By Jennifer Zaino

June 1, 2011—Change is tough, and Gerry Weber International, a German-based women's clothing designer and retailer, had big changes in mind—using radio frequency identification technology to track items throughout its supply chain and in its retail stores. The idea was to incorporate RFID tags with electronic article surveillance (EAS) functionality for loss prevention into each garment's product-care label. So when the company set out on its ambitious plan, it adopted a conservative strategy. "We revolutionize business processes where it doesn't hurt," says Gerry Weber CIO Christian von Grone.

Gerry Weber's philosophy dates back to summer 2009, when the company first piloted RFID technology in four stores. von Grone says that's when he discovered that to many store employees, "RFID is voodoo." The company decided to minimize confusion regarding RFID by leaving some of its most important processes—including checkout—unchanged. Similarly, the implementation of RFID at the point of manufacture didn't require suppliers to adjust any of their procedures.


Marrying its ambitious RFID plans with a managed approach has allowed Gerry Weber to realize its goals. Today, the company is RFID-tracking approximately 20 percent of the 25 million items it produces annually, under brand names including Gerry Weber, Gerry Weber Edition and G.W., as well as Samoon and Taifun by Gerry Weber. This involves working with some 240 outsourced manufacturing partners in China, Turkey and other countries, as well as the company-owned plant in Romania, a handful of third-party transport and warehouse logistics partners, and roughly 200 House of Gerry Weber stores in Germany.