British department store chain John Lewis deployed ultra-high frequency (UHF) EPC RFID technology at 34 of its 46 stores to improve inventory management for its key fashion items. The project, which took place in the three months to the end of last year, tracks 25,000 SKUs of underwear, pajamas, swimwear and men's suits through RFID readers.
Rob Mitchell, John Lewis' sales and support manager, said the company will deploy everything to make the project easier. He said: "As we roll out more products, that number will continue to grow." By early 2018, the retailer expects to tag all of its products in three phases.
The solution is provided by Security Technology Checkpoint Systems, which provides software and integration services using a label provided by Avery Denison and an RFID reader from Zebra.
The handheld reader is deployed in all 34 stores and manages the collected data using Check Point software residing on the central server of the retailer. The software will provide analysis reports to the operations team.
Mitchell reports that article availability has been boosted since the system was deployed last year, boosting sales. The system also reduces inventory levels and companies do not have to store more inventory at the branch. Mitchell said: "The system is better at guiding replenishment and, at the same time, the inventory levels have not been stored in stores as inventory accuracy has improved."
John Lewis is the UK's leading department store retailer. Prior to the project's deployment, the company began RFID piloting some of its products at three stores in 2014 and 2015. Due to the success of this pilot project, the company decided to deploy it globally for all SKUs. Mitchell explained that at present about 80% of the items are marked at the manufacturing plant and 20% are marked by third parties.
After the label is attached to the garment, the unique ID number of each label facilitates the corresponding SKU to be stored in the inventory management software. The salesperson then reads it at the store at the time of delivery. After that, employees can perform daily physical inventory and replenish stock in real time when inventory is low.
The department store sells a large number of different suppliers of goods. To date, about 100 of these companies are attaching RFID tags to products sold at John Lewis stores. The company chose to start using RFID readers at stores instead of distribution centers, which can increase store inventory accuracy.
With the bulk of RFID data collected, retailers face the challenge of data analysis. "Now we know more about inventory data, and we want to analyze that data this year to make better use of it," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said that while hand-held RFID readers improve inventory accuracy, fixed readers provide a more automated method of data collection.
Mitchell said the company will extend RFID technology to non-fashion products such as linen products in the future. Linen products come in a variety of sizes, making inventory management challenging, which also gives RFID technology ample room to play. He said: "Once we mark enough of the goods, we will not only use it for inventory tracking and so on, we will also be used to improve the consumer experience."
In 2014, the retailer's flagship store ran a RFID pilot on furniture that customers could view on their computer for selected chairs, sofas, and more.
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