Retailers are estimated to spend over $2.2 billion globally on CCTV / Video, with those leading the capability increasingly being increasingly asked to justify that investment with a solid business case that identifies how the investment can deliver a positive return on investment (ROI).

To date, the majority of this Video working groups sessions have looked at the benefits side of the ROI equation. For example, the session on slips and falls discussed the cost savings made possible by the availability of video verification of any compensation claim, the session on video analytics highlighted labour savings made possible through the use of remote audits, and the session on shelf cameras discussed how video could spot gaps on the shelf and support a work process that rapidly recovered any potential lost sales.

In this session, the group heard from Nate Pearson, General Mills, who shared his experience, and the tools he uses to acquire a total cost of ownership and at the same time, practicing the art of selling the business case. The group discussion that followed explored his learnings, including discussions on how to consider the "costs" of a cyber attack via the cameras themselves, or through the integrators. How to survive annual cost saving requests, plan for a longer term, show video in the context of other CAPEX investments (is video < or > 2% of total CAPEX?) and the need to "vaccinate" as many stakeholders on video as possible, were all additional topics covered in this highly engaging 90 minute session.

Our next working group session will be on July 14th, where Tesco and other retailers will provide an update on how they are integrating POS and Video to create new internal cases, that can help with the equation, for every €1 spent on video, I gain €x in benefit. This session is one of the monthly working group meetings open to retailers, CPG's and academics only. To register for this next session, simply click here. However, if you would like a recording of this session click APPLY