RFID Technology In Retail

The retail industry is undergoing a digital transformation, and RFID technology in retail is at the forefront of this revolution. Unlike traditional barcodes, RFID enables retailers to track inventory in real time with unmatched speed and accuracy—reducing stockouts, minimizing losses, and enhancing customer satisfaction. From smart shelves that auto-replenish to seamless checkout systems, RFID is reshaping how stores manage operations, optimize supply chains, and personalize the shopping journey. As consumer expectations grow, retailers leveraging RFID gain a competitive edge through improved efficiency, data-driven insights, and frictionless omnichannel experiences.

The automatic identification industry in the 20th century can be said to be the world of bar code technology, since the 70's in the world to promote the application of commodity bar code system (i.e. EAN-UPC system) since the birth of the bar code technology with a rapid development trend occupied from business to industry, from warehousing to the circulation of almost all the data management application fields. At present, more than 100 countries and regions around the world have joined the International Article Numbering Association (IANSA), and more than 1.2 million companies and enterprises have participated in the globally harmonized marking system, and tens of millions of commodities have used the unified bar code logo. It can be said that the bar code technology on the management of the supply chain, from commodity manufacturing, management and circulation of the contribution is pivotal to the development of modern logistics for enterprises to provide management level, reduce management costs and promote the process of global economic integration has laid a solid foundation.

However, with the change of time and the continuous updating of technology, barcode technology has been unable to meet the existing applications of enterprises. For example, the management of fast moving consumer goods supply chain, due to the specificity of the industry, the short cycle of commodity flow, the high demand for real-time transmission of commodity information. Existing barcode technology can't get the information from a large number of commodities in a short period of time, the only way must be to rely on manual one-to-one scanning way to complete.

System Application Solutions

However, with EPC Global as the standard RFID wireless smart tags issued through the wireless band of radio waves, so that the automatic identification technology has a new breakthrough in just 1 second, read the information of 200 commodities, and can be updated through the wireless Internet mode of data as Figure 1. Such technology into the entire supply chain of enterprises, it will solve the existing Barcode technology can not do a number of product identification problems, for each of the smallest unit of circulation of goods to establish a global logo, so as to realize the entire supply chain of goods for real-time tracking and management. At the same time, it greatly improves the progress of the whole process of FMCG supply chain.

Specific application links

This case describes how in the manufacturer's side of the production line, shipping links to use; in the logistics and distribution links to how in the warehousing, distribution, transportation applications as well as in the retail sector of the shelf management, order management, sales management and other aspects of the application.

In each can of soft drinks on the outer packaging are used in a miniature radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The area of the tag can be large or small, in each tag there is an equivalent of a gravel electronic chip as well as the antenna. The microchip in the tag holds an electronic product code, or EPC, and each can of soft drink has a unique EPC.

Beverages in the assembly line for filling, located in the assembly line in various positions on the RFID tag reading device will automatically send out data reading commands, and accept by the tag feedback information. These data are collected and recorded by the production control system, and further incorporated into the enterprise production management system to realize automatic counting and the establishment of product tracking database. At the end of the assembly line, canned beverages are loaded into the box, in the box also has a RFID tag, when a box of beverages packaged, the production control system will drive the RFID tag printer (a special to write data to the electronic chip in the printer, usually at the same time as the existing bar code printer functions), will be packaged in the box of details (transportation bar code, commodity production date, etc.) written to this tag, and at the same time, the data will be written to the label. to this label, while the data will be stored in the enterprise production management system. These boxes, when stored in the warehouse are placed on pallets, each pallet also has a RFID tag.

Above the doorway of the shipping platform is an RFID reader, which sends out radio waves to activate the tags as the pallets pass through the doorway, at which point the tags “wake up” and start sending their respective EPCs. At this time, these tags “wake up”, and began to send their own EPC. like a good kindergarten teacher, the reader will only let a tag at a time “speak”. It rapidly opens and closes the tags in turn until all of them have been read. With the current mature technology, every second, RFID reading devices can successfully read 200 RFID tags.

