Two Singapore Fashion Retailers Use RFID to Track Inventory

If an employee or customer needs a specific item, the staff can key in the details of the requested garment and quickly determine if it is in the back room or in the storefront, based on where it was most recently scanned. The system also enables the retailers to match the receipt of goods against invoices from manufacturers to verify that the store is being accurately billed. The garment tags are removed at the point of sale and later applied to new clothing.

Lee says the response to the system pilots has been "very positive" thus far, citing ease of deployment, efficient stocktaking and affordable price for small retailers. "Stocktaking becomes much easier and more accurate," he explains. The reduction in labor will allow for daily stocktaking, he adds, as well as reduce shrinkage and improve the staff and customer experience since garments will be more readily located and inventory replaced in a timely manner. Other benefits the stores can expect as a result of the more accurate inventory counts, Lee says, include a reduction in the stockpiling of items in large quantities to ensure they don't run out. In the past, he notes, such stockpiling required "frequent mark-downs to clear stocks."

According to Lee, the trial results indicate that the reduction in labor and shrinkage should enable the retailers to recoup the cost of the system within a year. He adds that both companies chose to replace their stores' existing POS system by adopting SeeNow's Smart Shop Solution.

This month, 77th Street transitioned directly to a full permanent deployment of the system, while Bella will launch a permanent deployment in the first quarter of 2008. Bella has purchased 2,000 RFID tags, and 77th Street has bought 1,000. In such small volume, the tags cost about Singapore $.50 (US$0.35) apiece.

Tracient's Padl-R HF reader costs about US$749. SeeNow has declined to release the cost of the software and integration, but says it expects to install the Smart Shop system in 13 more stores in Singapore this year.