Imagine you go into a store, find the product you want, but not in the right size. You ask the staff, and they check in the back storage and search for them on the computer, but they can’t find it, even though the system says the product should be there. This was Stadium’s reality – until they took action.
Stadium is a sports chain with a vision to “activate the world.” With around 200 stores in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, and an online presence in nine countries, the company is dedicated to providing a first-class customer experience, regardless of where the customer makes the purchase.
Based on incorrect values
Stadium had long invested significant resources in annual inventories, which used to require around 200 man-hours per store. The inventory results were around 99% accurate, which they were pleased with. However, despite these good results, they started receiving feedback from stores indicating large discrepancies between what the system showed and what was actually in stock.
– It turned out that we were measuring the inventory value, not the actual inventory balance. When we conducted thorough checks, we found that the actual stock balance result was only around 70%, which prompted us to take action, says Johan Stenström, Supply Chain Developer at Stadium.
Started as a pilot project
Stadium, led by Johan, began investigating which technology could help them gain control of their inventory. They quickly determined that Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based on GS1 standards was the solution they wanted to try.
– One of the reasons we chose GS1 RFID was because many other brands already use it, says Johan. Since GS1 RFID follows common standards, companies across different sectors of the supply chain – and even competitors – can use the same system without needing to convert data.
In 2018, Stadium selected two stores to participate in a pilot project to evaluate whether RFID was the right solution. All products in the pilot stores were tagged with RFID tags, and staff were trained on how to use the handheld RFID readers. With an inventory return of around 65% in the pilot stores, there was clear potential for improvement. And improvements were quickly observed.
– We saw an effect almost immediately after RFID was implemented, says Johan. When we looked at the sales curve, it started to rise shortly after the implementation. We also compared the sales figures from the pilot stores with those from other stores and quickly realized that sales were higher in our pilot stores.
In addition to an increase in sales, inventory performance improved to 97%. What started as a pilot project was soon expanded into a full-scale roll-out to all stores.
Photo: StadiumFrom invisible stock to the sales floor
Before the RFID implementation, Stadium believed that the goods delivered to the stores would eventually make their way to the sales floor. However, this was not the case. With RFID, they discovered that many items were getting stuck in the warehouse and never made it to the sales floor, while others were misplaced and difficult to find. This not only led to lost sales but also affected both staff and customers.
By tagging the goods with RFID tags, this problem was resolved. The RFID reader can quickly locate products because the RFID tag emits a signal when scanned. The closer the product is to the RFID reader, the louder the signal emitted by the reader.
– Before, we only inventoried once a year, but now we can conduct inventories weekly in just 2 hours. That’s an incredible difference! The RFID reader can read from a long distance, which allows us to scan many products with a simple swipe, says Johan.
Having an accurate stock balance also improves the customer shopping experience. Many customers check the stock in store via the website before their visit, so it is important that the stock balance in the physical store matches what is shown online. With an accurate stock balance, staff can assist customers much more quickly, as they can immediately confirm whether a product is available.
– We’ve seen a significant increase in customer satisfaction since implementing RFID. Not all customers ask if a product is in stock, so it’s crucial that we have the right products on the sales floor. Thanks to RFID technology, we can now do that. Additionally, the staff have more confidence when interacting with customers because they have full control over where all the products are. Customers appreciate that, says Johan.
Photo: StadiumFuture vision
Stadium has around 30,000 products per store, and today almost all of these products have RFID tags.
– We face a challenge with placing RFID tags on materials like metal, because metal blocks the signal from being read. This is something we are currently investigating, and we will test different RFID tags to find a good solution, says Johan.
Another area Stadium plans to explore in the future is RFID self-checkout. This system would automatically register the products a customer wants to buy when they place them on a designated area at the self-checkout machine.
– We have a strong RFID platform in our stores. To maximize the benefits of our RFID investment, we are now working our way back through our supply chain to our distribution center, where we are installing RFID tunnels. Inbound, the tunnels will measure exactly what we receive from our suppliers, meaning we will pay for exactly what we get, not for what we think we get. Outbound, the tunnels will ensure picking accuracy and improve the quality of our deliveries to stores, says Johan.
Stadium is continuously evaluating different RFID technologies based on their reading quality and cost-effectiveness in relation to the benefits they provide, such as roof readers, inventory robots, smart mirrors, and alarm gates. In other words, their journey with RFID is far from over.
Johan’s tips for getting started with RFID
- Choose an RFID supplier that adheres to GS1 standards to maximize compatibility and collaboration with other brands using the same system.
- While RFID offers many advanced features, prioritize gaining control over your inventory results first before exploring additional functionalities.
- Involve the entire organization early in the process to ensure everyone is aligned. Implementing RFID is a large-scale project that requires collaboration across multiple departments.
- Assess your company’s data quality. RFID primarily enhances data accuracy, such as stock balances. Poor or incomplete product data can negatively impact results. The saying “garbage in, garbage out” applies here as well.
GS1 RFID – what is it?
GS1 RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is based on RFID technology in combination with GS1 standards, creating a globally uniform system for tracking and identifying products, packages and devices along the entire value chain. The GS1 standard for RFID is specifically designed to improve traceability and efficiency in logistics and warehouse management.
GS1 standards for RFID define the physical and logical requirements for an RFID system with readers and passive tags, operating in the 860 MHz – 930 MHz UHF range. It allows companies to purchase readers and tags from different suppliers in order for them to communicate with each other. Therefore, over the last decades, GS1 standards for RFID (mostly known as EPC Gen2 or RAIN RFID) have been established as the standard for UHF passive RFID implementations across several sectors and are at the core of more and more RFID implementations.
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Lena Coulibaly, Senior Sales & Client Relations Manager, GS1 Sweden