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Accurate inventory is a must for any retailer. Wholesale and overstock dealers face additional hardships. Merchandise literally arrives by the truckloads, and all of the liquidated products are different brands, sizes, and quantities. Plus, most of this wholesale stock will be repackaged or bundled on pallets for resale. What is a cost effective, yet efficient, system to accomplish this mammoth task? Radio Frequency Identification.
RFID systems require three components: a tag, an antenna/reader, and computer software connected to the reader. A tag contains the data and acts as a transponder. The reader, or the interrogator, digitally asks the tagged item questions like "Who are you and where are you going?" The computer software stores the record of data decoded by the reader, so it can give real-time reports on inventory levels.
There are two types of tags. A passive tag is a simple sticker with a circuit embedded with information about the item, such as name, quantity, weight, or any other piece of data. The back of a passive sticker type looks like a simple maze, but is really the circuitry activated by the reader containing all of the personal data for the tagged item. Active tags are significantly more expensive, and not necessarily a good fit for inventory control. Active tags contain a power source, memory, and can give information on their own. An active tag could be devised in such a way to directly interface with a computer, bypassing the reader altogether.
Readers use radio frequency to receive data and decode the information from a tag. If all inventory moves through a common doorway, the antenna can be a fixed mount to prevent any inventory from leaving or arriving unnoticed. Hand held readers are popular for larger warehouses, or to keep a human control over inventory tagged with RFID. This is especially common if only a part of a wholesaler's inventory is tracked by RFID, and the rest relies on other inventory methods.
Computer software is the component most tailored fit to the company using the RFID system. Low end systems may rely on a modified application porting directly into standard office software packages. High end, and more personalized systems, may develop unique software solutions for the system and report needs of the wholesale company.
There is absolutely no denying that an RFID system has a hefty initial start up cost for a wholesale company. So where can it save the company money? Real-time and mistake free inventory may make the difference between a sale, and a missed opportunity. Business customers purchasing wholesale pallets or closeout products, may have a specific quantity needed. Making a mistake in calculating the amount of goods a wholesale company has available for sale could be costly.
Another aspect to consider in line with human error is the amount of inventory lost to poor record keeping or even theft. RFID technology can alert owners anytime inventory leaves a designated area, or if a particular type of product is being mismanaged and stored improperly. Forgetting to move perishable goods directly into a cooling unit, or moving electronic goods out of direct sunlight can irrevocably damage the goods. By storing information on a tag such as weight, repackaging wholesale goods for shipment can be a breeze. As items are scanned into a crate or pallet, the weight tally is kept up to date for easy calculation of shipping costs.
Conducting quarterly mass inventory exercises, or losing inventory to theft and mishandling can be a thing of the past. RFID technology also cuts down on the number of staff needed to run normal warehouse operations. The initial cost of setting up such a system may be significant to the bottom line, but the capacity for savings might win out in the long run. Larger retailers are moving to RFID technology, and requiring their suppliers to do the same. Upgrading the inventory control system to RFID can not only save a wholesale company money, but also open up new opportunities to supply retailers. The best thing about upgrading to an RFID system is the ability to have a unique and personalized system for your business needs. Stop wasting time generating inventory reports by hand, and let the processing power of your existing computer units get to work!
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