RFID retail inventory management can deliver benefits for most apparel retailers now. The basic handheld solution is not hard to understand, delivers real ROI and has a relatively low investment hurdle. Yes, employee training and compliance is a headache, but this is true for many jobs in retail, and it does not change the fact that significant sales uplift is not only possible, but typical.

In a multi-year, multi-phase project covering people, processes and technology, Red Wing Shoes streamlined and improved its S&OP process, cutting planning time from six weeks to three and reducing inventory by 27 percent.

In recent years, a growing number of retail RFID use cases have clearly demonstrated the benefits of being able to track inventory at the item level, leading to better shelf replenishment and fewer out of stocks. Many retailers quantify the benefits of reducing out of stocks not just at the item level (potential lost sales) but at the transaction level, since retailers closely track the number of items that comprise the average transaction (e.g. 3.6 items/sale). Using that example, an out-of-stock item (especially in a core category such as denim) could result in lost sales of an additional 2.6 items that were to be purchased with it.