EP 113 - RFID your way to better inventory

How does replenishment work in your warehouse? It is probably very manual, lots of paperwork and different stakeholders involved making it impossible to be be agile and efficient. Because of that I thought it was important to introduce you to a company that is revolutionizing this. Andrew is the CEO of ShelfAware, a company that helps suppliers see in real-time what is on their customers’ shelves through hardware tracking RFID technology. This technology allows companies to see the exact moment a customer takes an item off the shelf, how many items they take and how much is needed to replenish stock.

Using RFID technology together with real-time software means that suppliers can easily replenish stock without worrying about waste, workers don’t have to waste time counting items and companies can gather data on their customer habits. From a cost effective standpoint, everyone wins. ShelfAware works as a 3rd party SaaS (Software as a service), so they don’t need to touch the product at any point in the supply chain. The software connects with a tracking code that can easily be printed by the supplier and is put on the product itself.

Who is ShelfAware’s ideal client? As Andrew says, he keeps discovering new industries this system could be useful for. They started with industrial suppliers and manufacturers, but anyone from a dentist to a large scale conglomerate can make use of their product and software. Andrew has helped businesses drastically lower inventory without losing the rate at which they replenish items. Once again, this is proof that collaborating with other companies can make them stronger together.

Lastly we get a sneak peek into Andrew's new show on The SC Supply Chain TV on Youtube called From the Frontlines where he brings us into the frontlines of business, entrepreneurship and supply chain!

In this episode we discuss:

• [0.37] The story behind ShelfAware
• [6.50] Why RFID is so under-utilized
• [17.10] Who should consider RFID
• [21.17] Does it actually work in real life scenarios?
• [30.20] From the Frontlines

Resources and links mentioned:

• ShelfAware