The retail landscape is dividing into two camps: those embracing technology and those clinging to traditional methods. In this Q&A, we speak with Simon Wile, Senior Business Development Executive at LogiQ-On Tech, about how RFID technology is revolutionizing retail store operations — from achieving 98%+ inventory accuracy to transforming stock counts from days into 20-minute tasks.
LogiQ-On Tech is a complete technology solutions provider for retailers, both in-store and warehouse, with a strong focus on supply chain visibility and excellent staff experience. We can use RFID to track products from the factory to the customer and provide all the technology solutions for retailers to fully express their brand.
My role is to find future-focused retailers who want to master their brand’s inventory, merchandising and omnichannel experience with the best technology available. More sales, happier staff, returning customers. Everyone wins.
There is a growing divide between legacy retailers who keep doing things the same way and hoping for change, and those that invest in their stores and staff and see the returns. Controlling inventory through RFID has been proven across the board to lift sales, reduce out-of-stocks, improve customer and staff experience, and highlight shrink.
With customers expecting what they want, where they want, when they want it, stores need to perform at their absolute best and they can only do this with RFID. Overwhelming amounts of evidence show RFID-enabled stores outperform non-RFID stores across all metrics and lift profitability.
Yet many retailers are still hesitant to commit to this future. My challenge is to open the eyes of change-hesitant executives to the overall bottom line improvement that RFID and gStore can deliver to their stores.
Implement RFID and gStore! There’s simply nothing else that will lift inventory accuracy to 98%+ across all stores. The reductions in shrink, out-of-stocks, overstocks and increase in full-price sales pay for the project on their own. The time savings of staff doing stock takes alone are worth the investment. I have firsthand seen the transformation of operations and the absolute joy on store associates’ faces at completing an RFID cycle count in 20 minutes instead of days.
Getting started with RFID can seem daunting, and that’s why it’s important to have an experienced team guide a business through the adoption and implementation process as the team at LogiQ-On Tech has done for many retailers already.
Fashion retailers are far and away the most primed to benefit from RFID adoption. The other segment I’ve seen boom is sports equipment chains. Both have control over their product labeling and can easily swap out paper price tags for RFID tags. Handheld RFID is the most common in the market, with overhead being a new introduction with gStore. Weekly cycle counts keep in-store accuracy high, inbound and outbound receiving save time, products get to shelves faster, and shrink is reduced with the increased scrutiny of product. Australia is ready for the next generation of RFID with gStore’s overhead solution adding to the fundamentals of handheld RFID. Combining stock control, planogram or merchandising, EAS and smart changerooms, gStore elevates the store to an experience beyond a fitting room.
More sales is the short answer. When a store knows what it has and can run without stock buffers, you can sell to the last unit either online or in-store. Click and collect or in-store shipping is quick and accurate without orders being bounced or split. If a product is in a store, it can be sold because it is visible, whether it is on the floor or in backstock. Customers can look up stock levels on the retailer’s website and confidently plan a store visit or even hurry to the store or make an immediate online sale if the stock is “last unit.” In many minds, a simple “low stock” on a screen means “no stock” or “they might be sold out, so I won’t bother going”. Showing the exact units builds trust.
Another benefit is that retailers can carry the right amount of stock for a store without carrying “safety stock” in fear of overselling and then having to sell that stock at a reduced price. More full-price sales, less waste, less shipping costs, winning all the way.