In January, Walmart issued a new mandate requiring suppliers in certain departments to begin providing RFID tags on specific home and hard goods inventory. The mandate, which goes into effect September 2, was established so Walmart can ensure on-time replenishment and maintain the proper stock levels at each store.
While Walmart’s mandate made headlines in the retail industry, they aren’t the only company to utilize RFID technology for inventory tracking. In the past two decades, other retail companies – Target, Macy’s, and Sam’s Club – have adopted RFID to improve inventory accuracy.
Shortly after Walmart announced its RFID requirements, both Dillard’s and fashion retailer Nordstrom announced a similar mandate that RFID tags would be required for most of their merchandise including apparel, accessories, baby gear, shoes, and home and gift products.
What RFID Requirements Could Mean for the Retail Industry
The biggest question in industry experts’ minds today is how will these new RFID mandates affect the retail industry? Many assume other retailers will simply follow suit and begin issuing their own directives. And they’re probably right.
When you consider the benefits of using RFID solutions to track and manage your inventory, it seems like a forgone conclusion. However, the real reason for an industry-wide adoption lies in the overwhelming influence that retailers like Walmart, Macy’s, and Target have over the industry.
Those retail juggernauts, as well as many others like them, have seen the use cases for retail RFID technology multiply.
Improvements in inventory processes
Optimized store operations
Understanding in-store traffic patterns
Faster checkout processes
Increased theft detection and prevention
And with the price of the technology at an all-time low, the return on investment is better than it’s ever been. A report from McKinsey & Company found that the price of a UHF RFID tag has dropped by 80% in the last decade. That brings the cost down to approximately $0.04 per tag if printed in large volumes. Even the price of RFID readers has dropped by 50%.
The Benefits of RFID Technology in Today’s Retail Industry
Khi công nghệ đã trưởng thành, các ứng dụng liên quan đến RFID đã trở nên đáng tin cậy hơn và mở rộng. Các giải pháp phần mềm RFID như PortalTrack từ DINHTHIEN TMS cho phép các nhà bán lẻ và nhà cung cấp sử dụng mã sản phẩm điện tử duy nhất (EPC) được gán cho mỗi thẻ để theo dõi chu kỳ cuộc sống của sản phẩm từ quá trình sản xuất đến việc mua hàng của người tiêu dùng.
This means retailers can maintain better control over their inventory and ensure product availability enabling suppliers to respond to demand faster and more efficiently. More specifically, RFID solutions provide:
- Better insight into inventory availability.
- Real-time inventory tracking.
- Faster fulfillment processing times.
- More accurate real-time data analytics.
According to the South Florida Business Journal, some of the largest retailers believe their inventory numbers are flawed and they actually only have 50-65% of the inventory listed. However, research shows that RFID solutions increase inventory accuracy to 97-99%.
Combine the low cost of RFID, more accurate inventory counts, and RFID software solutions that give you better insight into your inventory and you have an inexpensive tracking system that helps you make more guaranteed sales while providing a great customer experience.
Để biết DINHTHIEN TMS có thể giúp bạn đáp ứng các yêu cầu về RFID, hãy xem cách chúng tôi giúp các nhà sản xuất và chủ thương hiệu thời trang có cái nhìn tốt hơn về chuỗi cung ứng của họ với các giải pháp RFID.
DINHTHIEN TMS đã giúp một số thương hiệu lớn nhất thế giới đáp ứng các yêu cầu bán lẻ về RFID của riêng họ, vì vậy hãy liên hệ với chúng tôi để chúng tôi giúp bạn đáp ứng bất kỳ yêu cầu RFID mới nào.
