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RFID Helps Florida Shoe Retailer Keep Its Customers From Walking Away
Typically, when new inventory arrives, the staff has already received the UPC numbers and descriptions of the items ordered. Receiving employees then utilize a Zebra Technology printer (there is one in each store) to generate an RFID label printed with the information and bar-coded UPC and SKU numbers on the front. A worker attaches the label to the shoebox, and the record is stored in the management system, thereby linking that data with a unique ID number encoded to that particular tag.
When full inventory of a store is conducted, the staff uses the cart to read all of the tags, after which the cart can then be trucked to the next store for its own inventory process. By having a more accurate count of what is in each store, Peltz Shoes can more appropriately replenish its stock, based on what it actually has on hand. With more accurate inventory data, the list of in-stock product on the company's Web site ensures that online customers can view precisely what is available in the stores. Once the order is completed, Peltz's staff receives the order, pulls the requested shoes from the shelf at one of its four locations, and then packs and ships the requested footwear to the online customer.
The shoes' RFID tags are not currently being read at the point of sale at any of the retailer's four stores, though Peltz indicates that his company is considering doing so in the future. However, he says, "that is a dream" he has discussed with programmers—though he has yet to find software that would work properly for that application.
For online customers, the system provides an up-to-date list of available merchandise. As such, they can be assured that if a pair of shoes is listed as being in stock, it actually is, and can thus be shipped to them immediately.
There have been some shortcomings to the system, Peltz says, and the technology does not yet provide everything he envisions it could. For example, he notes, although the read rate is above 99 percent, the failed tag reads are still a problem. "There tend to be times when tags don't work," Peltz states. "The computer says there should be two pairs [of a specific shoe], but the inventory count says there is only one." In that case, employees need to go back and read the tags, replacing any that isn't being properly read.
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When full inventory of a store is conducted, the staff uses the cart to read all of the tags, after which the cart can then be trucked to the next store for its own inventory process. By having a more accurate count of what is in each store, Peltz Shoes can more appropriately replenish its stock, based on what it actually has on hand. With more accurate inventory data, the list of in-stock product on the company's Web site ensures that online customers can view precisely what is available in the stores. Once the order is completed, Peltz's staff receives the order, pulls the requested shoes from the shelf at one of its four locations, and then packs and ships the requested footwear to the online customer.
The shoes' RFID tags are not currently being read at the point of sale at any of the retailer's four stores, though Peltz indicates that his company is considering doing so in the future. However, he says, "that is a dream" he has discussed with programmers—though he has yet to find software that would work properly for that application.
For online customers, the system provides an up-to-date list of available merchandise. As such, they can be assured that if a pair of shoes is listed as being in stock, it actually is, and can thus be shipped to them immediately.
There have been some shortcomings to the system, Peltz says, and the technology does not yet provide everything he envisions it could. For example, he notes, although the read rate is above 99 percent, the failed tag reads are still a problem. "There tend to be times when tags don't work," Peltz states. "The computer says there should be two pairs [of a specific shoe], but the inventory count says there is only one." In that case, employees need to go back and read the tags, replacing any that isn't being properly read.
