American Apparel uses RFID technology to provide 1 hour delivery service
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Now, customers who use Postmates’ on-demand delivery service can purchase basic American Apparel products. The service utilizes passive UHF RFID tags attached to all products by American Apparel, and Postmates can confirm that there are products in stock in the customer’s geographic area.
American Apparel Chief Digital Officer Thoryn Stephens said that on March 21, Postmates began offering American Apparel products in 79 stores in 31 major cities in the United States. Postmates also provides products that other retailers do not use RFID, but these companies cannot clearly understand the inventory information of a specific area on a specific date.
Postmates mainly provides 1 hour delivery service (including food, groceries, office supplies) for online shoppers. Users can purchase goods through the Postmates mobile app and get them shipped quickly. American Apparel is Postmates’ first apparel retail partner. Consumers can choose from 50 basic items including men’s and women’s T-shirts, socks, T-shirts and hoodies for purchase. The delivery fee is $1.99.
Normally, Postmates can think that there are enough stocks of goods in restaurants and cafes, but the stocks of clothing stores are generally limited, and it is difficult for the company to provide fast delivery services for such goods. However, with RFID technology, inventory data will be more accurate, and the delivery process will be reduced by 15 to 20 minutes.
When a consumer places an order, the nearest American Apparel store will receive the order information and prepare the required goods within a few minutes. The staff can use the handheld RFID reader to locate the item and then update its status as sold on the Postmates system.
In recent years, American Apparel has been using EPC UHF RFID tags on all of its products. The RFID tag uses the RFID embedded provided by Avery Dennison and LS Industrial systems, and is attached when the product is manufactured. The company uses three fixed RFID readers (one installed at the cashier, one installed in the back room for receiving merchandise, and the other for replenishing merchandise) to manage the inventory of items in the store.
The company used Zebra Technologies (Motorola) FX7400 and Alien Technology ALR-9900 readers. In addition, store employees also use handheld Motorola FX3190-Z or Nordic ID Merlin readers for weekly inventory counting. This also allows the store inventory accuracy rate to reach 99%.
The company also uses SML Intelligent Inventory Solution (IIS) software to analyze the read data and provide it to store employees. American Apparel is also piloting Senitron’s real-time location system in three stores.
Stephens said: “RFID technology ensures inventory accuracy, which also reduces the possibility of out of stock. At the same time, this technology is also the key to our IoT and omni-channel strategy.”
Using Postmates and web systems, consumers can purchase American Apparel products online. SML software also transmits RFID data to Postmates management software. In this way, when consumers are shopping in a certain area, the Postmates system will search the inventory data of stores in that area and display the products that are in stock near the area.
After the consumer places an order, the American Apparel stores in the area will receive the order information. Then employees prepare the goods for delivery to Postmates.
Stephens said that American Apparel is developing a mobile POS system so that employees with tablets don’t have to complete transactions at the checkout counter. In this solution, the tablet computer will also be connected to a mobile reader to automatically update inventory data. The retailer will also invest in an online inventory replenishment system.
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