Ed. Note: This article was previously posted at IoP Journal.
Apparel retailer A Principal Bebê & Mamãe, in the Brazilian state of Para, is focused on items for children and families who have just had babies. Recently, the company implemented a radio frequency identification system from iTAG Etiquetas Inteligentes to better manage stock and streamline the management of its eight stores.
According to Ergino Ferreira, the company’s CEO, A Principal is a pioneer in RFID for the north and northeast regions of Brazil, among local companies. “We are the first to adopt the technology in the three states where we operate,” he says, which are Para, Tocantins and Maranhao. The adoption of RFID technology caused a positive transformation in A Principal’s business, Ferreira reports, by streamlining operations and facilitating the work of its employees.
Ergino Ferreira
The solution has showed positive results in the purchase-order process for suppliers, as well as in the receipt of goods at A Principal’s distribution center. “When the merchandise arrives at the DC,” Ferreira says, “the process of printing labels on top of the purchase order is carried out. The products are then tagged and, as a result, the entry of goods into the DC via the RFID portal becomes easier.” You can watch the interview with Ferreira, recorded in Portuguese, here.
Ferreira says A Principal is already verifying the results of the implementation, which have started to be felt in terms of a reduction in the amount of time required for business operations. “We are already seeing that the ideal will be when manufacturers provide the products we sell in our stores already with RFID tags,” he states. “Today we are tagging everything, which offers significant gains that could be even greater.”
After products are picked for specific branches, the goods are moved through the RFID portal to check which items are being transferred to each store. At the store level, the receiving process is then carried out with a manual RFID reader, and inventory management is accomplished using the same equipment. For the process of selling goods to the final consumer, a table reader facilitates checkout.
For the A Principal deployment, iTAG’s iPRINT systems are now in use for generating Electronic Product Codes and for printing RFID tags. Also being used are iTAG Monitor, for the configuration and reading process at fixed points, and iTAG Alert, which carries out the logistical control of products, involving reception operations at each branch, as well as inventory counts. An RFID portal installed at A Principal’s DC is utilized to enter goods and transport them to each branch.
At the stores, receipt is then accomplished by an employee with a portable reader. For sales operations, a table reader scans each product at the point of checkout. The RFID equipment being used includes a Chainway UR4 reading kit at the DC, a RFR900 collector for goods receipt and inventory counting, and a Chainway R3 desktop reader for checkout. The tag model is the 74 x 20 Adhesive, with an Impinj R6 chip.
On average, Ferreira says, 22,000 pieces are tagged at the branch that already has RFID installed, and the tags are not reused. “The biggest challenge to carry out the readings was the products that contained liquid and a lot of metal,” says an iTAG professional responsible for the project, who is not named. This individual adds that the RFID solution is now integrated with the enterprise resource planning used by A Principal, provided by Radinfo.
Exhibitors at RFID Journal LIVE! 2022 offer solutions for tagging apparel items. To learn more, visit the event’s website.