Item Level RFID

The Challenge: Out of stock items are the curse of retailers everywhere. If the item isn’t available at the moment of purchase or in the right size or style, a sale is often lost. Most stores struggle with two types of out of stocks:

• Selling Floor Out of Stock
• Store Out of Stock

The selling floor out of stock is insidious because the item is actually in the store. It is in the backroom. The sales associate just needs to know that restocking is needed and that the item is on hand. Unfortunately, today they don’t. So they search for it only after a shopper asks and then they leave the sales floor and the customer to search. When the shopper doesn’t ask, the sale is lost.

The store out of stock is also a challenge today because point of sale (POS) systems are often inaccurate and provide delayed information to store associates and inventory managers. Most stores cannot afford to take inventory each day. The manpower and time required with traditional barcode technology is too costly. This results in lower inventory accuracy and higher out of stock incidents than desired.

The Solution: Because RFID can be employed to validate inventory up to 12 times faster than barcode and can automatically read items as they move throughout the store, the technology is the top choice for combating out of stocks. Using RFID to improve inventory accuracy and restocking cycle time leads to reduced out of stocks of both types and can drive higher store sales. This is especially important before items go through mark-downs or during new product launches or promotions.

An RFID solution for a retailer can leverage a portfolio of Event Based and Continuous monitoring options that can be strategically deployed depending upon the physical environment and the requirements. For example, the receiving dock is a prime environment for an event based fixed reader; a single truck arrives three to seven times per week, delivering new inventory items. The fixed reader records these events and provides alerts of the presence of high priority items requiring immediate processing.

On the other hand, the sales floor is an excellent location for a continuous monitoring solution where a complete inventory can be quickly taken at pre-determined intervals or on demand. This continuous inventory will provide near real time visibility into out of stocks and inventory availability, giving the associates and store management valuable data that will enable faster throughput and higher sales. Other associate driven activities can leverage handheld devices to validate store floor inventory in 80% faster than traditional count or barcode procedures.

Solution Components: The solution is configured based on customer requirements and includes some or all of the following components:

• Fixed, rugged RFID EasyPortals™ for choke point movement tracking
• Handheld RFID readers for mobile item identification and tracking
• Fixed passive real-time location reader infrastructure
• Inventory tracking and processing software to manage processes and integrate with existing enterprise applications
• Inventory tracking reports run in real-time
• RFID device management software
• Implementation services

The Result: Faster and more accurate receiving, replenishment, and item location; more accurate inventory; lower out-of-stock