Saving time and money in retail stocktaking
Dematic’s innovative Bluetooth-enabled scanner solution provides a host of efficiency benefits and cost savings for retailers, many of whom conduct at least two stocktakes each year.
Stocktake procedures have traditionally been labour intensive and costly for retailers. Stores are often required to complete the task after hours and pay the relevant penalty rates, while many other stores remain closed for part or all of the day of the stocktake.
The process usually requires time-consuming downloads of stock inventory data at the start of the stocktake and uploads of actual stock counts at the end, typically via a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal. And this process needs to take place for each individual stocktaker, making it a time consuming, disruptive and expensive necessary evil for many retailers.
Dematic’s RapidRetail stocktake system is a faster, smarter, more economical solution.
Bluetooth-enabled, smart stocktake scanners
The majority of retailers don’t use a wireless network in their stores. For this reason Dematic, in conjunction with leading PDT supplier Motorola and retail software specialist Bizcom, developed the RapidRetail stocktake solution utilising Bluetooth to facilitate wireless data transfer within stores. Bluetooth is ideal for use in most retail stores as it is an effective and secure wireless data transfer method in enclosed spaces.
By connecting a Bluetooth base station to a POS register, retailers can now download the necessary data at the start of the stocktake process and wirelessly transfer it to all of the PDTs at the same time, potentially saving several hours.
As goods are scanned with the new Bluetooth-enabled Motorola MT2000 Smart Scanner terminals, data is wirelessly transferred to the base station. The new Smart Scanners also offer omni-directional 1D and 2D barcode scanning functionality, which improves productivity by eliminating the need to constantly align the scanners with the barcode being read, making the task a lot easier and quicker for staff.
When complete, the consolidated data from the base station is then uploaded to the retailer’s host computer in a single transaction, cutting the time required for stocktaking even further.
The RapidRetail stocktake solution cuts the time required to complete a stocktake in a typical retail outlet by around half, with the savings even greater for larger stores. For retail groups with multiple outlets, the savings can be huge.
Stocktaking at The Just Group
One of Australia’s leading fashion distributors, The Just Group, rolled out the RapidRetail stocktake system in 2012. With the new solution they expected to save around four man-hours per store, and with close to 1,000 stores across Australia, this meant significant cost savings.
The Just Group’s Project Manager, Daniel Dunstan, said “Not only that, with the new stocktaking process typically requiring an hour less to complete, we have also been able to open our stores on the day of stocktake by 9.30am instead of around 10:30am in the past.”
“Across our network of stores, we believe the extra trading hours could generate significant additional sales.”
Click here to download The Just Group case study >
Benefits of Dematic’s RapidRetail Solution
- Faster stocktake resulting in labour cost savings
- Stores open longer generating additional sales
- Reduction in shipping costs of the stocktake equipment
- Cost savings as new WLAN infrastructure not required
- No need to retrain staff in the use of equipment
To discuss how Dematic RapidRetail solutions can improve your retail processes please contact Dematic Real Time Logistics today.
Related links: