Security Lock Down

Tis the season—for shoplifting. Add the desperation associated with an economic recession to the busy holiday rush and the end result is probably less than desirable for store owners. Sure, product moves off the shelves, but not through purchase.

Holiday shoplifting is just one example where security features on a tag could have helped. In order to protect the bottom line, it is often necessary to take extra measures.

John Shanley, president of Woodinville, Washington-based Labels West said the major benefit of a security feature is to save money. "An example of a direct cost savings would be a visible RFID label affixed to the outside of a retail package. If the would-be thief sees the tag and knows it will set off an alarm, he won't steal the item. He'll move on to another," he said. "An example of an indirect security feature might be something like adding a custom holograph or micro text to packaging. These are features that are difficult and expensive for a counterfeiter to duplicate. The counterfeiter will probably move on to a product with packaging that is easier to copy. This indirectly saves the brand owner money because cheap knock-offs of [its] product aren't being introduced into the marketplace. This protects the value of the brand."

Labels West offers distributors a variety of security features to choose from including tamper-evident 
constructions, authentication, tracking and theft deterrents. Shanley noted that tamper-evident labels are the company's most popular request. In layman's terms, these labels get added to a package and should the package be compromised, evidence of that tampering will show. "These can be anything from the peel-off seal on a bottle of vitamins to a destructible label placed on a piece of machinery that would show if someone tried to open up and work on a piece of equipment," he explained.