August 20, 2021 - securitylinkindia

Feature

Resilient Approach has Helped Us Win Over the Odds

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaAugust 20, 2021November 14, 2024014 mins

Ashish P. Dhakan MD & CEO Prama Hikvision India Pvt. Ltd. SecurityLinkIndia (SLI): Nearly 18 months of pandemic disruption so far and the third wave is largely anticipated – it has not yet been ruled out – what are the impacts on your business, and the security industry at large? It was a great learning experience as it had taught us to be alert, resilient and compliant in the face of adversity. The pandemic disruptions were so sudden and unprecedented that it impacted everybody in some or other way. The security Industry was adversely impacted due to supply chain disruptions and various challenges during this period. We too faced multiple challenges of disruptions, but resilience helped us to overcome the odds. When the entire world and humanity is fighting a crusade against the pandemic and trying to overcome the devastating impact of the second wave, we are setting up a new agenda for the future and acting up on it for the growth of the security industry with a profound human approach. It was a great learning experience for all of us to go through the various phases of pandemic challenges and recovery. We have the resilience and innovative marketing strategies on our side to communicate and engage the target audience in a simple and effective manner. SLI: What are the CSR initiatives you have taken during the pandemic situation? While continuing with our fight against the pandemic, Hikvision India has organised a vaccination drive for its employees, workers and their family members. The vaccination drive was conducted on 20 and 26 June 2021. Through this vaccination drive approximately all employees got covered. The vaccination drive for employees and their family members was organised by Hikvision India as a part of employee welfare initiative to support them in providing protection from the pandemic. The vaccination drive covered the vast pool of employees, which include not only our employees, workers and their families, but also those in the extended ecosystem. Hikvision India had helped the ecosystem partners in the pandemic by providing oxygen concentrators. It has delivered a substantial number of oxygen concentrators to the applicants across India as a part of its CSR Initiative to support its employees, partners, end-users and extended security professional community. The company has launched this CSR Initiative on 27 May 2021 to provide timely support to security business community, system integrators, distributors, vendors and employees and their family members. Under this CSR initiative, oxygen concentrators were successfully delivered free of cost to the verified applicants across India. SLI: How do you foresee the future of security industry amid third wave, and beyond? The medical expert and government bodies had predicted that third wave of the pandemic will have a less severe impact due to vaccination and enhanced awareness. Security Industry ecosystem should continue to be alert, resilient and compliant to the pandemic guidelines and protocols. One thing is clear at no point, we can afford to be complacent about the risks of the third wave and other threats related to pandemic. The security industry has to move forward with planning their future beyond the spectrum of pandemic. They need to identify the emerging opportunities and trends. Hikvision India has lived up to the challenge of the pandemic situation by doing extensive research and development to offer pandemic safety solutions (temperature screening, face mask wearing alerts, social distancing and flow control solutions). We were one of the first movers in the industry to offer temperature screening solutions. We are grateful to our partners and end-users for their consistent support and unshakable trust. We are hopeful that security market will get back to its peak performance level. Though the pandemic situation had created a major challenge for the security industry, but a resilient approach has helped us to win over the odds. SLI: Which new initiatives Hikvision India is taking especially for Indian market? We had the resilience and innovative marketing strategies on our side to communicate and engage the target audience in a simple and effective manner. There are no easy solutions, but the resilience and compliance of the pandemic protocols are the best solutions in these times. We are following stratagem from the market’s own alchemist to ensure a perfect roadmap to recovery. The key priority for us at Hikvision India is to keep on innovating and evolving as an organization while navigating through these challenging times. We have set the strategic priorities of our marketing initiatives to tackle constraints on capacity, capital and capability. It also involves strategic decision making and prioritizing budget for key initiatives and media engagements. Our focused initiatives are based on the evolving market trends, technology advantages, customer and employee demand for societal impact. We have a dedicated special R&D center in India to do the research and development on India specific products and solutions to provide the security solutions as per the requirements. Here some of our innovations go beyond the customization needs of the end-users and create a unique solution as per changing needs. SLI: Which are the significant milestones achieved by Hikvision India? Hikvision India is the leading video security solution provider in the security market. There are three most significant milestones Hikvision India has achieved in the recent times, one is the undisputed market leadership position, the second is ‘Make-in-India’ 2.0 manufacturing plant and the third is going digital across the channels. These three initiatives were rolled out with foresight and missionary zeal. The company has the leading position in the Indian security market and management has shown incredible skills in handling supply chain disruptions and resolving core issues faced by the partner community. We are implementing a series of digital transformation initiatives to keep customers engaged and satisfied undisputed market leadership position, the second is ‘Make-in-India’ 2.0 manufacturing plant and the third is going digital across the channels. These three initiatives were rolled out with foresight and missionary zeal. The company has the leading position in the Indian security market and management has shown…

