Expert
Column: Addressing Grocers' Supply Chain Challenges with RFID Tech
October 7, 2014, 01:20 am By Su Doyle,
Checkpoint Systems
As food retailers expand merchandise categories to increase
customer shopping frequency and market share, they face challenges in applying
the right technology mix to meet the needs of merchandise expansion. High on
their list: Being able to track high-risk and perishable items from source to
store to customer purchase, so they can reduce retail shrink while increasing
sales and ensuring product safety.
For example, as supermarkets add in-store pharmacies for
customer convenience, they're subject to the same regulations as stand-alone
pharmacies and increasingly need to track drug quality and safety, including
thwarting counterfeit products. RFID technology can automate the traceability
of pharmaceuticals. By applying tags at source manufacturing, pharmacies can
follow the chain of custody of individual medications and ensure the drug
pedigree of items entering their stores. Once there, supermarket pharmacies can
ensure the quality, authenticity and safety of prescription drugs and quickly
know if and when they expire.
Meaty Issues
Even more central to food retailers are meats, particularly new
premium categories. In markets outside the United States, particularly Europe,
meats are among the most stolen items, while in North America, retail theft is
actually exceeded by spoilage as the highest source of shrink.
As supermarkets expand fresh meat and seafood selections in
their stores, and carry more premium meat products, they must ensure quality
and safety in store and in the supply chain. Many supermarket chains control
quality "from farm to fork" by owning their own farms or having
exclusive/select arrangements with vendors. Despite that, many challenges
remain.
Once meats are packed in refrigerated trucks, they may still be
exposed to varying temperatures that enable the growth of pathogens. These
disease-causing agents are increased during hand-offs in the supply chain at
distribution centers and supermarkets. Some supermarkets are already tracking
temperatures in trucks, noting how much time perishable products spend at
specific temperatures.
Once meat arrives in stores, there's a critical need to know
just how much time remains before it must be sold or destroyed. Since
supermarkets regularly package meat in individual portions at the stores, it's
relatively straightforward to add an RFID tag within each package. Once the
meat is placed in display cases, employees can quickly scan individual packages
with RFID readers to uncover which packages are past the sell date (in which
case they're removed) or nearing the sell date (in which case, they're rotated
to the front/put on sale). This mitigates the risk of selling product past its
expiration date, and also saves employee time, reduces waste and increases
sales.
An additional benefit is that by tracking which meat is spoiled
or sold, supermarkets can be smarter about ordering, because they know their
store needs precisely. This is particularly useful when premium meats might
move more quickly in some store locations than in others.
How it Works
How might this RFID process work? Consider this fresh meat
tracking supply chain example. Once meat inventory reaches a distribution
center, an associate applies to each shipment an RFID tag that's encoded with
lot code, SKU and expiration date. In addition, a temperature log is activated.
RFID tags are then read as the meat is packed and shipped to stores. As the
meat is received at the receiving dock, it's scanned again. Store personnel are
alerted if the product has a low shelf life. It's then scanned again as it goes
through the cooler and meat prep area. Temperature history is also downloaded
to ensure that there's no spoiled product. Once in the meat display area,
personnel with scanners can quickly determine whether there's any expired or
soon-to-be expired meat and take the appropriate action. And as the meat is
sold, the right amount of replacement can be ordered.
Adding new merchandise categories can be challenging because of
high risk and spoilage factors. By using RFID, supermarkets can decrease food
loss, increase sales and ensure customer satisfaction.
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