Nowadays, customers prefer receiving simple and convenient services. For instance, unlocking holiday rooms, traveling around using the card, automatic payment, etc. And it is possible because of the increasing popularity of RFID Technology and it’s cost-saving advantage.
Most retailers are using this technology for the past few years because of its varied uses. For instance, Inventory Tracking, Fixed Asset Tracking, Real-Time Location Tracking, and its ability to integrate with other technology. Also, it adds value and makes effective in-store functionality as the RFID reader communicates information to the backend systems automatically without personally engaging with the item.
RFID Tags
Hands-Free Radio-frequency identification technology allows the identification of any object wireless using data transmitted through radio waves to identify and track an individual object as well as multiple items simultaneously. These tags are rewritten and reused for various purposes and are extremely durable against environmental factors and it allows you to read hundreds of tags without any direct line of sight in a second.
Many organizations have implemented Hands-Free RFID Technology due to its multiple uses. For instance, it enables Real Time Location Tracking of assets or resources for scheduling and maintenance purposes, measuring employee efficiency and customer tracking. The RFID system allows the organization to integrate the visibility of the resources across the region. In addition, the system is also used in tracking marathons, wherein the marathon organizer can locate their participants and keep track of their progress along the course.
Have you wondered what if one item is missing from your mobile phone? RFID tags enable manufacturing companies to have a checkpoint on the assembly line that makes sure all the components are in place for product approval in the final stage of completion. Hands-Free RFID is used for luggage tracking, incorporated by airplane companies to transport luggage across regions without misplacing the luggage.
Benefits and Convenience in Utilizing RFID
RFID doesn’t stop there it can track an individual’s movement, isn’t it so out of this world? RFID-enabled employee badges allow employers to track employees’ movements within the premises and can limit access, and track employee attendance. In a large conference, it is critical to keep the flow of traffic moving in and out of the seminar. With the help of the RFID attendee solution, the organizer can eliminate the registration lines using the RFID-enabled wristbands. Also, these wristbands capture statistical data about each attendee and determine the most popular activity in the event.
RFID-enable sticks are placed on the windshields which scan the authorized driver to permit access to the parking garages. In Dubai, RFID-enabled stickers, are used for Salik, a road toll system that allows operating without tolls or barriers. The solution doesn’t stop there, RFID also enables File Tracking and Document Management through encrypted data for extra security reasons. Also, it enables law offices, accounting firms, healthcare facilities, and so on to track the exact location of the physical records on the premises. RFID also minimizes the hotel check-in time as the built-in RFID card allows self-check in the hotel. Prior to the arrival all the information related to room availability, payment details, and individual information is in-store in the card and upon arrival. In other words, the customer can activate their card at the kiosk and head straight to their rooms.
Advancements in Technology
Over the last decade, a constant advancement in information technology, transforming the marketplace of the retail industry. Retailers are on a constant lookout for an alternative because of thousands of locations, millions of products. Also, high inventory turn rates improve their profitability, business growth, and efficiency.
The Revolutionary RFID solutions offer advanced and accurate inventory management solutions. Thus, resulting in optimizing their stock holding, reducing capital outlay, and improving staff productivity. The process of RFID starts from manufacture right through to the point of sale and sometimes beyond such as managing returns. The benefits of RFID solutions allow retailers to improve inventory management, the velocity of the retail cycle, the integrated business model, and the efficiency of the store operation.
Ultimately, Radio-frequency identification is not a combination of technologies that offer the retailer with actionable data; it is an intermediary that enables the business to meet their KPIs sustainably and profitably. A few of the main KPIs retailer uses to measure in-store occupancy are
(a) increase sales/turnover
(b) Reduce staff cost
(c) Reduce stock loss
(d) Fewer markdowns
(e) Reduce Stock holding
(f) Reduce audit cost.
RFID enables users to create their own KPI to measure the outcome.
Business Technology Manager – Xpandretail