This is what one of the labels says: EPC: F127.C238.DF1B.17CC

This information is first passed to the software system, and then to the Object Resolution Service (ONS) system on the LAN or the Internet, which retrieves the goods associated with that EPC, as if registering it on the Internet, where the ONS serves the purpose of depositing the data from the software system in the enterprise database and of retrieved on the Internet. The data for each product will be stored in an Entity Markup Language (PML), similar to the currently popular XML, which can perform a number of common enterprise tasks.

A tag reading device is connected to the system to deliver the received EPC data to, and at the same time drive the system to perform subsequent tasks. The system can send queries over the Internet (Internet of Things) to an Object Name Service (ONS) database, which acts like a reverse telephone lookup service, i.e., it provides an address based on the number it receives;

The ONS server matches the EPC code with the address of a server holding a large amount of information about the product, which is not only available to software systems around the world, but can be automatically added to by the software systems; PML PML (Physical Markup Language) server, which stores complete data about the plant's products, in this case recognizes that the EPC code received belongs to Cherry Hydro, a canned beverage from so-and-so. Since the software system knows the location of the reader that issued the query command, it now also knows which manufacturer produced the can, and if there is a problem with the quality of the product, this information can be used very effectively. With this information it is easy to trace back the source of the problem for product tracking.

Now, the whole package of soft drinks is delivered to the distribution center, located in the unloading area of the platform door of the RFID reader began to work, will be packaged in the box of all the drinks in the EPC code read out. Because RFID can be collected non-contact, and can even be read through the box, so that in the unloading area without having to open the box inspection can be obtained without the real information and quantity of the goods packaged inside. The data obtained by the tag reading device is transmitted to the software system, and the location information of the beverages is then changed on the entire Internet of Things.

After the business processing of the distribution center, the goods are distributed to the retail outlets. On the shipping platform, the EPC label is read once, and when it enters the warehouse of the retail outlet, the EPC label is read again, and these two reading processes will verify the accuracy of the logistics and transportation process, and at the same time, the new location information will be reflected on the Internet of Things.

Once the beverage arrives at the warehouse, the retail outlet's merchandise inventory information then changes so that the mall's computer system is able to realize real-time monitoring of that soft drink's inventory to ensure a safe stock of merchandise.

Similarly, the mall's shelves are also integrated with RFID tag reading devices, when the staff to the shelf replenishment, the use of handheld readers will be the beverage information is recorded in the corresponding shelf inventory. At this point, a customer purchased 6 cans of drinks, shelves will be replenished to the shopping mall system to send a message, the system is based on real-time inventory information (the number of goods on the shelves and in the warehouse) to determine whether to order; if the goods on the shelves of the stock is reduced to a certain level, but also to send replenishment information to the staff.

RFID technology can also facilitate customers. Customers do not need to wait in line for a long time to pay for the checkout, just push the selected items to walk through a door equipped with tag reading equipment on the line. Readers on the door can be through the goods of the EPC, identify the items in the shopping cart and automatically complete the checkout, the customer only need to brush the payment card or credit card can leave.

Drinks are bought at home, they will be placed in the refrigerator, then, the refrigerator label reader will also automatically record these goods, constituting a small inventory management system; when the cans of drinks from the refrigerator, it will be considered to be finished, this time the refrigerator inventory will change. Such inventory management continues until the next purchase, the refrigerator will provide a list of its "out of stock".

Finally, the beverage can completes its mission, is sent to the recycling center, the RFID label in the recycling center is automatically sorted, is classified into the corresponding reuse category.

System Basic Configuration

Electronic tags for commodity packaging: smart labels in sticker mode, 915MHZ, ISO18000-6/EPC standard, pasted on fixed positions of commodities.

Required RFID equipment: support EPCGlobe standard double standard compatible reader, and has a network interface; fixed reader; handheld terminal.

Software system : Label issuance system (including device driver), verification system, local database system and local ERP system.

Other equipment: on-site computer and wireless Internet equipment.