We all know that technology can help us in many ways in our businesses, and, in many cases, our entire venture may depend on using tech systems. However, many of us don’t spend enough time each year examining new and improved ways we can utilize technology to do things like cut costs, save time, and boost efficiencies.
One area of development worth thinking about over the coming months, especially if you operate a business that moves inventory or other items in some way, is the use of radio frequency identification – or, as it’s more commonly known, RFID. Check out a few ideas for how you might be able to make use of RFID in your organization to improve operations this year and in the future.
Tracking Items
RFID tech is incredibly helpful when you need to track goods. Rather than manually counting each item, you can take advantage of smart asset tags placed on goods that use RFID software to let you know what’s in each parcel and how to identify a package’s location. You’ll enjoy less backlog plus likely fewer mistakes since there are fewer human errors to worry about than with more labor-intensive hand-counts and checks.
RFID technology reduces the chances of packages ending up in the wrong places and having to be re-directed, which wastes time and money, too. Plus, RFID tags can be utilized on production lines. Managers can learn how long each part of an assembly process takes and better spot areas where improvements can be made.
Furthermore, when tracking goods closely with RFID, you should worry less about loss and theft since items can be tracked ASAP if they go missing. Some examples of this type of use include casinos that embed RFID technology into their poker chips and airlines that add RFID chip-containing devices to customers’ luggage tags to track suitcases.
Making Inventory Management More Efficient
If you’re looking for ways to optimize your venture’s inventory management, RFID can help, too. Apart from the benefits mentioned above, RFID can also make it quick and easy for entrepreneurs and personnel to see what’s on hand, stock-wise, at any moment and find it ASAP. You don’t need to wait for a time-consuming annual stocktake to better understand which products or materials/parts, etc., have been selling well or are old or obsolete.
You can run reports, too, that take data from RFID applications and provide real-time information on inventory history and locations, including where goods are if stored between numerous warehouses or stores. Plus, audits become simpler, and you should find that planning production processes and sales strategies isn’t such a headache as you have so much more data at your disposal to analyze.
Customer Service
Customer service is the other key way that you might like to use RFID in your business. Properly catering to your clientele can hugely impact your organization’s bottom line, and using RFID tech can assist you in doing this. For example, RFID enables you and your team to better see when goods are likely to arrive at a customer’s door and provide them with timely updates, in turn.
With so many consumers having very high expectations about the types of information they receive and when, this knowledge sharing is invaluable. You can even set up automatic processes so customers can log into accounts online for the latest delivery information or receive automated text messages or emails that get sent out as soon as updates become available. This frees up your customer service team to focus on other client inquiries.
You can use RFID technology in other ways to boost customer service, too. For example, reduce the amount of time people have to wait to be served at the cash register by eliminating scanning and swiping needs thanks to RFID – a technique that Disney utilizes in ticket lines at its theme parks.
Or, you might install RFID tech in fitting rooms or other parts of your store so shoppers can check out systems that feature the latest details about how much stock is on-hand in that location or learn about alternative sizes, colors, styles, etc.
The uses of RFID don’t stop here. If you want further ideas, consider that RFID tracking can help you to accumulate and share data, boost productivity, and lower operating costs. It makes better and faster decision-making possible and enables easier access control management, such as via keycards.
While this may all seem like a lot to take in, RFID is a straightforward and user-friendly type of system that doesn’t cost a considerable amount or take too long to learn. As such, it’s worth testing out in your organization today.
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