Retail RFID Strategy Enables Customer Experience in Mexico

Levi Strauss deploys TAGSYS UHF RFID readers in its Mexico retail outlets, using Grupo Hasar for system integration into its business systems. ...

... "The TAGSYS/Grupo Hasar deployment represents an expansion of Levi Strauss' RFID strategy to improve the customer purchasing experience by expediting the checkout process (especially during peak seasons) and to improve inventory management. For this application, Levi Strauss required a unique, cost-effective solution that offered high performance, reliability, an ergonomic design and easy integration capabilities. The TAGSYS reader combines leading UHF reader technology with a unique embedded antenna design that reliably inventories multiple stacked garments while not erroneously reading nearby items (a critical requirement in point-of-sale applications). The TAGSYS readers will be deployed in 40 Levi Strauss stores throughout Mexico. " ...

Via TagSys: In-Store Apparel RFID Deployment

WalMart RFID Program Proposes Acceleration

WalMart provides update on its RFID program and seeks to influence the market on adoption. ...

... "WalMart has implemented RFID in 1,000 of its 6,500 stores and clubs, covering 200,000 items, manufactured by about 600 participating suppliers, said Myron Burke, strategy manager of WalMart's store innovations and operations group in a keynote speech at the event." ...

Via CNN: WalMart RFID

Magic-Mirror RFID Improves Retail Customer Experience

Paxar strives to improve the customer experience with RFID-enabled mirror. ...

... "For brands and retailers, magicmirror means the ability to touch customers on an emotional level and positively influence their purchasing decisions. When a customer or sales associate brings an RFID-tagged piece of clothing in front of the magicmirror, it automatically displays rich personalized information including brand messaging, garment description, size and color availability, as well as mix-and-match guides that suggest other items for accessorizing a wardrobe. When installed in the fitting room, customers can request immediate assistance from a salesperson by simply touching the magicmirror, without ever having to leave the room. " ...

Via Paxar: Paxar Reinvents the Retail Experience with New Interactive RFID Mirror

Kimberly-Clark RFID Data Enables Demand Forecasting and Lower Out-Of-Stock Conditions On Retail Shelves

TrueDemand Software closes enterprise-wide license deal with Kimberly-Clark that integrates RFID technology into the demand forecasting and replenishment system. ...

... "Kimberly-Clark will leverage the TrueDemand Forecast and Replenishment Manager (FRM) Release 2.1 to improve sales by reducing retail shelf out-of-stocks (OOS) for its global consumer product brands, which include Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups and Kotex. TrueDemand's FRM solution will leverage RFID data to provide Kimberly-Clark with greater insight including: perpetual inventory by retail store and selling floor, a daily forecast by product and store, and OOS root causes and lost sales by product and store and retail DC, with prioritized actions for replenishment analysts, retail partners and field operations teams. As a result, Kimberly-Clark will be able to more accurately predict product availability, inventory, execution and out-of-stock problems at the aggregate level across all stores, as well as at the detailed product-store level, and take the appropriate preventive action. TrueDemand’s unique predictive software will recommend specific replenishment, forecasting and store operations actions that Kimberly-Clark can take to help improve sales and market share. It provides out-of-stock root cause analysis and recommendations for continuous improvement for regular replenishment." ...

Via Kimberly-Clark: Kimberly-Clark to Power Shelf-Back Supply Chain (PDF) ...

RFID Zero-Sales Preventer Avoids Out-of-Stocks Through Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility

New Zero Sales Prevention module enables manufacturers to improve the real-time performance of their retail businesses by leveraging RFID-enabled supply chain information to avoid stock-outs and support decision making. ...

... "The new service represents a revolutionary advance in how manufacturers use and view RFID data to find supply chain issues, understand root causes and quickly resolve problems to ensure sales are not negatively impacted. Manufacturers such as Ocean Spray Cranberries, an early adopter of the service, are now able to prevent more out-of-stocks and zero sales days because of the visibility provided by TR3's On-Demand RFID Solutions. TR3's Zero Sales Prevention module is a new addition to the company's TR3 On-Demand Solutions suite - currently in use by more than 30 leading manufacturers - that enables product managers to dramatically improve promotions and perishables management and prevent out-of-stock situations. By automatically converting the millions of RFID scans received from retailers on a daily basis, TR3 On-Demand sifts, organizes and extracts critical issues that were previously invisible to product and supply chain managers. Within a single dashboard, manufacturers can view the performance of each product line and have visibility to prioritize and fix supply chain issues in real-time. " ...

Via TR3 Solutions: TR3 Solutions Extends Leadership in RFID Solutions with Release of Zero Sales Prevention Module

RFID Retail Enables Book Sales Growth

BGN, Boekhandels Groep Nederland, the Netherlands largest book retailer, selects Vue Technology's TrueVUE item level RFID infrastructure platform. This infrastructure enables BGN RFID initiative to create operational benefits and improve customer service. ...

