The IKEA Pilot Store 'homes in' on loss prevention using Milestone IP video surveillance integrated with retail transaction data.

October 2004. The IKEA Pilot Store in Delft, The Netherlands, has upgraded their analog security approach to modern digital surveillance using networked technology. Milestone XProtect software integrates IP video images with transaction data from their Navision Microsoft Business Solution to give effective monitoring and analysis of their retail activities, resulting in better security, improved service levels, and reduction of shrinkage.

The IKEA Pilot Store has increased the capabilities of its general surveillance by moving it to a pure digital platform, and added integration with its back office transaction system to control shrinkage and reduce errors at the cash registers. The solution also gives them new IP video tools for their global corporate education facilities. The Milestone XProtect software allows them to choose a flexible mix of hardware for different location needs, and provides the ability to integrate with even more systems in future, like customer counting for better queue management.

"We have achieved our goal to upgrade our surveillance to a networked digital solution for improved performance and an integrated approach," reports Remco Hempenius, Project manager at The IKEA Pilot Store. "We are cost-effectively re-using existing equipment while adding a mix of new hardware, all controlled by the Milestone XProtect software. We appreciate the ability to choose our own combination of cameras, a flexible approach that this software supports. And XProtect Retail gives us real added value in handling shrinkage."

Milestone Systems XProtect Retail software at IKEA operates a mix of Axis and Sony network cameras combined with various analog cameras converted to digital images through Axis blade servers, all running on Windows XP. The networked video data is integrated with the transaction information in their Navision ERP system from Microsoft Business Solutions.

XProtect Retail has an intelligent interface that combines the data from the store's retail transactions with the corresponding video images for fast searching and analysis by transaction ID, item number, cash register, time, date, purchase amount, employee, etc. The system is so flexible that IKEA can sort by any category or type they choose to configure, including scoring employees on performance. Future plans include additional integration with a people-counting system that monitors the number of customers entering and leaving the store.

By 2006, the IKEA Pilot Store in The Netherlands will expand from the current 19,500 to 32,500 square meters including special areas for testing customer reactions to the IKEA concept. The IP video surveillance approach provides the ability to add new cameras for such expansions anytime.

The IKEA Pilot Store is part of Inter IKEA Systems B.V., the owner and worldwide franchisor of the IKEA Concept. They increase the availability of IKEA home products by continuously providing IKEA retailers with systems and methods proven successful for marketing and selling IKEA products. The IKEA store network worldwide includes 203 stores in 32 countries.