Because
of the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail sector is exploring unexplored waters once
again. Currently, stores must decide how to ensure the well-being of their
employees and customers in the short and medium term. It includes whether or
not to rehire and redeploy affected workers.
Despite
these difficulties, retailers now have an unprecedented opportunity to re-evaluate
how they run their stores. People are now more receptive to innovations that
could make retail stores safer, more inclusive, and more convenient.
An Antiquated Practice is Given New Life in the Digital
Age
The
in-store shopping experience is now the primary method of purchase in the
multichannel purchasing process rather than a secondary one. Retailers are
shifting more omnichannel fulfilment to offline channels.
Since
this is often the most practical and profitable option for last-mile
satisfaction (Exhibit 1), this shift has resulted in stores and the supply
chain tethers that connect them reclaiming centre stage in the ever-evolving
customer journey.
Because
of the new regulations, businesses will have to rethink their aims, procedures,
and in-store technology. Traditional in-store tasks must be continuously
reprioritized and simplified to make room for new omnichannel activities. The
quality of the in-person service supplied to customers must be maintained,
however, if this goal is to be achieved.
The Workings of RFID Technology
As
can be shown in Exhibit 2, RFID ecosystems
and hardware are made up of four main parts:
·
RFID tags can encode data about a
product and then communicate that data to a reader.
·
Signals between readers and tags are
transformed by antenna hardware, allowing the reader to detect a tag's
existence, identity, and location. Any reader device, fixed or mobile, can
"read" and decode information broadcast by a tag by sending and
receiving signals. An antenna can be built into a reader, or many antennae can
be linked together for a broader range.
·
Encoding tags and managing RFID
data before final usage can be accomplished with the help of RFID-compatible software
or services.
·
Tag inlays used in retail settings
and materials used to reassure retailers and suppliers must undergo testing and
certification.
Developing in a Steady Fashion
The
commercial case is one of the biggest advances in RFID retail
inventory technology in recent years. Read accuracy has
doubled, and the range has more than quintupled in the previous decade. The
price of an RFID tag has dropped by 80 per cent to under four cents1 (which
allows for fewer devices and better reads). RFID scanner prices dropped by
nearly half when the technology was initially introduced.
New
RFID technology has the potential to completely rebalance the store's finances.
It brings in more customers and decreases overhead costs. A study found that
these advantages include an increase in inventory accuracy.
It
is over 25%, an increase in full-price sell-through of 1-3% due to better
management and fewer stockouts. And there is a decrease in inventory-related labour
hours of 10%-15% and a rise in revenue of up to 1.5% due to lower shrinkage and
theft.
There must be cooperation amongst all elements of the RFID
ecosystem.
Numerous
participants in the retail value chain are essential to the smooth flow of
goods. This is from their origin to the hands of the consumers who ultimately
purchase them. No one actor in this value chain has sway over whether or not
RFID technologies are adopted or how they are put to use.
The
industry heavyweights who will need to collaborate for the new system's
seamless rollout are summed up in the acronym R-F-I-D. This stands for
retailers, factories, manufacturers, integrators, and device and technology
providers. Businesses in retail, production, integration, and the provision of
technological devices.
The
current status of the retail industry makes RFID's potential uses more crucial
than ever. Since its price has dropped, more people can afford to use the
technology. However, the deployment of the RFID
inventory management system is not for the faint of
heart. It necessitates a laser-like focus on the use case that is currently
being addressed and a willingness to adapt to achieve cross-functional success.
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