Melbourne Australia- December 07,2013: People shop for X'mas gifts at Myer on Burke Street Melbourne

Department store giant Myer has announced the roll-out of new technology to help it keep track of stock in real-time.

The news will see the chain have full oversight of stock, with the implementation of an end-to-end solution for loss prevention and inventory management that is aimed at maximising fulfilment both in-store and online.

The RFID technology, from Checkpoint Systems, will allow staff to know exactly what products are available in store or online and where they’re located, helping staff to replenish stock and fulfil more orders.

Gary Stones, head of retail operations at Myer said the chain has plans to continue to ramp up investment in RFID into the future to help it keep pace with customer demand after the technology saw huge uplift in store operations.

“Across all installations we have seen improved sales results, improved fulfilment pick success, a reduction in shrinkage expense, a reduction in stock take labour costs and an ability to have inventory accuracy of 100%,” he said.

“We have plans to continue to invest in RFID technology and we are in the process of finalizing our inventory accuracy/RFID plan for 2019.”

General Manager of Checkpoint’s sales and operations, Nick Trudgett told Retailbiz that RFID is a game-changing technology for Myer, allowing the chain to ensure that their inventory is replenished to meet shoppers’ needs, thereby driving improved sales.

“Myer is one of many retailers globally adopting passive RFID within their operations with the sole, primary purpose of managing their inventory more efficiently with the ultimate aim of having the right investment at the right place and right time and therefore maximising the customer experience,” he said.

The cloud-based solution reduces the need for hardware like computers, while also automating replenishment of stock and cutting down the time taken in manual stocktake.

“It speeds up the whole operation in terms of stocktaking and creates visibility of inventory where inventory is sitting in the supply chain in store. It also enables retailers to identify where in the supply chain inventory has gone missing. The more times an RFID label is read, the more accurate the location of inventory becomes. This then allows loss prevention and security to hone and focus their attention on a particular area.”