Guest Column: Using Merchandise Visibility To Gain Operational Insight From Source To Store

By Prasad Putta, General Manager, Checkpoint Systems

Would you submit your tax return with two-thirds of the information incorrect? Would you buy a new car that had a reputation for spending more time in the repair shop than on the road? If the server at your local restaurant brought only one of three orders to your table correctly, would that continue to be your favorite place to eat? Most likely, the answer to these questions is no.

Yet, several studies show that retailers' inventory numbers are accurate only 35% to 45% of the time. This means that retailers manage their inventory based on data that is wrong far more often than it is right. At a time in which retailers are struggling through a difficult economy, they face a myriad of costs resulting from inaccurate inventory data that significantly reduce their margins. Among these are lost sales due to out-of-stocks, lost sales of ancillary items and markdowns on overstocks at the end of the season.

Fortunately, new approaches such as RFID-based merchandise visibility solutions enable retailers to gain accurate insight into their inventory movement and operations, helping to reduce out-of-stocks, control shrink, and improve revenue and profits in the process.