www.gerryweber-ag.com
Jorma Lalla is CEO of Nordic ID, a
Christian von Grone is Chief Informa-
Michele Southall is Director of Com-
puters for mobile data collection
Organisation at Gerry Weber Interna-
leading international supply chain
based in Salo, Finland’s Silicon Valley.
tional AG in Halle/Westfalen, Germany.
standards organization.
leading manufacturer of mobile com-
Jorma Lalla, CEO of Finnish RFID mobile computer manufacturer Nordic ID, the company that provides Gerry Weber with its mobile computers, believes that he is witnessing widespread melting of opposition to RFID use. “When we began manufacturing RFID mobile computers fifteen-odd years ago, our clients were mostly major retailers who wanted RFID tags and readers just so that they could perform stockroom and warehouse inventories more quickly. Other applications hadn’t yet developed and most other audiences wouldn’t even give us the time of day. Now that RFID is proven, we’re getting calls from manufacturers, logistics companies, service providers...you name it.” RFID HELPS RETAILER INCREASE PRECISION, REDUCE COSTS IN 4 AREAS Von Grone has identified four areas where RFID is now helping to reduce costs, showing just how efficacious the technology has become: 1. Lower shrinkage, higher transparency All items wholesaled to other retailers— accounting for 80% of Gerry Weber’s business—are RFID-scanned after being boxed. This 100% accurate reconciliation of what’s in the box with what’s on the manifest has reduced discrepancies in customer orders to zero, as it provides ironclad proof of contents. The process of redistributing merchandise between stores is greatly accelerated. On the other end of the supply chain, total capture of delivery information has resulted in very low shrinkage, thanks to high inventory transparency and reconciliation.
tion Officer and Global Head of IT and
2. Faster goods in When goods come into the store, most retailers do manual checks and scan individual barcodes into the store’s inventory management system. This can take hours or days. With RFID, you can scan each box with a handset, unpack it and get the inventory out on the floor. Returns processes will also be greatly accelerated. 3. More sales Better data quality—which itself delivers lower data-associated costs—results in having the right inventory on the floor. In addition to daily sales-based replenishment, Gerry Weber staff performs storewide inventory checks twice weekly, replenishing a missing size or colour and ordering more for delivery as needed. This level of detail would be impossible without RFID. 4. Lower security costs With the successful completion of a pilot program, Gerry Weber proved that replacing their conventional radio frequency-based electronic article surveillance (EAS) system with RFID would cost less and improve aesthetics. An EAS system consists of gates at store entrances and ‘hard tags’ that are attached to items, then removed at the cash register. Hard tags only last eight to twelve times, and one complete cycle costs Euro 0.35 or about USD $0.48. Attaching, disengaging and recycling hard tags is also a process that Gerry Weber will be happy to do away with. In addition, the retailer looks forward to replacing ugly gates with ordinary RFID antennas hidden in ceilings or walls. Eliminating EAS systems alone has paid for Gerry Weber’s entire RFID integration with retail ERP, wholesale logistics and till systems.
munity Development for GS1 US, the
GREATER FOCUS ON CUSTOMERS Cost savings are both a welcome and an expected result of integrated RFID implementation, but they were never the main goals for Gerry Weber. Von Grone’s chief goals in putting RFID into play throughout the company’s operations were speed and precision. To his way of thinking, increased speed and precision—otherwise known as efficiency—will always deliver cost savings. But it also does something equally as valuable: it puts employee focus back on the customer. “When you reduce the time it takes to do all of these inventory-related things in the store, there is more time for tending to the customer’s needs,” he says. FUTURE PLANS This year, von Grone intends to further the customer experience by launching a pilot that will introduce greater shopping precision. The ‘intelligent fitting room’ will give shoppers the ability to see whether another size or colour of the garment they are trying on is available, and have it brought to their change room. Fitting room displays might also suggest complimentary clothing or accessories. “The next step beyond that,” says von Grone, “is to mine fitting room data for design purposes. For example, based on articles of clothing that are frequently tried on but not bought, we will know that the article needs redesign to become more saleable.” Von Grone also wants to extend RFID further up the supply chain—right to delivery of raw materials—to points of manufacture, typically in Asia. “By following materials throughout production, we’re likely to find more efficiencies, reducing manufacturers’ costs and, more importantly, our time to market.” Nordic IDea • 5