Sandro Ferrone, an Italian retailer specializing in women's fashion, has implemented a Tageos EPCglobal UHF Class 1 Generation 2 (EPC Gen2 EPCglobal UHF Class 1) passive Ultra High frequency (UHF) Radio-frequency identification (RFID) label on their fashion garments.
The UHF RFID label has been installed in Sandro Ferrone's Rome distribution center by the Italian integrator Maestrale Information Technology. It has helped the customers to make the supplier to shopper channel more direct and efficient.
A Tageos EPC Gen2 passive UHF RFID label is applied on the hanging ticket of every garment for various product categories (dresses, tops, bags, scarves, etc) produced at the manufacturing units of Sandro Ferrone. Prior to being attached to garments, RFID labels are printed and encoded by the supplier, with a unique Electronic Product Code (EPC) pro¬duct identification number, using Toshiba BSX4T RFID printers.
The suppliers print information such as barcode, product description, collection identification number on the face of the label, and encode the RFID identification number into the tag, which includes information about the supplier, and detailed information about the item the label will be attached to. The information encoded into the RFID label is used throughout the manufacturing processes and the supply chain.
Tageos EOS-300 UHF RFID paper-only label was selected to allow Sandro Fer¬rone to easily print on the labels, and for the tag's high RFID performance level in retail apparel use-cases, at a cheaper rate.
RFID is also used to prepare orders before packing and shipment of the garments to stores. Operators use Nordic ID Merlin mobile computer readers to locate ordered goods in the distribution warehouse and pick them from the shelves. The quick identification process allows Sandro Ferrone to significantly improve the speed and efficiency in preparing the orders.
While it took about 10 minutes to identify a hundred items arriving at Sandro Ferrone's Rome distribution center with the RFID system, and the ability to easily read Tageos labels even when items were stacked, Sandro Ferrone reduced this time to about 6 to 7 seconds, almost eliminating errors and allowing a significant improvement in the efficiency of the flow of items throughout the warehouse.
Also, RFID helped reduce the labor costs. The automa¬ted RFID system reduced the time it takes to pick items from warehouse shelves because of the fas¬ter item identification process, and the number of employees required to prepare items for shipping has been reduced from 18 to 6.
To achieve the great process and inventory accuracy improvements, Sandro Ferrone has intensively trained their staff in the use of the RFID technology and systems, which has allowed them to rapidly adopt the technology.
Tageos, located in France, is one of the leading RFID label makers for the apparel industry.
