Equitus's two products, KGNN and EVS, can work together on an IBM Power 11 system to provide a robust solution for Kroger's loss prevention needs, with a strong focus on auditing, security, and compliance.
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1. The Role of KGNN (Knowledge Graph Neural Network)
KGNN is a platform that ingests, unifies, and contextualizes disparate data sets into an AI-ready knowledge graph. For Kroger, this means it can connect and make sense of information from various sources that are often siloed.
Auditing: KGNN can link data from different systems to create a comprehensive picture of a store's operations. This could include:
Point-of-Sale (POS) data: Transaction logs, returns, voids, and discounts.
Inventory management systems: Stock levels, shrink data, and delivery records.
Employee data: Schedules, access logs, and performance metrics.
Supply chain data: Shipping information and vendor records. By correlating these datasets, KGNN can automatically flag anomalies that might indicate theft or fraud. For example, it could identify an employee who is frequently voiding high-value transactions or an unusual pattern of returns after a specific employee's shift. This provides a detailed audit trail for internal investigations.
Security: KGNN's ability to uncover hidden patterns and relationships is a key security feature. It can:
Detect internal theft rings: By analyzing employee data and transaction patterns, it can identify groups of employees who are collaborating to steal.
Flag suspicious vendor activity: It can cross-reference invoices with inventory records to detect fraudulent billing or shortages.
Identify fraud at scale: By analyzing data from multiple stores, it can find broader patterns of organized retail crime that might be missed at a single location. The IBM Power 11's built-in security features, like quantum-safe cryptography and memory encryption, would ensure that this sensitive data remains secure at a foundational level.
Compliance: In the retail industry, compliance with various regulations (e.g., PCI DSS for credit card data) is critical. KGNN can help by:
Providing data provenance: It can trace every piece of data back to its origin, which is essential for proving compliance with data handling regulations.
Automating compliance reporting: By creating a unified view of all data, it can automatically generate reports required for regulatory audits.
Ensuring data integrity: The knowledge graph structure, when combined with the robust security of IBM Power 11, ensures the integrity of the data, which is a core requirement for many compliance standards.
2. The Role of EVS (Equitus Video Sentinel)
EVS is a video analytics platform that uses computer vision to analyze video feeds in real time. It can transform Kroger's extensive network of security cameras into intelligent sensors.
Auditing: EVS can provide visual evidence to support findings from KGNN.
Validating KGNN alerts: When KGNN flags a suspicious transaction, EVS can automatically pull up and analyze the corresponding video footage to confirm whether a theft occurred.
Real-time incident response: It can alert staff to potential issues as they happen, such as a customer placing items into a bag without scanning them at a self-checkout kiosk.
Security: EVS is a powerful tool for proactive and reactive security.
Real-time anomaly detection: It can be trained to recognize and flag behaviors associated with shoplifting, such as a person loitering in a specific aisle for an extended period or attempting to conceal merchandise.
Forensic video search: In the event of a theft, EVS can use AI to quickly search hours of video footage for specific events, like a person entering or leaving the store, or a particular object being removed from a shelf. This drastically reduces the time and effort required for investigations.
IBM Power 11 synergy: Running EVS on an IBM Power 11 system with on-chip AI acceleration would enable real-time, high-performance analysis of thousands of video feeds without the need for external GPUs, lowering costs and maintaining a high level of security by keeping sensitive data on-premises.
Compliance: Using video data responsibly is a key aspect of compliance. EVS, in conjunction with the IBM Power 11 platform, can help by:
Secure data handling: The IBM Power 11's security features ensure that video footage and the derived AI insights are protected from unauthorized access.
Auditability: The system can provide a clear record of when and how video data was accessed and analyzed, which is crucial for internal and external audits.
3. The Power of Synergy on IBM Power 11
The real advantage comes from combining KGNN and EVS on an IBM Power 11 system.
Integrated Loss Prevention: KGNN provides the "what" and "who" (e.g., "employee X performed 15 unapproved voids on Tuesday"), while EVS provides the "how" and "when" (e.g., "video footage at 2:30 PM shows employee X and customer Y at the register during the void"). The two products can be linked, with KGNN's insights triggering EVS to perform a deeper analysis of specific video footage.
Secure, On-Premises Foundation: The IBM Power 11 platform provides the high-performance, resilient, and secure environment necessary to handle Kroger's vast amount of data. This on-premises solution ensures data control and privacy, which is a major concern for a retailer of Kroger's size. IBM Power 11's built-in security and compliance automation tools, such as IBM PowerSC, would further enhance the solution by providing a unified way to manage security policies and perform audits across the entire system.
In summary, Equitus's KGNN and EVS, when deployed on IBM Power 11, could give Kroger a comprehensive, integrated, and highly secure loss prevention system. It moves beyond passive monitoring to active, data-driven security, significantly improving auditing capabilities and ensuring regulatory compliance.
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