Kimberly-Clark Corp. (Irving, Texas) has deployed OATSystems Inc.’s (Dallas) newly new OAT Mobile Tag, a mobile RFID tagging solution to improve the execution of in-store product promotions.
For its in-store product promotions, Kimberly-Clark uses a manufactured display that features the promoted product. These displays are typically shipped from Kimberly-Clark's contracted manufacturers directly to retailers' stores. Frequently, operational challenges prevent these displays from reaching the sales floor at the beginning of the promotional period. In fact, industry statistics show that between 15% to 40% of stores fail to move displays to the sales floor on time, missing critical promotional windows and the opportunity to increase sales. Kimberly-Clark solved the operational problem using RFID technology and a mobile tagging solution.
The solution, which incorporates the Mobile Tagging Station from ADASA Inc. (Eugene, Oreg.) www.adasainc.com, enables Kimberly-Clark's third-party contract manufacturers to apply RFID tags to promotional displays. In-store RFID readers read the displays' tags to record when they reach the backroom of the store and again when the displays reach the sales floor. When a display's tag is read, data is sent to Kimberly-Clark and the retailer showing whether the display has reached the sales floor on time. With this innovation, Kimberly-Clark and its retail customers can intervene promptly when displays fail to reach the sales floor on time. This benefits Kimberly-Clark, the retailer and the consumer by ensuring promoted products are where customers expect them to be.
The tag solution will also enable Kimberly-Clark to support RFID-enabled stores in new geographies, conduct RFID proof of concepts and explore other RFID applications to improve performance. With the new capability, Kimberly-Clark will enrich its information flow and thereby manage its promotions with greater precision to improve bottom-line results.
"We have been working closely with OAT and ADASA for several months to advance our RFID operational tagging capabilities through a portable edge concept that we developed," said Mike O'Shea, director, Auto-ID Sensing Technology, Kimberly-Clark. "OAT Mobile Tag is a cost-effective solution that allows us to focus our RFID tagging efforts where there is a clear value proposition for K-C and our customers."
Source: OATSystems Inc.
