The company
ABC Fine Wine and Spirits is the largest privately held fine wine and spirits merchant in the United States. Established in 1936 and headquartered in Florida, the company carries an extensive selection of wines, spirits and beers, along with a selection of gourmet foods that includes cheeses, chocolates, and snack items.
Operational overview
In business for more than 70 years, ABC Fine Wine and Spirits today operates 153 off-licences throughout the Florida peninsula, from Jacksonville and Tallahassee to South Miami and Naples.
Strategic challenge
Standardise on a solution for ABC Fine Wine and Spirit's geographically distributed retail stores to:
- reduce shrinkage
- provide a safe environment for customers and employees
- manage video security easily and effectively.
The solution
Verint NextivaTM Specialty Retail
The bottom line
ABC stores are networked to a centralised mainframe server in which real-time sales transactions reside. To help optimise security and efficiency, Verint® engineers developed a customised integration to ABC's proprietary POS network at the store level. Remote access to video saves time for Loss Prevention managers and investigators because they no longer have to send videotapes between locations or drive to stores to investigate events. Additionally, investigators can leverage Nextiva Specialty Retail's easy-to-use filter and search logs that recall specific events by employee, date and ID.
Today, Nextiva Specialty Retail helps ABC Fine Wine and Spirits resolve complaints and liability claims quickly and efficiently. "We have already seen significant savings on both hard and soft costs associated with security and investigations," Louis DeFalco, Corporate Director of Safety and Security, said.
A strategic approach to safety and the bottom line
Many ABC Fine Wine and Spirits stores had outdated VCR surveillance equipment and inefficient standalone DVRs, and were experiencing retention and data storage issues, as well as questions about the validity of video evidence. When Louis DeFalco joined ABC Fine Wine and Spirits as Corporate Director of Safety & Security, he recognised a need to update the existing infrastructure.
DeFalco and his IT department worked with Verint to identify a solution to replace their video security system. "I was looking for a company that could address my concerns about storage, usability, support, remote accessibility and Point Of Sale (POS) integration," DeFalco stated. After examining a variety of solutions, ABC Fine Wine and Spirits selected Nextiva Specialty Retail.
"This system has already helped us reduce shrinkage and internal staff issues. We are quickly becoming known for our tough security policies," DeFalco adds.
ABC Fine Wine and Spirits also wanted to monitor and record suspicious activity. Integration of the company's Point Of Sale (POS) system with Nextiva Specialty Retail enables managers and authorised staff to view recorded video associated with potentially fraudulent transactions, such as voided and no-sale transactions, merchandise discounts, and price changes. DeFalco says, "Being able to see everything from key strokes to cash control allows us to quickly prosecute dishonest individuals."
"By giving us the opportunity to adapt 21st century technology to a 70-year-old company, Verint has helped us enhance our operations and improve our bottom line."
