Bracket International Case Study : Bracket

Lately Conner and Martin have been working with “radio frequency identification” (RFID) technology. They have developed a detailed system designed to track inventory items using RFID tags embedded invisibly in products. This technology has numerous inventory

Given the facts in the case and as outlined in more detail in this case study, it is our recommendation that Mierdorf and Wolfram move to the case level RFID tagging process. The improvements up and down the supply chain in accuracy, inventory control, reduced labor costs are enough to at least continue with the RFID

RFID systems are currently being used in manufacturing plants to track parts, stay informed of work in progress, reduce product defects, increase throughput, and manage production of given products. Big name retailers such as Best Buy, Metro, Target, Albertson’s, Hewlett Packard, and Wal-Mart are leading the way in implementing RFID systems. These retailers recognize the need to improve inventory efficiency, ensure products are available to customers as needed, decrease theft, and cut down on costs associated with tracking and processing inventory.

PRADA has long been adopted management information systems into most of their business part including manufacturing, sales, and human resource management. PRADA has Group information technology director who primarily responsible for the management of the Group’s information technology system. In 2000s, by using radio frequency identification (RFID), PRADA tried to controls manufacturing system, inventory, warehousing, distribution, logistics, automatic object tracking and supply chain management. What PRADA expected from RFID technologies were improve the potential benefits of supply chain management through reduction of inventory losses, increase of the efficiency and speed of

Handheld mobile computers are efficient, have the ability to scan and allow for accurate, real-time data and inventory control and can be used throughout the supply chain process to enable instant inventory adjustments. Bar-coding is essential for just-in-time systems. Using scanners with a handheld PC will decrease the number of errors that occur from manual entry of data for inventory purposes. (ecampus.phoenix.edu, November 2009)

Wal-Mart currently has one of the most advanced inventory management systems due to their use of RFID tracking capabilities. Every product is equipped with a radio frequency identification tag, which identifies the location and type of product in the warehouse. As the product leaves the warehouses, there are readers in place at the door that automatically recognize which products are leaving and entering the warehouse. The benefit of this is that it limits the use of employees better employed elsewhere and has impeccable accuracy, much more accurate and faster than if employees were to take inventory. The service that our product provides is to take this current technology and to implement it at a grocery stores as well as retail in the

Inventory management can be defined by how it “involves planning, coordinating, and controlling the acquisition, storage, handling, movement, distribution, and possible sale of raw materials, component parts and subassemblies, supplies and tools, replacement parts, and other assets that are needed to meet customer wants and needs,” (David Alan Collier, 2017). Inventory management used to be about taking notes on cards. Employees would write down the items on a piece of paper. This process obviously took a lot of time and it was easy for shop keepers to miss items. The idea of electric inventory records first came up during the 1930’s but didn’t really take off until 1948 when the first electronic scanner was built.

The RFID is considered a significant improvement over the conventional barcode, which needs to be read by scanners in "line-of-sight" fashion and can be stripped away if the paper product labels get ripped or damaged. RFID can also facilitate inter-organizational E-commerce initiatives such as continuous replenishment or vendor-managed inventories (Smaros and Holmstrom, 2000).

Three-Westminster is considering warehouse consolidation, so the correct management of inventory is crucial to guarantee proficient operations. To aid in this the implementing of bar-coding, SKU, and RFID systems need to be implemented. Bar-coding provides manageable stock pulling and

point of sale system. The POS system is a perpetual inventory counting method that electronically records items immediately upon their point of sale (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). In other words, as a cashier scans a customer 's groceries, each scanned item is automatically recorded in the system and deducted from the store’s inventory. Implementing a point of sale would benefit a business’s inventory management function in several ways. First, the POS system will provide managers with a continuous flow of updated information (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). As a result, the information will provide more accuracy when used for sales forecasts and analysis, which substantially affect inventory decisions. Continuously, this inventory system would also allow greater flexibility in the sense that it can be wirelessly linked to the main company’s inventory system, creating a network of the company’s inventory systems. The POS system is capable of tracking many operations at once and can be modified according to management’s needs (MacCarthy, n.d.). This flexibility would undoubtedly benefit a large company like Wegman’s with many store locations. Lastly, the system is able to help businesses maintain a high level of customer service. Because the system gives customers a receipt with the price and quantity of each item purchased, the customer is able to see exactly what he or she purchased. This practice

Macy’s is known as the poster child for RFID in the retail industry. By implementing RFID technology, Macy’s gained greater visibility not only in their supply chain, but on a store level. RFID has helped them monitor stock levels more frequently so they could increase their inventory and ordering accuracy. Being more accurate has helped Macy’s meet customer’s demands. Macy’s saw a great increase in their overall sales and revenues shortly after introducing RFID in all of their stores. Earlier this year, Macy’s started a new program that employs RFID to allow Omni-channel fulfillment of consumer purchases. The program, named Pick to the Last Unit (P2LU), allows them to list goods for sale online even when there is only one such item available at the store. Macy’s omni-channel will allow customers to shop anywhere, anytime, and anyhow they choose. Their stores will be functioning as warehouses to utilize the full assortment of owned

Computers can also track the actual inventory levels with the use of barcode scanners. Scanning entering and exiting inventory can current levels and avoids mistakes that can happen by using the card system.

Nowadays, in an era that has advanced technology and a place in the world. Everything can be linked only at your fingertips in the times of rapidly developing with the sophisticated technology of today. Therefore, an inventory system is also not lagging behind in introducing a method of keeping an inventory data systematically and safely. The system plays a very important role in improving the competitiveness of a business. Usually, organizations today face too many challenges to achieve the cost, speed and reliability. Efficient inventory system really help in order to make sure the store’s performance and data record is always in good condition and secured from abusers. The system basically to ease the admin to manage the

Auto Identification techniques and Warehouse Management systems (WMS) are playing a crucial role in success of supply chains like retail, e-commerce, auto-industry, manufacturing etc. by reducing the transaction process time, efficient inventory control, security and tracking. Barcodes is the most widely used Auto-identification techniques. Recently RFID has gain importance in tracking the objects, paper less good receipts. With major application focus on inventory tracking, security access control, implementation of Auto-ids, replenishment systems, smooth dispatching and integration through ERPs Warehousing Management systems gaining success in reducing the lead time.

• 1. Become familiar with RFID technology and its potential uses in Harley-Davidson’s supply chain using the information presented in this chapter and information you obtain through the Online Companion links, your favorite search engine, and your library. In about 400 words, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages for Harley-Davidson of replacing its bar codes and scanners technology with RFID.