Case Study: How Exception-Based Reporting Tackles Shrink

By Erin Harris, Integrated Solutions For Retailers magazine

As Executive VP and CFO at Anna's Linens, Neil Watanabe remains close to the specialty retailer's technology solutions selection processes by collaborating with the various departments within the organization. In 2004, Anna's Linens' exception-based reporting software began to show its age (the software was unable to handle the additional volume of transactions the retailer was beginning to incur due to its rapid growth). Therefore, the retailer needed a new system that would allow its decentralized approach to LP management to easily access the exception information to detect POS irregularities that would lead to identification of internal and external fraud. Today, Watanabe works with Anna's Linens LP department to ensure the new exception-based reporting system provides the visibility to detect internal and external fraud as well as training deficiencies.