Zebra Technologies' MotionWorks Enterprise Platform
Webinar Report: RFID in Action–A Livestream Technology Demonstration

View the PDF and recording from RFID Journal's recent online event.

During this week's RFID Journal webinar, RFID in Action!–A Livestream Technology Demonstration, Lowry Solutions broadcast a live demonstration of Zebra Technologies' MotionWorks Enterprise platform from its Solution Innovation Center, spotlighting the system's ability to integrate with different RFID technologies. The event, hosted by Debbie Hughes, RFID Journal's senior editorial director of events, was held on Dec. 13. The speaker was Jeff Szkrybalo, a senior systems engineer at Lowry Solutions.

The webinar provided a firsthand view of how customers can effectively solve challenging business needs around location tracking of critical company assets. The MotionWorks Enterprise platform can define and manage resources and their hierarchical relationships, from workers to customers and from assets to work-in-process visibility. The demo showed how to effectively track all assets and goods within a business environment, while providing actionable insights to support improved operational decisions, and it covered not only MotionWorks Enterprise, but also passive RFID, as well as passive and active real-time location system (RTLS) technologies.

Please note that you need to be a Registered User or Premium Member of RFID Journal, as you will be prompted to enter your e-mail address and password before viewing the recording and PDF. Registration is free. rfidjournal.com
 

Lowe's Launching 'Project Unlock' to Battle ORC
Lowe’s combats organized retail crime with blockchain, RFID

Lowe’s Cos. Inc. is leveraging cutting-edge technology in a new initiative to curb store shrink called “Project Unlock.”

Project Unlock combines low-cost RFID chips and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to activate power tools at the point of purchase while also creating a secure, publicly accessible, and anonymized record of legitimate purchases by blockchain.

To support Project Unlock, Lowe’s has built a blockchain record that verifies and tracks all legitimate purchases. As a result, Lowe’s intends to make it easy for customers to see if they’re purchasing stolen goods, or for law enforcement to crack down on organized crime rings that conduct professional shoplifting operations.

Under Project Unlock, a unique NFT is created for each physical product. Lowe’s is launching the proof of concept with power tools, but the retailer says it sees potential to use this blockchain- and RFID-based security system for other items in its stores, and ultimately across the entire retail ecosystem.

According to Lowe’s, it is the first retailer in the home improvement vertical to develop an anti-theft solution using blockchain and RFID technology. Lowe’s provides more information on Project Unlock and how it works in a short video here.

“We are inventing the technology that makes at-purchase activation and transparent purchase records possible so we can tackle theft in a way that is virtually invisible to our customers,” said Seemantini Godbole, Lowe’s executive VP, chief digital and information officer. “We see a future in which solutions like Project Unlock can help the entire retail ecosystem create a great environment for our customers.”

Lowe’s builds out technology capabilities

Lowe’s is actively developing its technology infrastructure. The home improvement giant recently opened a 357,000-sq.-ft. tech hub in Charlotte, N.C. The company says the new facility is part of its commitment to becoming the most customer-centric omnichannel retailer. chainstoreage.com

ORC Is Becoming More Violent Than Ever
Organized retail crime has ballooned into a $100 billion problem — and store employees are dying over it

Retailers like Target, Walmart, and Walgreens said organized retail crime highly threatens business.

Retailers like Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Walgreens, and more have called out retail theft as a threat to their businesses. Eight out of 10 retailers in the study said these crimes have become violent and Walmart even said stores may have to close if the thefts don't subside.

Many times, the stolen products almost immediately end up online, disguised amid the millions of legitimate third-party sellers. The rise of e-commerce has, in large part, fueled organized retail crime. It's a lot easier to sell online than to "fence" stolen goods at brick-and-mortar pawn shops and flea markets, Scott Glenn, Home Depot's vice president of asset protection, told Insider last year.

"This money is used to buy weapons, this money is used to do the same thing that narcotics money is used to do," Tarik Sheppard, an NYPD captain and the president of the Metro Organized Retail Crime Alliance, told NBC Nightly News.

CVS has been adding time-delay safes to its brick-and-mortar locations, and Rite Aid execs recently warned that they're "looking at literally putting everything behind showcases" to deter thieves. Home Depot introduced power tools that won't work if thieves steal them, while Big Lots said during an earnings call in March that it would increase its use of carts with wheel locks to prevent people from pushing cartloads of goods out the door.