Future of Loss Prevention-II

MassMediaLink India LLP SecurityLink IndiaAugust 20, 2021November 14, 2024024 mins

Anil Puri CMD, APS group A thought leader and an action catalyzer rolled into one – Anil Puri is a rare combination of a visionary, and one who has mastered the art of strategic and tactical thinking to the core. He has been using this combination to seed new ideas and to lead them to their implementation on-ground. This has been a consistent feature of his career. He has rich experience of approximately 35 years in corporate in diverse domains & from functional managerial level to the apex as chairman of a corporate group. To him, The loss prevention (LP) has always occupied central place when planning the security protocols for the shopping malls, warehouses, large shopping complexes, standalone retail stores and manufacturing plants. He has been keenly watching the developments in the loss prevention techniques emerging in this domain. Old adage loss prevention techniques have stood the test of times but have been breached, losses inflicted and profitability hit. However, emerging innovative technologies have revolutionized the entire perspective of loss prevention. He contributes extensively in framework of security protocols of loss prevention with his ops team before deployment of security personnel at high end shopping malls. Here he shares his thoughts on new landscape which has gradually been shaping in favor of the retailers. Let us see what future holds for loss prevention. Here he propagates the enhanced usage of AI in loss prevention. Introduction Retail shrinkage is a multi-billion-dollar, multi-layered monster that affects organizations throughout the retail industry. The problem spans beyond the physical store and has roots throughout the entire supply chain. Government-imposed public health protocols, social restrictions and lockdowns that have arisen because of the COVID-19 global pandemic have changed the way people do things the world over. The impacts on the retail sector have been significant, translating it into levels of adversity unlike anything business has ever before faced. For retail loss prevention teams charged with ensuring the safety and security of the business’ employees, customers and product, the shifts and accelerations in consumer behavior mean that they have to rethink & revisit their strategies. They have had to leverage their creativity and innovation in order to pivot and respond to a whole new set of challenges. Globally many retail loss prevention forums have organized events to help address the evolving concerns of today’s loss prevention professionals and discuss the ways by which leaders within the industry are proactively producing effective solutions to protect their businesses. This has provided virtual attendees with thought leadership, critical insights into best practices with respect to day-to-day retail operations and an incredible opportunity to network with industry colleagues concerning the most pressing issues their industry is facing today. How to disrupt the organized crime? The scourge of organized retail crime (ORC) continues to cast a pall over retail operations, with the number of incidents escalating since the start of the pandemic. Given the increasingly sophisticated means by which these groups, who often travel from region to region, are striking neighborhoods and cities indiscriminately, the role of loss prevention teams in curbing this very serious threat is critical. It is time to unpack this complicated issue for retailers and discuss some of the ways in which loss prevention teams can enhance the protection of their organizations. As impacts of the pandemic continue to influence the way today’s consumer shops and accelerates online activity, retailers are faced with more adversity than ever before in providing a safe, secure and seamless environment in which to serve their customers. To better understand how these changes in consumer behavior are impacting retailers’ efforts to ensure a best-in-class experience during these difficult times, and to share insights concerning some of the incredible pivots being made by loss prevention teams in order to support their organization’s operations and service. Potential Ramifications The sessions organized by loss prevention forums focused on the potential ramifications of ORC to retail operations, the trends that are related to the activities of these crime groups, as well as some of the proactive steps that can be taken by loss prevention teams in order to deal with the risk like: (a) Retailers should join any network that is available to them. (b) If there aren’t any, they should create one for themselves (c) Be proactive in hosting opportunities to get together with law enforcement partners, fellow loss prevention officers, community associations, city politicians and crown attorneys to hold ongoing dialogue. Creating these communities makes it easier for everyone impacted by these crimes to identify associated trends and more difficult for ORC groups to operate as efficiently as they’d like to. Developing a Threat Awareness Another threat wreaking havoc on retail operations is found within the digital world. Though perpetrated by living, breathing human beings, the veiled activities of cybercriminals allow them to conduct their misdeeds behind a screen and provide them both with relative anonymity and the digital tools they need to undo a business. It is important to understand the ways in which a cyber threat and incident can occur as well as the potential ramifications to the retail bottom line and the steps that are required of organizations to properly deal with the issue. What is needed is – Developing the threat awareness, understanding of relevant prevention information and adhering to best digital practices will be key. Too often, the cyber-attacks go unreported. As a result, the attackers are emboldened knowing that law enforcement is unaware of the scope of the problem and that the incidents likely won’t be investigated. It’s imperative that any and all cyber attacks be reported to the police. In tandem with the incident reporting to law enforcement, retailers must follow the procedures that have been outlined within their company’s cyber incident response plan. If a plan has not been developed, then it should become a quick priority. That’s where retailers and law enforcement will be able to make a difference, making it harder for cybercriminals to operate, thereby reducing the level of victimization….