Introduction to ECR Europe Shrinkage Roadmap (2005)

If shrinkage management could be viewed as a journey, then recent European experience would be one not only lacking a final destination, but one plagued by too many blind alleys, detours, and one-way streets—the proverbial “road to nowhere.” However, thanks to a collaboration of leading retailers, manufacturers, and academics, a radical new approach to the problem of shrinkage has been developed that is enabling European retailers to realize huge savings. Prior to the work of the ECR (Efficient Consumer Response) Shrinkage Group, most retail responses to shrinkage were crisis driven, often triggered by a poor end-of-year stock loss result.

This would usually generate a knee-jerk reaction, blaming the losses on outsiders, namely shoplifters, and involving the use of further technology to try to “solve” the problem. No systematic collection and analysis of hard data to monitor performance was typically employed. So, when the next crisis loomed, the reactive cycle would begin again.


This article will describe how European retailers have begun to think about the problem of stock loss in a new way, ultimately finding an alternative approach to solving the age-old problem of shrinkage. It will chart the work of the ECR Europe Shrinkage Group and the development of an innovative and successful road map designed to provide retailers and their suppliers with a methodology designed to combat the problem of stock loss.
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