While stability can be desirable for your business, it’s important to avoid stagnation. Change is inevitable in businesses of all sizes, and more often than not, failure to change can lead to   failure to compete in the jewelry market. One of the biggest changes in today’s market – and one you can’t ignore – is the rise of smart technology such as Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, tags. While this revolutionary inventory control technology was originally favored by large corporations, RFID tags can be effectively implemented by any size business, giving you the edge  you need to outpace  your competitors.

What Exactly is RFID and How Does It Work?

RFID can be the single most effective tool your business uses. Radio frequency identification is a system using  radio waves to track and identify objects based on data assigned to tags attached to SKUS of your choice. RFID systems consist of readers and tags, which contain receivers and transmitters for the assignment and storage of data. Once you’ve assigned data to tags on your inventory, your RFID reader can identify the tagged items instantly and pull up all of the data – pricing and purchase history, for example – that you’ve assigned to the tag. RFID is an efficient data storage and inventory control system in one.

Am I Big Enough for an  RFID System?

Almost any size business can see an increase in its bottom line profit from RFID. Simply put, if you have an inventory that would benefit from increased organization and enhanced control, RFID is for you.

Exactly Which Departments Will Benefit Most From RFID?

Harnessing the power of RFID tags and readers will have a significant benefit for your departments. This technology promotes a streamlining of your business, reducing time and losses. Because of the speed at which RFID readers can scan tagged items, you will be able to perform inventory checks quickly and easily, as often as you want. This aids in loss prevention and eliminates the need to pay employees to painstakingly check over each and every item when they could be performing other valuable functions for your business.

The ability to store and recall information instantly with  RFID tags will turn even your newest employees into experts on your valuable inventory. When used effectively, the tags can help your sales team sell items by providing critical information on items in an instant.

RFID use can also improve accuracy in your shipping department.  Your RFID scanner reads through the sealed box being shipped, which ensures everything on the Purchase Order that’s supposed to be in a package is actually there. Using this method, discrepancies can be eliminated

How Can I Measure My ROI?

Change isn’t always  good – if you implement a new system that doesn’t actually provide advantages, your time, money and effort is wasted. With RFID, however, the ROI is clearly evident, instant and significant. Electronic management of your inventory reduces man-hours and money dedicated to inventory control, and the elimination of human error promotes loss prevention. If you’re a small firm, the increased efficiency RFID provides  can help you compete with larger firms that have more resources. The information stored on RFID tags and the ability to scan shipments produces superior customer service. In other words, RFID use provides measurable benefits for your entire business.

For a complete study on RFID’s ROI, call Tim Murphy at (212) 682-4172.

But Is RFID a Long-Term Investment?

There’s got to be a catch, right? Not with RFID – the system usually pays for itself within six months.

Is There Any Risk RFID Won’t Work For My Business?

RFID has a proven track record; this is not an experimental technology, and it’s easy to implement. RFID works for big and small businesses – leaders in all fields of business are taking advantage of RFID – how about you?

Will RFID Require a Change in Our Procedures and Software?

The only change in your business will be the increase in efficiency – an estimated 90 percent improvement in speed. You can retain all of your current procedures; RFID will simply add a new SKU subroutine.

How Much Downtime Should I Allow For RFID Integration?

One way in which RFID is superior to other inventory management systems is that it requires no downtime. All system testing is performed offline, and within eight weeks, you’ll be able to reap the full benefits of a fully tagged inventory and an up and running system.

What Do I Do Next?

For more information on RFID and the benefits it will provide for your business, call Tim Murphy, TracTech Vice President, at (212) 682-4172 or send him an e-mail at tim.murphy@tractechsystems.com.