Shortlisted for Retail Risk Fraud Awards 2023 Announcement
We are delighted to announce the exciting news that alongside our partner Qognify, we have been shortlisted for:
The retail risk innovation in online/ supply chain risk management award.
The shortlisted nomination is for the solution Business Video Intelligence, which we have deployed for online retailer Boohoo…
One of the UK’s largest online fashion retailers, Boohoo has worked with DIS (Data Installation & Supplies) and Qognify to integrate its video surveillance system with transaction information to reduce fraudulent claims, speed up the handling process and minimise internal shrinkage.
Within 12 months we are proud to announce that this solution has not only reduced fraudulent claims by more than 62%, but it has saved Boohoo £1.5 million in the first year alone, delivering a phenomenal return on Boohoo’s investment in less than six weeks.
The Challenge
Boohoo was facing a problem, one that every online business is exposed to, with claims from customers that the number of items ordered online did not match what arrived in the delivered package.
With no way of validating or disproving the legitimacy of these claims, it was costing Boohoo millions of pounds each year.
DIS presented a solution to Boohoo, whom we have had a relationship with for over five years and who they had entrusted to install a video security system with more than 500 IP cameras at its large warehouse facility.
To manage this large camera estate, we had specified video management software (VMS) from Qognify, who like us has extensive experience working with major national and multinational retailers.
Our Technical Director at DIS, Adam Foster, explains:
“What sets Qognify apart is its powerful Business Video Intelligence (BVI) solution to connect video and data.
This elevates it from a VMS that is not only exceptional at managing cameras for security purposes, to a system also capable of improving how retailers conduct their operations.”
Qognify BVI combines video footage from the VMS with transaction data from business-related IT systems such as PoS, ERP or warehouse management systems.
It is used by retailers worldwide in a multitude of sectors, from fashion to food, providing new levels of information and insight that can be used to optimise business processes, reduce risk, and tackle fraud.
Working together with Boohoo, both ourselves and Qognify completed an initial proof of concept with the retailer, installing cameras on 127 of its packing benches, where orders are prepared for distribution 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
These cameras capture the packing of every item, for every order, with the footage being stored for 31 days and the ability to be reviewed whenever a claim request is received.
Boohoo’s service agents simply type the order number into the Qognify BVI system and within seconds they are replaying and examining the relevant video footage from the bench, relating to the picking and packing process for that order, before determining whether the correct number of items were placed in the package, as well as identifying the condition of the items at the point at which it was sealed for dispatch.
The speed with which the entire claims process can be handled is impressive, given the volume of orders that are being completed; With 40,000 items a day being packed in a 24-hour period at peak times, the system is currently storing video data in the region of 90TB.
Another benefit the system achieved is detecting and deterring internal shrinkage, with some small low-value items not being added to orders.
This has also been reduced, as the likelihood of such activity being uncovered is simply not worth the risk.
We are proud to say that the project has been an enormous success, reducing claims by as much as 62% and a return on investment from the system being achieved in less than six weeks.
As such, Boohoo is now rolling out cameras and BVI to a further 180 packing benches (taking the total to 307 benches,) as well as extending its use to the returns and refunds process.
The exact same system can be used to validate whether the number of items returned for a refund correlates with the number stated by the customer.
This nomination and subsequent shortlisting for this award is both a tremendous honour and a reflection of the great partnership we have with Qognify.
However, we would at this time like to acknowledge that it would have not been possible had it not been a testament to the unwavering commitment of our exceptional DIS team, who worked efficiently and with upmost professionalism to provide Boohoo with this game changing install.
Stay tuned for the awards which will take place in Leicester on October 5th, 2023, where the whole DIS and Qognify team will be keeping our fingers crossed.
We would also like to wish the best of luck to all the other shortlisted nominees across the multiple categories.