Nippon Express starts high-fashion warehouse operations utilizing electronic (RFID) tags and a proprietary warehouse management system
Press Release
Nippon Express starts high-fashion warehouse operations utilizing electronic (RFID) tags and a proprietary warehouse management system
Nippon Express Co., Ltd. (Mitsuru Saito, President) has begun utilizing electronic (RFID) tags and a proprietary warehouse management system (WMS) in undertaking high-fashion warehouse operations.
(Handy scanner and smartphone-style terminal)
(Scanning IC tags with a handy scanner)
[Background to development]
The apparel industry has long hoped that introducing RFID would boost the efficiency of goods distribution management, and accordingly some fast-fashion companies have adopted RFID. High-fashion brands, on the other hand, rely primarily on handmade production at multiple ateliers, which inherently makes it difficult to affix IC chips during production as is the most efficient practice, and few companies have made the move to RFID.
An increasingly young customer base has also given rise to greater EC business demand, requiring greater operational efficiency.
Nippon Express has developed a new RFID-linked system to bring greater efficiency and labor-saving to warehouse operations and to enhance its services via new operations that utilize RFID.
[Operational features]
The proprietary warehouse management system has a simple design free of middleware that utilizes character recognition of electronic tags and thus avoids reliance on equipment manufacturers. The equipment needed for handling materials and operating the system is less expensive than that required for conventional warehouse management systems that employ RFID.
Nippon Express will be establishing its own RFID procurement routes so that it can introduce electronic tags at reasonable prices.
Apparel products come in a high mix of low-volume items that complicates inventory control, and the use of RFID can make stocktaking more efficient. The introduction of smartphone (Android) terminals can improve work visibility and give exclusive-use applications greater flexibility, making it possible to speed up warehouse shipping operations and to respond to the unique business needs of customers in this industry.
[Future plans]
The initial focus will be on high-fashion brands, with future consideration to be given to expanding these operations to all retailers with their own stores.
This approach will be extended beyond internal warehouse operations to include stocktaking services at family sales and other event venues as well as rentals of RFID stocktaking systems and security gates for stores and event venues.
RFID-based traceability functions will be developed for EC.
Nippon Express will continue endeavoring to enhance its work quality and even better tailor its services to customer needs.