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Kimberly-Clark Gets an Early Win
Displaying the ROI
Tagging displays is cost-effective because the cost of each tag (about 20 cents) is minuscule compared with the hundreds of dollars in sales value of the promotional display. "We want to leverage as much of that RFID-enabled store network as we can, because it doesn't cost that much to do, relative to the cost of the display, and we're getting an early win today," says Therrien. "We are also able to learn more to drive more value over time."
There is still room for improvement. Some displays get to the retail floor on time only about 70 percent of the time, according to Polzin. RFID should help improve that, as K-C develops new and better business processes to act on the data. The Axiom software stores contact information for Crossmark, and it can send reports on the execution of promotions to Crossmark representatives in specific districts so they can visit stores based on their performance.
"We're just starting to scratch the opportunities with Crossmark," says Polzin. "They have schedules to go to specific stores on specific days. It doesn't match these events, so we are trying to get more focus on these activities and adjust the schedules. We need to use the data to change the processes to achieve even greater success."
The system is paying off for K-C in another way. Wal-Mart is eager to work with the company on promotions because of the visibility it gets from the tagged displays. "It's been a win for us in the buying office," says Polzin. "It's gotten us additional promotion and distribution that we might not have gotten had we not been a leader in using RFID technology. The retailer's buyers see it as less risky in participating in promotions with us because they can see and measure the results more accurately."
Going forward, K-C would like to simplify the Portable Edge system by eliminating the laptop and running Axiom on the handheld device. When entire retail chains have installed RFID infrastructure, K-C envisions eliminating the manual tagging of displays. Instead, it would embed the tag in the display itself. Eventually, K-C hopes contract packagers will install portal interrogators at their facilities, because that would enable K-C to better track the display materials and products sent to the contract packager.
Whether displays are tagged using the Portable Edge system or hardened RFID installations, Therrien believes that RFID will be the tool that enables K-C and its retail partners to work together to continuously improve the execution of in-store promotions. He envisions using RFID to automatically collect data that enables K-C and retailers to measure and fine-tune performance.
K-C is excited about the opportunity the Portable Edge and OAT's software has created. "With this solution, we can RFID-enable an in-store promotion from any shipping node, and we have a great tool for automatically analyzing the data," says Therrien. "By clicking a button, we can see what's happening and instantly share that with all the folks that will be impacted. We're going to leverage this in 2007 as much as we can."
Photographs by Scott White
Tagging displays is cost-effective because the cost of each tag (about 20 cents) is minuscule compared with the hundreds of dollars in sales value of the promotional display. "We want to leverage as much of that RFID-enabled store network as we can, because it doesn't cost that much to do, relative to the cost of the display, and we're getting an early win today," says Therrien. "We are also able to learn more to drive more value over time."
There is still room for improvement. Some displays get to the retail floor on time only about 70 percent of the time, according to Polzin. RFID should help improve that, as K-C develops new and better business processes to act on the data. The Axiom software stores contact information for Crossmark, and it can send reports on the execution of promotions to Crossmark representatives in specific districts so they can visit stores based on their performance.
"We're just starting to scratch the opportunities with Crossmark," says Polzin. "They have schedules to go to specific stores on specific days. It doesn't match these events, so we are trying to get more focus on these activities and adjust the schedules. We need to use the data to change the processes to achieve even greater success."
The system is paying off for K-C in another way. Wal-Mart is eager to work with the company on promotions because of the visibility it gets from the tagged displays. "It's been a win for us in the buying office," says Polzin. "It's gotten us additional promotion and distribution that we might not have gotten had we not been a leader in using RFID technology. The retailer's buyers see it as less risky in participating in promotions with us because they can see and measure the results more accurately."
Going forward, K-C would like to simplify the Portable Edge system by eliminating the laptop and running Axiom on the handheld device. When entire retail chains have installed RFID infrastructure, K-C envisions eliminating the manual tagging of displays. Instead, it would embed the tag in the display itself. Eventually, K-C hopes contract packagers will install portal interrogators at their facilities, because that would enable K-C to better track the display materials and products sent to the contract packager.
Whether displays are tagged using the Portable Edge system or hardened RFID installations, Therrien believes that RFID will be the tool that enables K-C and its retail partners to work together to continuously improve the execution of in-store promotions. He envisions using RFID to automatically collect data that enables K-C and retailers to measure and fine-tune performance.
K-C is excited about the opportunity the Portable Edge and OAT's software has created. "With this solution, we can RFID-enable an in-store promotion from any shipping node, and we have a great tool for automatically analyzing the data," says Therrien. "By clicking a button, we can see what's happening and instantly share that with all the folks that will be impacted. We're going to leverage this in 2007 as much as we can."
Photographs by Scott White
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