Jun 07, 2023Two radio frequency identification (RFID) technology companies have partnered to provide a full solution that includes high-accuracy RFID reader systems and enterprise software. PervasID has teamed with SML Group to provide a near-real-time, hands-free stock-inventory solution for retailers. SML's Clarity enterprise software will be used with PervasID's Ranger ceiling readers for real-time location data at the item level at stores.
Sabesan Sithamparanathan
The partnership's solution serves as an alternative to passive RFID systems that leverage handheld readers for stock-counting. Handhelds are most commonly used for picking use cases, the companies explain, with store associates using mobile readers to interrogate tags as goods are received, and walking around counting inventory on a weekly basis. While the hardware costs are relatively low for some such solutions, says Sabesan Sithamparanathan, PervasID's founder and CEO, the labor cost is high and human error is possible.
With the partnership's offering, on the other hand, stores or logistics providers can install the Ranger reader and distributed antenna system (DAS) to capture hands-free data regarding the movement of goods within a store or a specific zone, without requiring staff members to conduct manual inventory counts via a handheld reader. The solution is more expensive in the short term than a handheld-based deployment, the partners note, but several businesses have indicated they could gain a return on investment (ROI) by reducing labor time and theft, preventing errors, and ensuring the on-shelf availability of inventory.
PervasID is a U.K. company that spun off from research conducted at the University of Cambridge, leveraging signal-processing techniques and RFID-based DAS solutions. Its fixed readers have been deployed by stores in Europe, Asia and the United States, as well as by industrial companies, hospitals and airports, according to Sithamparanathan, who was recently named among Business Elite's "40 Under 40" (see RFID Journal Event Speaker Receives Entrepreneurial Award).
Capturing a Real-Time View into Inventory
The PervisID technology is designed to provide highly accurate data capture within a relatively large space with just a single array of readers and antennas, leveraging a smart DAS solution and signal-processing techniques to calculate a tag's location. "We can offer 99 percent read accuracy," Sithamparanathan says, "and location data within 3- to 4-meter [9.8- to 13.1-foot] zones." With the solution, retailers could leverage the Ranger reader and Clarity software to obtain real-time inventory data and out-of-stock reports, as well as automate replenishment orders.
Dean Frew
Typically, Sithamparanathan indicates, a single Ranger overhead reader and eight antennas would be sufficient to cover more than a 1,400-square-foot (130-square-meter) area. Once that reader system is deployed, the Clarity software provides management with a view into where specific merchandise is being stored or displayed, as well as when it is moved and the context for that location data. Management and employees can then locate goods for customers, find items needed to fill omnichannel orders from online buyers and identify any products that have been misplaced. The system can also identify if a product leaves a store, or if it is in a fitting room as opposed to on the sales floor.
The two technology companies have multiple projects underway together, says Dean Frew, SML's CTO and senior VP of RFID solutions. "Being able to turn a reader on for an hour and get to 99 percent accuracy," he states, "and basically have a stock count without a human being having to walk around the store, provides unique value." He adds, "For some retailers, that return on investment is quite interesting," as they strive to support buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) models, noting, "We have retailers who are taking stock counts every day now" with handheld readers.
In some cases, Frew says, eliminating the need for handheld-based inventory counting, along with real-time location data, can have a significant benefit. Although the technology's cost is higher than that of a passive handheld-based system, it could provide an ROI for specific retailers. "It's not going to replace handhelds," he says of the real-time overhead reader solution, "but there's a segment of the market and use cases for which the ROI could be quite attractive."
Mobile Ranger in Trials for In-Vehicle Tag Reading
PervasID recently released a new reader aimed at tracking goods in motion, known as the Mobile Ranger. The device was an RFID Journal Awards finalist in the Best New Product category at last month's RFID Journal LIVE! conference in Orlando, Fla. Like the other Ranger products, the Mobile Ranger uses the company's signal-processing techniques and DAS reader technology. The Mobile Ranger is designed to be compact and fits inside a vehicle or trailer, enabling it to track goods throughout the supply chain, even while those items are in transit. The technology can also be used for medical asset management in emergency ambulance services.
In the retail supply chain logistics sector, the Mobile Ranger enables the validation of goods received from suppliers, as well as the transit of stock from one location to another within a network, such as national distribution centers to regional DCs. "This leads to a holistic, end-to-end solution covering key handshake points from supplier intake through to store deliveries," Sithamparanathan says. "The removal of manual stock-tracking by warehouse staff would provide an order of magnitude improvement in stock-tracking accuracy, while substantially reducing trailer loading and unloading times."
In that way, Sithamparanathan explains, RFID technology could manage goods from supplier to store, including while they are on the road. The Ranger reader enables the capturing of more than 5,000 tagged clothing items within a trailer or container, he says. The system can read tags at more than 99 percent accuracy, even when goods are densely packed, and he says it is intended to be easy to install.
Additionally, the reader can be used in ambulances or other emergency vehicles to track medical assets and pharmaceuticals. Emergency personnel traditionally must visually check the stock in each vehicle on a daily basis to ensure they never lack the life-saving equipment and drugs they require. The Mobile Ranger is aimed at eliminating that effort by capturing tag reads on tagged items stocked within the vehicle. The device uses the cellular connectivity to a back-end server to forward data even when a vehicle is on the road.
Key Takeaways:
- The partnership between SML and PervasID will provide a single solution for real-time, hands-free RFID data collection for retailers.
- PervasID has also released its Mobile Ranger to extend tag-reading capabilities into vehicles, such as trailers delivering retail goods, as well as emergency vehicles managing drugs and equipment.
