Indian Conglomerate ITC Focuses on RFID Expansion

The company faced several challenges during the implementation phase. It had sought "plug-and-play" solutions, but found that these were unavailable. It also sought to find a label design that was aesthetically pleasing and would fit with ITC's lifestyle image.

Because of its extensive testing, Bansal reported, the company is confident of achieving 100 percent read rates at the point of sale.

At the DC, the benefits of the application include a 70 percent reduction in the time required to receive goods, from three to four hours for a typical shipment to about 20 to 30 minutes. What's more, Bansal noted, the company has seen a decrease in the amount of manual handling to which garments are exposed, thereby resulting in a significant reduction in damage.

In the stores, it now takes only three to four seconds to capture items for billing, regardless of the quantity of goods being purchased. This allows sales clerks more time to interact with customers in the selling process, rather than during checkout. The RFID system has also nearly eliminated any delays due to incorrect inventory information, Bansal said.

As soon as ITC has the handheld readers it needs for the eight stores, the company wants to begin employing them to speed up the receiving process at stores and conduct inventory. The firm is presently testing Motorola handhelds that work in the 865 to 867 MHz UHF frequency band, sanctioned for RFID use in India.