RFID and its friendship with retail sector

The next time you go for shopping to a retail store and the shopping cart tells you that you have the following items in your cart and other products which you could buy at very attractive prices and in case you are surprised and think that it is magic then you are wrong since it is plain RFID or radio frequency identification technology which the retail sector has been implementing for quite some time. The retail sector has been propagating RFID like anything. If I tell you about how Wal-Mart and Metro have been promoting this technology in their operations then you will surely agree with what I am saying. With major retailers implementing this technology more than 200,000 manufacturers and suppliers have experienced the ripple effect of this technology which has shot up the demand for hardware and software for supporting this technology. RFID tags are being attached to various items in order to track their movement for better efficiency and it’s not just the developed countries but even the developing countries where the retail sector is booming like anything and here too we will see RFID taking the charge.

Use of RFID in the retail sector has improved the level of customer satisfaction, ensured better inventory management and item level tracking. With big retailers issuing mandates for its suppliers you would see RFID being implemented by other small retailers too in the years to come when the price of RFID scales down.

METRO has plans to carry RFID throughout its entire store around the world and if you keep a tab on the technology world then I don’t need to talk about how Wal-Mart is making efforts to implement this technology. Even the ILO or International Labor Organization feels that this technology has the potential to create an impact on labor requirements in the retail sector and for this purpose it had even issued two reports in this respect.

Now besides better tracking and inventory management retail giants are implementing RFID for promotional activities so that they can secure a better return on investment for their suppliers and companies too. With RFID retailers strongly believe they can develop better customer satisfaction and ensure bigger sales figures for their companies. Retailers worldwide are beginning to realize that RFID can garner benefits of supply chain tracking systems using RFID since unproductive business processes in the supply chain are one of the biggest expense burden on the companies play free online pokies which cannot be controlled easily. The biggest benefit RFID has got it is due recognition through retail sector which it had longing for a very long time and the apprehensiveness of people with regards to it too has started to diminish. I found out that the security fear with regards to RFID which was at its peak some time back has started to take a back seat and people have been expressing confidence in the technology because the retail sector has shown confidence it.

So now let me tell you why the retail sector is going RFID crazy. We all know that inventory management can be one of the toughest jobs but with RFID, retailers have got the option of real time inventory visibility which has enabled them to keep a tab on their inventory supplies at all times. It has enabled them not only to avoid stock outs but even predict demand of the products and besides infusing efficiency has brought down their running costs. This is just the start of benefits as the technology has brought into picture certain offshoot effects which till recently retailers could only dream of. What does a business look for at the end of the day – it’s definitely a satisfied customer since it’s their verdict which finally affects the profit figures of the company. The technology has made shopping experience a fun activity for not only women but even the men since items can be easily traced in the those vast retail spaces with the aid of RFID which makes it easier to shop around and at end of day offer complete satisfaction for the customer. With it retailers have been able to keep a tab on shopping trends of their customers with utmost closeness which offers important marketing information that might be very difficult to garner in normal situations. This helps in predicting the buying behavior of the customers and plan a marketing strategy as per the requirements of the future and offer only those products which their customers needs rather than offering items which their customers would not appreciate and could cause losses for the company and even shift of loyalties which could be dangerous in the long term for the company.

When both the retailer and customers are gaining immensely from the technology I predict that the use of RFID in the retail sector will continue to grow at a decent pace in the coming years.