Bemol is one of the largest retail chains operating in Brazil’s North Region. With 19 stores, 3 distribution centers, and a headquarters office from which its successful e-business operations are coordinated, the company has more than 2,200 employees in the three Brazilian states where it does business
Mission
Bemol is one of the largest retail chains operating in Brazil's North Region. With 19 stores, 3 distribution centers, and a headquarters office from which its successful e-business operations are coordinated, the company has more than 2,200 employees in the three Brazilian states where it does business. Since Bemol is currently considered the top-of-mind brand by almost all residents of Manous, Amazonas, in-store traffic is increasing exponentially. In order to monitor this flow, a project offering high-quality video monitoring was needed. The analog cameras installed in Bemol's stores no longer met its needs.
Solution
The system integrator, RV Installations, designed a comprehensive project proposal for installation of an IP video monitoring solution at Bemol. Altogether, 430 cameras were utilized: 405 AXIS HDTV cameras, 16 AXIS PoE cameras with CS-mount, and 8 AXIS Day/Night PTZ Network Cameras. All cameras are managed using Digifort Professional software provided by Digifort, an Axis partner.
Result
RV installations' video monitoring proposal has far exceeded Bemol's expectations. During the first few months of its operation, the system has facilitated the identification of a much larger number of events than recorded by the analog system it replaced. Furthermore, the images captured also help optimize operations: for example, it is now possible to identify those areas that attract the most customers, check for shelves needing to be restocked, and detect in real time which sections require more sales personnel.
Pilot project
Because this was RV Installations' first project to include IP cameras, once RV Installations understood Bemol's needs it conducted market research and before submitting a project proposal to the customer, decided to partner with Axis. RV Installations then took advantage of training offered by Axis and Digifort and, only afterward, submitted a proposal to Bemol for modernization of its video monitoring system.
The first step was to adopt Axis cameras at a single store, the Bemol Barroso store in Manaus, to evaluate the solution's potential. Sixteen AXIS HDTV Network Cameras were installed inside the store.
Soon afterward, Bemol confirmed the network's monitoring efficiency and requested RV Installations to implement the solution throughout the entire chain. Concurrently, it adopted eight more cameras at the Barroso store to provide monitoring not just inside the store but also in the parking lot.
Remote monitoring
Currently, all 19 Bemol stores, including a recently opened unit at the Ponta Negra Shopping Center in Manaus, have Axis cameras, as do the company's three distribution centers and central office mentioned at the beginning of this case study. All 23 locations are monitored from a central control center set up at the company headquarters in Manaus. All images captured are analyzed in real time 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by remote operators stationed there.
The Monitoring Room is equipped with seven servers and twenty-four 32-inch LED TVs used for local monitoring. The camera system runs on PoE, and the cameras installed offer intelligent proximity detection, which means they save storage space by monitoring environments continuously but only storing images whenever local movement is detected. Each unit has a dedicated 1-MB link that facilitates the transmission of images it captures to the central control center.
The project has been so successful that, for the future Bemol has begun to experiment with automated nighttime monitoring: cameras would automatically detect movement in stores during hours when the store is closed, activating appropriate alarms and systems to warn the police, fire department or private security agency, as appropriate.