June 02, 2015 Industry news
Andy Robson, Supply Chain Solutions Manager, on why RFID can now offer clothing retailers a real return on investment.
Ten years ago RFID was going to change the retail world. Then nothing happened, and a number of myths about the technology were spread. In this article we look at why the time for RFID in apparel is now.
In the apparel industry the modern consumer is pushing for lower prices, perfect availability and quicker delivery – to many different pick-up points. The digitally connected consumer demands the product they want, supplied through the channel of their choosing, at their convenience.
To meet this challenge retailers and brands must have the right product in the right place at the right time. In other words their inventory management systems must provide 100% visibility of stock, from source to the end consumer.
One technology, much hyped in the past, is now providing the solution to an increasing number of apparel retailers and brands – RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification.
Think of an RFID tag as a more powerful barcode. It can store more data and multiple tags can be read in seconds, without the need for 'line of sight' that a barcode needs.
Ten years ago the hype behind RFID was deafening, but then not much happened and during that time a number of myths about RFID were spread throughout the industry.
However now, in 2015, we are seeing an ever increasing number of retailers and brands, in the UK and globally, adopt RFID for item-level tagging, providing the platform to generate multichannel growth, and offering consumers a seamless shopping experience.
So what were the biggest myths of RFID in apparel retail, and why is RFID now being adopted ever more widely?