You want to see how people act inside a certain spot and find a cheap way to do it?
You want to see how people act inside a certain spot and find a cheap way to do it?
Hey new here. I work for a big regional food shop company. We are planning to try self-checkout in our new grocery store. This is just a test, but if it works well we will expand it to all the other stores. The store right now uses smart cameras to stop theft. Are we sure we can use them too to see how customers act when they check out so we know if this system is really needed? The security company calls Hikvision and they are very big in this business. We talked to an integrator who offered the BriefCam solution but it costs a lot of money. Is there another option that can also count how long people stay, figure out their age or gender from what the cameras see? We need something cheaper to push this project faster. Thanks!
So, what is your budget? The first step would be to figure out the Return on Investment (ROI). That means figuring out how much money this self-checkout system costs the store compared to how much savings customers get by doing the work themselves while being watched. There are probably many different ways to make these comparisons and you'll likely end up with a number everyone agrees on. The ROI process will probably change and grow as you learn more about other things or new factors show up. For most of them, any integrator or similar company should be able to give figures based on stores that are the same size and in the same location. There might also be local rules and laws...
What is your budget? The first step would be to look at a Return on Investment (ROI). That means figuring out how much money the store will spend on the system compared to how much money customers save by working themselves instead of being watched to stop theft. There are probably several ways to do this comparison, and you should end up with one clear number. Most likely, that process will get better as you learn more about things or add new factors into play. For most stores, an integrator or company like this can give you a rough idea of the ROI based on similar shops nearby. There might also be special rules from local laws about recording and keeping track of customer behavior. Even if the data doesn't say who is watching, it could still show private things people don't want to know about. If possible, get three or four proposals for installing this kind of system. You need to have a clear idea of what you want before starting. Your needs might change as you learn and talk more about where it will go. Be specific with your details so the company knows exactly what's needed. Try to show them how each part they give you fits that plan well enough. You also need to be able to tell if something worked or didn't work, no matter what we call success or failure here. Write down all those needs as a "Request for Proposals" and send it over to the companies. Tell them exactly how you want their answers written back so they know what to do with your questions. Ask about itemized costs: upfront money, maintenance fees, repair charges, insurance, warranties, reports, analytics, and anything else that comes along - but no secret fees hidden in there. And make sure to ask what happens if theft is found. If you can't stop it, catch the bad guys and get the losses back, then all of those extra steps probably won't help much anyway. Good people usually don't steal even with a watch on them. Bad guys just grab stuff and run away before anyone gets there. Hopefully they will reach out to you for more info or maybe come over to see it in action. Also, since there are going to be contracts or other rules involved (like keeping secrets), you should have legal help ready if things go wrong. Before sending anything else, just some thoughts on this whole thing. There might be other ideas and suggestions too.
The job I have here sells SkyREC at www.skyrec.cc; that is mostly video control software with video tracking features too. I also know BriefCam, and I guess it's like SkyREC but probably costs way more money. Still, I think you should do some digging to figure out what exactly you need.