You’ve heard RFID technology is great for retailers. But do you really know why? What are businesses measuring when they rake in that sweet, sweet ROI a mere 12 months (or less!) after their RFID project rollout? Never fear—we’ve got the answers and we’re about to share them.
This is your quick guide to the five main KPIs and ROI-generators that can help build a strong business case for your RFID project rollout. We’ve also thrown in a few stats and insights from real-life client projects and case studies. Use them to nail sign-off and move your brand into the future of retail.
Superhuman inventory accuracy
You can't hope to rake in revenue and unlock the value of your stock without inventory accuracy. Unfortunately, manual stock counts can take hours and are painfully susceptible to human error. You'll also need a minimum of 90 percent stock accuracy to shift into the omnichannel retail model that today's customers demand from the brands they shop with. But RFID is here to change all that.
Read: What does RFID bring to your omnichannel retail strategy?
Each product will have its own encoded inlay, making it traceable from the point it's tagged until it leaves your store (and even beyond!). You'll see exactly what you have and where without manual counts, with an accuracy of up to 99%. Some RFID inlays can even help you track stock around the shop floor and show which items have been moved from the stockroom to the sales floor. Imagine the possibilities!
Lightning-fast product restocks
Customers can’t buy what they can’t see. It’s lucky that RFID can reduce out-of-stocks by up to 90 percent. Your elite inventory transparency makes it easier to replenish your shelves and keep on top of your ordering.
Using the stock accuracy mentioned above and the real-time insights that RFID can generate, you’ll be in a much better place to build superior forecast models that give you the intel to place orders before you hit a stock out. It’s pure magic.
Cut those costs
It’s super easy to over order as a retailer. Getting the balance right—especially if you don’t have concrete data to build forecasting models on—can feel like a dark art. Enter RFID, your new best friend. Better data from your RFID tagging efforts mean a much clearer picture of bestsellers store-to-store and seasonally, reducing deadstock and maximizing sales.
Read: How RFID can prevent overstocking
Our data shows that the tech could reduce stock loss by 15 percent by painting a more reliable picture of what you have and its movement around the supply chain and sales floor. RFID can also result in a 75 percent reduction in audit costs—that means more money in the bank!
Operational efficiencies in store
Your stores could run like a well-oiled machine with RFID on side. It’ll allow you to quickly locate stock on your sales floor or back room so you can hop on the BOPIS or click-and-collect train to boost your revenue without fear of unreliable inventory numbers or a slow service. You can even use store stock to fulfill online orders, resulting in more profitable locations, lower warehouse costs, and less deadstock.
Replenishment and display compliance becomes a doddle when you’ve got the kind of rock-solid data that RFID yields. Case studies with some of our own clients show a 99 percent increase in planogram accuracy and a stock inventory time that’s a whopping 43 times quicker. Your stock moves faster, and your people are free to focus on service rather than manual, backroom labor.
Read: Unlocking the power of beautiful displays with RFID
Internal improvements
Things can only get better! Use RFID’s retail data insights to move closer to sustainable targets by reducing your ordering frequency and earning more from the stock you already have. You can even use specific RFID inlays to give customers sustainability information about a garment with a single smartphone scan.
When you team RFID tech with cloud-based inventory software like our ItemOptix™ for Retail, you’ll get actionable, real-time insights that you can use to make operational decisions on a micro and macro level. You can even use the technology to create more inviting, experiential environments in your stores, including interactive experiences and upselling opportunities. It really is the future of retail.
As you can probably tell, the hype around RFID is real! We’ve been working with the tech for decades and have helped hundreds of brands roll out RFID projects, so we can answer almost any question you can throw at us. Get in touch and ask whatever you need to make your winning business case. We’ve got you!
When you’ve got the go-ahead, come back here to the Checkpoint blog for the second part in this miniseries for info on what to expect during your pilot. Stay tuned—the road to RFID starts here.