... "As a leading adopter of item level RFID, BGN has already achieved success with the technology through a proof of concept deployment in two of its retail stores in the cities of Almere and Maastricht. Results have shown a 12% increase in sales, a significant decrease in receiving and inventory costs, a reduced risk of books being out of stock, and have provided BGN the ability to track which books are selling quickly and which haven't moved recently. As a result of this success, BGN has publicly announced it's commitment to rolling item level RFID across all of its retail locations. " ...

Via Vue Technology: Building upon initial proof-of-concept successes, the Netherlands largest book retailer selects Vue as it prepares for nationwide rollout

Retail RFID Implementation: European Shoes

Checkpoint Systems enters into a strategic agreement with RENO, European shoe retailer. The agreement will enable an RFID source-tagging program and implementation at 700 retail locations across six countries with NDRF-based (New Digital Radio Frequency) RFID tagging system. The implementation will be completed in May. The RFID system will support reduction of shrinkage and improvement of the customer experience. ...

... "Switching from EM to NDRF technology, RENO wants to further optimise both its market presence and its operational processes. To be successful in the shoe retail trade the goods have to be presented in the right way. As well as displaying shoes in pairs and in boxes, an open shop construction is also particularly important, says Konigs. With NDRF, the current aisle widths in the branches could be increased from 90 cm to 1.80 m and a more customer friendly entrance introduced. Further improvements in the business process include simpler deactivation of the tagged goods at the point of sale. The cashier transaction is sped up while it guarantees that no customer will leave the store with a tag that accidentally remains activated, thereby triggering a false alarm. RENO's decision for radio-frequency source tagging is a further step towards a uniform standard in security technology, not only in Germany, says Ulrich Schafer, Vice-President and General Manager NCE Unit, of Checkpoint Systems. For retailers, radio-frequency source tagging is the best option for reducing the costs of shrinkage. At the same time they are able to create a customer-friendly shopping atmosphere, which will help to boost sales. " ...

Via Checkpoint Systems: RENO Partners with Checkpoint Systems for Its Source Tagging Programme

IBM RFID Video: Shopping Scenario

IBM commercial illustrates RFID shopping experience ...

Marks & Spencer RFID Pilot

Marks & Spencer continues to pilot RFID across a range of clothing and a higher amount of stores. ...

... "M&S is quick to point out that the only purpose in using RFID is for improving its stock-taking process. The RFID tags are not scanned at the checkout, nor is any link made between the garment information held by the tag and the customer's details ... " ...

Via Computerworld, Australia: Marks & Spencer RFID trial

RFID Retail Shopping Experience

Media cart application uses RFID technology to enhance the customer shopping experience. ...

... "The store installs tiny tags on each shelf that emit a radio signal, telling the cart where it is. The cart holds a computer with all the digital ads and product data, which is called up automatically ... " ...

Via WFAA: Shopping Aids

Checkpoint RFID Metro Pilot Implementation Solves Technical Challenges

Checkpoint Systems is involved in pilot of UHF RFID technology at METRO Group's Distribution Centres near Hamm, Germany, under supervision of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) task group 34 (TG34). The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) plays a major role in the global standardization of Information and Communication Technologies. This pilot has been created to improve the read performance of RFID tags in a high-density UHF reading environment and validate the performance of portal dock door solutions. The successful pilot solves UHF RFID challenges and supports Metro's plan to implement RFID more broadly in 2007. The Metro RFID implementation is aimed at enhancing customer service and increasing the efficiency of its supply chain. METRO Group is an international retailing company with 2005 sales of EUR55.7 billion. The company has a headcount of about 250,000 employees and operates more than 2,200 outlets in 30 countries. ...

... "Utilizing equipment from numerous RFID suppliers in Europe and North America, Checkpoint served as a hardware integrator for the trials. In this capacity, Checkpoint helped with the design work for the hardware solution and procurement, configuration and installation of the 36 RFID-enabled dock door portals which were used to validate successful simultaneous operation of multiple dock doors using a 4-channel synchronized approach under the ETSI 302 208 standard. Pallets containing 62 individually tagged cases largely containing RFID unfriendly materials (such as cans, liquids and metal lined items) were simultaneously transported at warehouse speeds through 36 adjacent loading dock doors. Some 4.5 million individual reads were recorded over the course of the trials. Complying with the ETSI listen before talk (LBT) requirements, the tests achieved a 98.5%+ read rate simultaneously from multiple pallets as they were wheeled through the dock doors. " ...

Via Checkpoint Systems: Checkpoint Systems Partners with Metro Group to Successfully Deploy UHF RFID Dock Door Solution: 98.5%+ Read Rate Represents Milestone in European RFID Deployment ...

RFID Supply Chain Visibility

Aberdeen Group reports on RFID in the supply chain and provides insights into the use of radio frequency identification among the multiple participants. Aberdeen is seeing disparity among supply chain partners and sees potential for less collaboration. ...

... "Aberdeen Group reveals that RFID costs a distribution company nearly 30% more than it costs a manufacturer and more than twice what the average retailer spends. It is a rare technology that can address the myriad objectives and constraints of a cross-enterprise RFID initiative. " ...

Via Yahoo! Finance: Achieving Total Supply Chain Visibility with RFID ...