Research & Trends: Retailers Lose Millions In The Supply Chain

By King Rogers, KRG Analytics, Inc.

According to information gathered by the Information Sharing and Analysis Center for the Critical Infrastructure of the Global Supply Chain (www.sc-isac.org), U.S. retailers lost merchandise valued at $54,034,288 during the two and a half year period from 2008 to midyear 2010 before such merchandise ever arrived at the store. These losses were just those reported to SC-ISAC, and we know that not all losses are reported. An educated guess would put the real retailer supply chain losses at four times that number.

While some of these reported losses were the result of warehouse/DC break-ins and burglaries, the majority were stolen trailer loads of merchandise. Some trailer loads were stolen from carrier yards, some were stolen from the grounds of a distribution center or warehouse, but most of the truckload thefts occurred at truck stops.