Zara Builds Its Business Around RFID

針對 RFID 在企業的應用，華爾街日報有一個詳細的報導，說明 Zara 會成功的原因與方法 (CHRISTOPHER BJORK, Zara Builds Its Business Around RFID, 'Fast Fashion' Meets Smarter Inventory; Retailer Learns From Others' Mistakes, WSJ, Sept. 16, 2014) 

Inditex began experimenting with RFID in 2007. Mr. Isla asked his engineers and logistics experts to figure out how to reuse the chips—a solution that would minimize costs and ensure that the tracking devices wouldn't follow customers out the door, a concern among privacy advocates.

A breakthrough came during a brainstorming session at Inditex headquarters in northwest Spain, Mr. Isla said. An employee suggested putting the chip inside the slightly larger security tags Zara attaches to each item, a combination that experts in the field say no other large company has used. 

The security tag's plastic case would protect the chip, allowing for reuse, and it would be removed at checkout. 

One benefit was on display on a recent morning, when store manager Graciela Martín supervised inventory-taking at one of Zara's biggest outlets in Madrid. The task previously tied up a team of 40 employees for five hours, she said. That morning she and nine other workers sailed through the job in half the time, moving from floor to floor and waving pistol-shaped scanning devices that beeped almost continuously while detecting radio signals from each rack of clothing. 

Before the chips were introduced, employees had to scan barcodes one at a time, Ms. Martín said, and these storewide inventories were performed once every six months. Because the chips save time, Zara carries out the inventories every six weeks, getting a more accurate picture of what fashions are selling well and any styles that are languishing. 

And each time a garment is sold, data from its chip prompts an instant order to the stockroom to send out an identical item. Previously, store employees restocked shelves a few times a day, guided by written sales reports. 

If a customer can't find an item—say a medium-sized purple shirt—a salesperson can point an iPod's camera at a barcode of a similar item and, using data gathered by the chips, see whether it is available in the store, in a nearby Zara store, or online.

也避免了 Wal-Mart 的問題

 Some early adopters got only limited payback from investment in RFID. Early last decade, Wal-Mart pushed its suppliers to put chips on cases of items or stacks of cases, rather than on individual items. Wal-Mart scaled down the project after suppliers complained about the high cost of the technology—a problem Inditex doesn't face because it manufactures its own clothing.