innovation, Vector Security Networks. “The learning curve on how to use the system and screen for items on the body is fast as well, usually requiring just an hour or two to train the operators.” 

In the case of Saks, training took place over the course of a few days to cover staff from multiple shifts. 

The results were immediate and dramatic. “Thruvision’s people security screening solution is a game changer for us,” says Tom Kilgallon, VP, Asset Protection, Saks Fifth Avenue. “What was once a chaotic screening process has turned seamless, and we have received rave reviews from our associates.” 

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He noted positive results in three main areas. First, there was a decrease in internal theft. Just days into implementation, the Saks Asset Protection team detected and resolved multiple attempted thefts. Since then, internal theft has decreased as employees with malign intentions now get the message that the reward is not worth the risk. Additionally, Saks AP team is routinely finding ditched merchandise just outside the outbound screening area as employees who were attempting to steal had a change of heart prior to being screened. This underscores the system’s theft-deterrent value. 

Saks also saw a decrease in weapons brought into the workplace. Historically, Saks was commonly recovering weapons at the point of entry as workers attempted to bring them into the distribution center. Since the people-screening system went live, there have been no incidents of weapons being brought in. Associates can feel safe and confident coming to work. 

Another notable benefit has been an increase in productivity – Saks initially saw some employee turnover as workers whose motives were to steal merchandise attritted. “However, productivity eventually increased in the months following because the associates who came to work were there to work,” Kilgallon explained. Additionally, while there is no way to directly correlate the behaviors, Kilgallon shared that post-implementation, “Orders were being fulfilled more rapidly and pick rates increased…we ended up with a better quality of associates.” 

The companies agree that the collaboration between Saks, Vector Security Networks and Thruvision has been effective in addressing employee safety and loss prevention. The solution has demonstrated desired outcomes in the decrease of weapons and internal theft, while improving throughput and productivity.

Resource Links: 

Saks Fifth Avenue, https://www.saksfifthavenue.com/

Vector Security Networks, https://vectorsecuritynetworks.com/