RFID technology in the retail industry
Out of stock is a big taboo for retailers. Wal-Mart has pointed out that if it can solve the 1% product out of stock problem, then Wal-Mart will be able to obtain an additional 2.5 billion US dollars in sales revenue. In order to do this, retailers are also thinking about it-whether they are not aware that the product is out of stock, do not know that there is still stock in the warehouse, or that the product is in transit from the factory to the store.
Not only at Wal-Mart, but in fact, in the face of modern retail, retailers are facing a common problem: how to maximize the transparency of the supply chain and how to make every link in the retail chain in a “visible” Management “. Fortunately, RFID technology has made this “omni-channel retail” gradually becoming a reality.
Why RFID technology in retail?
RFID technology is a non-contact tag recognition technology, which is the best way to track goods. It is superior to bar code recognition technology in that RFID can dynamically identify high-speed moving objects, can identify multiple electronic tags at the same time, and has a large recognition distance.
At the same time, because of the uniqueness of the electronic tag identification function, it can track goods in the whole supply chain, thus simplifying all links of goods tracking, obtaining the required inventory visibility in real time, so as to improve inventory management.
RFID technology is widely used in retail industry. Macy’s believes that commodity grade RFID can reduce the inventory cost by US $1 billion, and specifically explains their “select the last” plan, which is to ensure that any item in any store is available for sale and can be easily positioned to complete orders.
In addition, in zebra technology’s future order fulfillment vision study, 95% of supply chain decision makers will move to RFID based inventory management by 2028. Why retailers are willing to adopt RFID technology? There are three main reasons: first, RFID technology can help enterprises reduce inventory; second, RFID can improve the accuracy of goods inventory; third, RFID can bring more efficient business results.
At present, the problems of high inventory cost, low service efficiency and low accuracy of information have brought great trouble to retailers. RFID technology is the secret to solve the “pain point” of retail industry.
Application of RFID technology in retail industry
The application of RFID technology in retail industry mainly focuses on five aspects: supply chain management, inventory management, in store commodity management, customer relationship management and security management.
Restore to the real retail scene, RFID technology application is shown in the following figure:
Inventory management: it mainly uses fixed or mobile RFID reader to scan the goods in and out of the warehouse and warehouse shelves, so as to improve the work efficiency of goods in and out, picking and inventory; improve the visibility of the inventory to the upstream suppliers, and supply goods in time; connect with the automatic replenishment system of the shelves in the store, and replenish goods in time, so as to optimize the inventory.
Self service management: through the cooperation of RFID tags and sensors, retailers can update the sales information of goods in real time, monitor the quantity, layout and dynamics of goods on the shelf so as to replenish goods on the shelf, and achieve the consistency of planning and execution effectiveness.
Customer management – RFID application mainly focuses on two aspects: self-service checkout and improvement of customer shop shopping experience.
Security management – RFID application mainly focuses on commodity anti-theft, followed by RFID identification code instead of the original password to control the use right of IT equipment or access right of some important departments.
It is worth mentioning that each RFID tag has a unique ID number in the world, and it does not need to manually read the barcode tag of each product. RFID is a more automatic technology, which can greatly improve efficiency and transparency of the supply chain without adding additional labor costs.
Build a complete RFID end-to-end solution
For retailers, RFID can also be used as an information carrier, relying on network communication, system integration, database application and other technologies, to establish an information platform, to achieve the whole industrial chain from production, processing, storage, transportation, to terminal consumption.
Zebra technology is a company that can provide a complete RFID solution. As a facilitator of enterprise development, zebra technology provides outstanding products, software, services, analysis technology and solutions, providing support to first-class personnel in retail, transportation logistics, manufacturing and other industries.
From mobile data terminals and scanners to special printers, RFID, software and services, zebra technology provides end-to-end solutions, which can be widely used in warehouse management, shelf management, store management, etc. in the retail industry, to achieve in store communication, price / inventory management, mobile payment, Internet shopping and personalized interaction, such as:
Inventory visibility: Zebra technology solutions use a variety of acquisition technologies, such as barcode and RFID, to provide visibility into the entire process of inventory delivery from the distribution center to the warehouse of the store, then to the sales store for replenishment and delivery.
In addition, through the mobile technology solutions provided by zebra technology, retailers can build a knowledge platform by using a variety of applications running on enterprise level mobile devices. Real time information enables salespeople to spend more time communicating with customers and provide more personalized services, product advice and flexible payment and delivery options.
At present, the new retail wave is sweeping, and China’s retail industry is reshaping the pattern. Different from the old mode of traditional retail, “Omni channel retail” and “customer purchase interactive experience” are becoming two key elements of modern retail, which are also the core of RFID technology to provide high added value for retail enterprises. The solution of RFID retail provided by zebra technology can effectively help each chain of goods from production, storage, logistics to sales One link, to help the digital transformation of retail industry.
