Case Study: Auditing, Case Management Software Help Goodwill Curb Loss

By Matt Pillar, Integrated Solutions For Retailers magazine

One wouldn't think that Goodwill stores are a target for shoplifters, but Chris Barber, director of LP for Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc., says the opposite is true. "In the psyche of our shoplifting offenders, stealing from Goodwill is ‘justified' by the faulty logic that we don't ‘purchase' our inventory," he explains. As a result, shoplifting is a major challenge for the company, which uses its more than $60M in annual sales revenue to develop employment opportunities and improve high school and college participation among disabled and disadvantaged central Indiana residents. The challenge is compounded by the nature of Goodwill's retail business, which relies on the sale of donated goods and therefore lacks strong inventory control measures.