Retailers have also argued that these store-level technologies don't go far enough to deter theft. They're pushing for a federal crackdown on trafficked goods online in the hopes that it would deter these thefts in the first place. Dozens of retailers and industry groups — including Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, Walmart, and Walgreens — wrote a letter to congressional leaders in October urging them to pass legislation that would require online marketplaces to verify the identity of third-party sellers that sell high volumes of goods.

That bill, the INFORM Consumers Act, passed in the US House of Representatives last month and is currently waiting on a vote in the US Senate. Another bill introduced in the House in October aims to set up an organized-retail-crime center within the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate training and the sharing of information nationwide.  businessinsider.com

San Francisco Police Staking Out Retail Crime Hot Spots
S.F. police are secretly staking out stores like Gap & Safeway to arrest shoplifters
Over the past month, a group of San Francisco police officers have been installed at various grocery stores, pharmacies and clothing outlets across the city in an effort to crack down on retail theft as it happens, officials said Friday.

While police officials offered few details on how the operation worked in order to keep details of the ongoing theft-abatement effort concealed, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department said officers made 60 arrests since late November.

The operation, according to SFPD Deputy Chief Raj Vaswani, began in late November, and said it would last until at least next month, with the department planning on continuing it into January 2023.

Spokespersons for Safeway and Gap Inc. confirmed that their respective stores participated in the anti-theft operations. Vaswani said the operation also included Old Navy, Target, Whole Foods, CVS, Walgreens and Macy’s locations.

“Operations like this not only yield results in arrests and prosecutions, they also send a message that there will be consequences when you cross the line in San Francisco,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “There has to be accountability in this city and we will keep building on the strong partnerships with our retailers to address theft in their stores so we can create a safer space for both residents and workers.”

According to SFPD’s crime dashboard, burglary — defined as “the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft” — is down 20% since last year. Larceny, which included shoplifting as well as things like bicycle theft and stealing of car parts, is up 9.6%.

“Addressing retail theft is a priority for my office and we have been working closely with the San Francisco police to ensure that there is accountability and appropriate consequences in all cases,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement.

Chris Nelson, head of asset protection for Gap Inc., said in a statement that the company continues to “struggle with organized retail crime in the Bay Area.” Partnership with law enforcement, Nelson said, was “critical.”  sfchronicle.com

NYC Mayor Holds Retail Crime Summit with Businesses & Law Enforcement
Mayor Adams holds summit to brainstorm how to combat retail theft in NYC
Mayor Eric Adams hosted a summit with law enforcement and business leaders Friday to brainstorm on how to stop the surge in retail theft across the Big Apple.

The two-hour conference at Gracie Mansion covered new potential uses for tech in the fight, best practices for surveillance and bolstering existing law enforcement partnerships, the mayor’s office said in a press release.

The idea session, aimed at creating a “citywide strategic prevention plan,” was attended by the city’s five district attorneys, state Attorney General Letitia James, NYPD officials and reps from more than two dozen local business groups and a handful of major retailers, such as Target and Starbucks.

“Our retail stores have my commitment that we will continue to work towards real, long-lasting solutions on the issue of retail theft,” Adams said in a release. “The vast participation at today’s summit sends a clear and unified message that will not allow anyone to simply walk away with impunity when they take something without paying for it.”

Retail theft has continued to terrorize businesses in New York City this year. Through September, the latest figures available, cops already had more than 47,000 reports of minor and major thefts from stores. That’s nearly 10,000 more than all of 2019, when just under 38,000 reports for petit and grand larceny from retailers were recorded, NYPD data shows.

Among the attendees was controversial Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who has been criticized for not cracking down hard enough on crimes like theft. nypost.com

LE's Perspective on Reform
Law Enforcement Reform—Or Not?
In recent years, thanks (in this author’s opinion) to careful manipulation of videos and events, there has been somewhat of an outcry for “law enforcement reform.” Many law enforcement professionals take umbrage at this push because, from their perspective, very little is being done incorrectly and, all too often, the “reform” is simply prohibiting enforcement of the law at all. The push seemingly is to let criminals get away with crimes and further restrict officers from any attempt to arrest them and charge them with a crime. Several states now have made it easy for those arrested and charged to get out of jail almost immediately with no incentive to appear in court when the time comes. Is it any wonder that morale is low in so many agencies? Or that recruiting and retention is challenged?

