Monsoon Accessorize is in the early stages of a project to implement a data mining system to protect its margins.

The LossManager application, from IDM Software, is being introduced to the business by the loss prevention team. It will be used within both the company’s brands to pinpoint internal and external fraud and uncover process inefficiencies.

The system has been chosen to address shrinkage through the retailer’s tills and procedural issues that can lead to loss.
It is the first time that Monsoon Accessorize has invested in a data mining tool.

Monsoon Accessorize head of audit and loss prevention Richard Lawrance said that he hopes to have the tool up and running by the end of the year. Before then, the company will identify which sources of data it wants to analyse through the tool, with the information from its EPoS system being the primary source.

Lawrance said that once the system is live he hopes to get some quick wins in terms of reducing financial loss in the first six to nine months. Once these issues are identified the company will then look more closely at procedural issues.

He added that the introduction of the system was not connected to worsening economic conditions, as the company began its search for a suitable data mining system more than a year ago.

Monsoon Accessorize also hopes to explore how the system could be used by other areas of the business, such as the retail operations team.

Lawrance explained: “One of its strengths is that we could potentially use it for basket analysis too. We will have to see how the product settles in, but we feel it could give us some interesting perspectives.”