RFID Tracking: RFID Technology Perks
RFID tracking technology allows facilities to instantly see how many of one type of item they have, where they are and what stage they are in the process – from receipt into stores to issue to manufacturing or use as a finished product. It enables quick and easy inventory management, audits, and stock checks and helps control shrinkage.
Improved Inventory Management
Retailers rely on RFID technology to minimise out-of-stock situations and provide real-time merchandise location data for better supply chain coordination. They also use it to improve omnichannel customer experiences by helping shoppers find the right size, colour or design for their needs. RFID reduces the need for manual inventory counts and automates replenishment at safety stock levels, saving time, lowering labour costs and improving accuracy.
For example, RFID can pinpoint where a particular item is in a warehouse—down to the rack or shelf it’s stored on. It saves time and money when searching many SKUs for a specific one. When customers purchase a product, RFID can tell store employees where to find it on the floor (especially helpful when a retailer sells multiple sizes of a single product).
RFID tracking can help reduce store theft by providing valuable inventory visibility and real-time alerts. It can identify if an item is removed from a fitting room or dropped in a bin—even if it’s moved out of sight. It can alert employees to a suspected theft and provide the information needed to prosecute.
With RFID, a single item can be assigned its own unique Electronic Product Code (EPC), which can be associated with dynamic information in the cloud. It makes it easier to track and manage business assets like test equipment, transport packing, computer tech, field vehicles and more—all while ensuring each asset receives the correct processes, inspections, checks and quality control before leaving a facility.
Increased Product Visibility
Managing inventory requires the ability to locate items quickly and accurately. When employees cannot find items, it results in wasted time and lost revenue for companies.
RFID tracking technology allows businesses to eliminate this issue by automating the data collection process. It reduces the manual scanning and data entry required by employees, making it easy to keep accurate inventory records.
This increased product visibility also helps to mitigate costly risks such as theft, counterfeiting, and misdistribution, which can be challenging to detect without the right tools. The extreme transparency that RFID provides makes it much more difficult for these risks to occur, saving companies money in the long run.
Additionally, with the help of RFID, businesses can easily track the status and location of each item. It makes it easy to perform audits and stock checks and control shrinkage. Additionally, if you are dealing with complex manufacturing procedures, it is much easier to ensure that each component is correctly placed on the production line.
Increased Customer Service
It’s easy to see how implementing RFID technology can help reduce manual data logging and tracking errors. The automated process also saves on employee labour costs. In addition, the ability to collect and send data in real-time allows businesses to keep a closer eye on inventory levels and avoid costly supply chain delays.
In the retail industry, RFID is helping retailers provide better omnichannel customer service by improving inventory accuracy. With this heightened inventory control, consumers can expect consistent, accurate delivery of BOPIS (buy online and pick up in-store).
Additionally, for businesses that manage expensive business assets such as test equipment, transport packing, computer tech, field vehicles, and more, an effective RFID system can help increase efficiency and prevent costly losses. With the help of RFID, these valuable assets are easy to track and locate, reducing the time employees spend looking for them.
For healthcare providers, RFID tracking technology is improving the efficiency of nurses and doctors in finding the right medical supplies for each patient. Studies have shown that RFID can decrease medication administration times by up to 61% and blood sampling time by up to 77%. In addition, hospitals can limit waste by utilising specific alerts to ensure that only the correct amount of inventory is used. It helps to reduce the cost of supplies and improve patient satisfaction.