Evan Schuman

The world of crime prevention is riddled with what—at first glance—seem to be contradictions, but are actually exercises in logic. The weak-link theory, for example, holds that excessive security on a frontdoor serves no purpose as long as there is a perfectly good breakable window two feet away. In other words, once you have made […]

In a scheme that leveraged a little technology but relied on inattentive cashiers, Tennessee authorities have arrested two couples on charges that they used bogus bar codes to steal at least $1.5 million from hundreds of stores—some belonging to Wal-Mart—in 19 states. The group is slated to appear in court Wednesday. Although the accused are […]

The most well-planned and meticulously detailed crimes are often foiled by the commonplace. The thieves might map out their route precisely, coordinating it based on when various employees come and go. But security guard No. 9 gets a flat tire that morning, shows up 35 minutes late and ruins everything. In the recent bar-code scam […]

Youre cleaning away papers that accumulated during the holidays and find a portable CD player that is identical to the one you use every day. It was given to you as a gift and you have no receipt, nor any clue where it was purchased. On a whim, you take the CD player to your […]

Some of the nations largest retailers pay Paul Walsh to think about existential-sounding questions like “How cold is cold?” and “How wet is wet?” No, Walsh isnt a philosopher. Indeed, as a trained scientist (a meteorologist, to be precise), his answers are anything but theoretical. But it certainly is about perception. The temperature where people […]

When you think of retail IT operations in 2005, envision an eccentric, wealthy hermit who lives in a comfortable mansion in the middle of the woods. The hermit certainly knows about the big city and all of the glorious things he could buy there, but he is content. He has what he needs and a […]

Imagine the following scenario playing out at your favorite retail store. You have been running all around town trying to prepare for an important formal banquet on January 11, 2005. After having worked with a sales associate at a major department store for an hour to select seven possible outfits, you lug them into a […]

Spreading holiday joy among its suppliers, the nations largest retailer has softened its RFID compliance deadline. In a briefing with analysts, Wal-Mart CIO Linda Dillman said that its top 100 suppliers—plus 37 “volunteer” suppliers—will start shipping cases and pallets by February to three Wal-Mart distribution centers. The original deadline was Jan. 1. Wal-Mart officials have […]

It has been written that the wiser the people, the more they are aware of how little they truly know. That unsettling thought nicely summarizes the state of RFID today. With each trial, companies discover how incredibly much they still do not understand. With each investment, they discover how its likely to be much more […]

With the holiday season comes fruitcake, traffic jams and an anticipated onslaught of must-be-returned gifts from well-meaning (and possibly colorblind) friends and relatives. But sprinkled amongst those gift-receipt-clutching consumers are what the industry considers thieves: people who deliberately use return policies to steal. The tactics vary, from “free customer rentals”—where someone purchases an outfit, wears […]