How RFID is Helping Retailers See Labor Differently in the New Era of Omnichannel and BOPIS

Maintaining an accurate inventory is the key foundational piece to maintaining a profitable sales floor and enabling
omnichannel sales strategies such as BOPIS and SFS. When on hand inventory is correct, it allows for retail operation
efficiencies that reduce labor cost and maximize sales opportunities across multiple channels. Payroll is consistently the
highest controllable expense within the four walls of a retail store and inventory accuracy can either accelerate sales or create
roadblocks that lead to additional payroll expenses. RFID enabled item-level inventory impacts every area of store operations
by reducing unproductive hours, removing obstacles for store associates, and providing more effective tools to execute
processes. When real-time visibility and accuracy of inventory at the item level is achieved by a retailer, they are able to thrive
while other retailers are struggling to survive. The new era of retail is about working smarter to shift talent and resources
away from tasks and toward omnichannel experiences including in-store customer interactions and successful implementation
of BOPIS and SFS, while maintaining stated online and store specific product availability. This transition was occurring rapidly
before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but it is now accelerating even faster as consumer behaviors have been permanently
altered and retailers must adapt to remain relevant and profitable.
Buy Online Pick Up in Store
Labor is expended in BOPIS picking regardless of whether the item is located and the sale is fulfilled. The end result is the
differentiator in BOPIS-either a completed sale and a satisfied customer or a missed sale and a customer that has now been
taught they cannot rely on the product availability stated online for a retailer. The labor to fulfill BOPIS orders increases as
associates spend the majority of their time looking for items that are never fulfilled. Many retailers who have identified the
importance of BOPIS are attempting to enhance the process by allocating additional payroll and requiring supervisor or
manager approval before canceling orders. This is an ineffective and unsustainable strategy as it consumes resources and
continues to result in disappointed customers. The root cause of the issue is addressed by providing associates real-time
visibility to an RFID enabled item-level inventory and the ability to utilize the RFID Geiger Counter search feature to quickly
locate BOPIS items to fulfill orders. These advancements lead to reduced BOPIS order cancellations of >15%, improved labor
efficiency of >20%, and improved BOPIS customer satisfaction of >30%.
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