In response to the call for more “reform,” several professional organizations that support law enforcement have examined what could be done differently, and if anything is/was being done wrong i the first place. Without exception, every one of those organizations admit that officers make mistakes. Understand that while the mistakes can be quite minor, circumstances can force situations to accelerate and snowball, creating major incidents out of minor mistakes. Those same organizations will sometimes challenge society to find another profession wherein those doing the work are held to the same standard of perfection. No other profession, however, has as many legal restrictions on HOW the work can be done. officer.com

It’s not just buyers emptying shelves in stores; retailers say organized crime rings are becoming a bigger problem

'Organized Retail Thieves' Strike Temecula Stores: Sheriff's Dept.

US: 101.7M Cases - 1.1M Dead - 98.8M Recovered
Worldwide: 657.7M Cases - 6.6M Dead - 631.3M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 820

Holiday COVID Surge Boosting Pharmacy Demand
Pharmacies see more demand for COVID-19, flu vaccines during holidays
As people get ready to travel and get together for the holidays, many are going to local pharmacies to get their COVID-19 and flu vaccines to help protect them against respiratory illnesses this season. Washington state health leaders are encouraging people to get vaccinated or get their boosters as several respiratory viruses are surging across the state.

Matt Binder, co-owner and pharmacist at Ostroms Drug & Gift in Kenmore, said he has noticed an increase in people getting vaccinated.

With less than a week until the holidays, Binder said it's not too late to get the vaccine. While the flu vaccine takes about two weeks before antibodies develop in the body and provide protection against influenza, Binder said it's better to have some protection than none.

Binder said they've been administering around 450 vaccines a week, which is a greater demand than what it was just a few months ago. Wallace whose getting both vaccines said he had been putting off getting the shots but decided not to wait any longer.

Chris Altman, director of immunization and clinical programs for Rite Aid and Bartell Drugs, said their pharmacies are also seeing high volumes they typically don't see this time of year. Health experts said the sooner the better for getting COVID-19 and flu shots. komonews.com

1 Million COVID Deaths Coming in China?
New models predict at least 1 million deaths in China amid covid surge
A fast-spreading covid-19 outbreak in China has researchers predicting a surge in virus-related deaths next year, with several analyses forecasting more than 1 million fatalities in a country that until now has largely kept the coronavirus in check.

Earlier this month, China dramatically loosened its strict “zero covid” policies following a wave of protests in towns and cities where residents were fed up with years of stringent lockdowns, mass testing and centralized quarantines. The demonstrations marked the most significant show of public dissent in China in years.

But many of China’s 1.4 billion people remain vulnerable to the virus because of limited exposure, low vaccination rates and poor investment in emergency care. And now, funeral homes and crematoriums in Beijing, the capital, are struggling to keep up with demand, Reuters reported. washingtonpost.com

OSHA moves to make COVID-19-related standards permanent
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has finalized a draft of a COVID-19 permanent standard that aims to protect healthcare workers from exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Long-term care advocates have said such a move isn’t necessary when facilities are already following COVID-19 mitigation measures.

After months spent collecting stakeholder input, the agency late last week sent the draft standard to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for review — the last step in the process before a rule is released. Details have yet to be unveiled, but a prior temporary standard required employers to maintain infection prevention and control programs, provide paid leave to encourage vaccination and track COVID-19 cases.​​ mcknights.com

U.S. hospitalizations continue to rise due to “tripledemic”
Hospitals across the U.S. are being stretched thin due to an influx of patients brought on by a triple threat of flu, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 cases. Michael George has the details.

Why Remote Work Will Win This Winter

COVID-19 is about to explode in China. What that could mean for the U.S.

Retailers & Other Brands Under Scrutiny for Chinese Ties
Major brands suspected of illegally sourcing products made by forced labor in China

In three reports analyzed by Insider, 106 were named, many of them household names.

If you're buying a car, electronics, clothing, or beverages from one of dozens of major household names, you could be buying products made in part by forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China.

That's despite efforts by companies over the past year to diversify their supply chains and comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law after evidence emerged of human-rights abuses committed by the Chinese government against Uyghur Muslims, including forced labor, government surveillance, forced sterilization, and reeducation camps. Some have called the treatment a genocide.

Many companies are still intertwined with China, however. Many companies have challenged their inclusion in these reports, while others say they have taken steps in recent years to improve their supply chains. Insider reached out to all the major brands listed below for comment.
 

• Nike • Amazon • Apple • Costco • Google • Microsoft • Coca-Cola • Patagonia • Adidas • Nintendo • Calvin Klein

• Kraft Heinz Co. • Gap • Abercrombie & Fitch • Victoria's Secret • H&M • L.L.Bean • Ralph Lauren • Tommy Hilfiger • Campbell Soup Co. • Uniqlo • Zara businessinsider.com