SML Wins In-Store Technology of the Year at Retail Systems Awards 2024
The 19th edition of the Retail Systems Awards, hosted in London on June 19, brought the retail industry together to celebrate excellence and innovation. A finalist on the night, we are excited to announce that SML RFID was named the winner of the In-Store Technology of the Year Award for its Clarity® solution, deployed in over 7,500 locations across the globe, delivering a proven ROI in stores, distribution centers, and factories.
The award category recognizes in-store technology that can significantly improve retailer’s operations and create a best-in-class customer service. SML’s item-level RFID technology transforms retail inventory management and in-store operations, delivering over 98% inventory accuracy, and creating a foundation that provides retailers with rapid return on investment (ROI).
Dean Frew, President of RFID Solutions Division at SML Group, said: “Being awarded ‘In-store Technology of the Year’ reflects our team’s commitment to developing and delivering RFID Solutions that generate compelling Return on Investments (ROI) for retailers and brand owners.. We are honored to be given this prestigious award by Retail Systems and look forward to serving existing and new customers with the same level of service that justified this selection. ”
With more than three decades of experience delivering technology-driven RFID solutions, SML is a trusted technology partner of some of the renowned brands worldwide. To date, SML’s Clarity® software has over >100,000 users in more than 60 countries, managing over 500,000,000 items in every week in brands stores, distribution centers and factories.
Inventory Accuracy
Inventory accuracy plays a key role in improving retail operations. Whether ordering stock, planning promotions, or making recommendations, retailers cannot confidently make informed decisions without having the right knowledge of what they have and don’t have in stock. If unable to make effective decisions, retailers can fall at risk of overstocking or running out of inventory. According to our State of Retail report, 48% of retailers believe that out-of-stock items frequently cause the biggest challenge to them in serving customers in today’s retail environment.
To address these challenges, retailers must have advanced technology in place that can provide accurate inventory visibility in real-time, allowing retailers to conduct stock counts seamlessly. With SML’s Clarity® software, retailers can conduct frequent and rapid inventory counts – thanks to the potential of item-level RFID technology. As a result, brands can reduce out-of-stocks, improve stock availability, and achieve complete inventory accuracy.
SML RFID has deployed its Clarity® across the globe. It seamlessly allows staff to perform weekly or daily stock counts across locations. As a result, retailers can quickly boost inventory accuracy, gain precise supply and demand data, and free up hundreds of manual stock-taking hours. Ultimately, this streamlines a number of brands’ retail operations.
Enhanced Efficiency
Leveraging SML’s Clarity® solution, retailers can empower their staff to perform stock counts 20x faster compared to manual inventory counting. As a result, employees’ productivity can be significantly increased. It reduces their time spent on repetitive tasks and allows them better capacity to instead provide valuable customer experiences in-store.
To make it easier for store associates, Clarity Stock Explorer helps staff locate missing and hard-to-find items within seconds. The solution also provides real-time data about product sizes, colors, and styles in the store’s inventory. This empowers in-store staff to seamlessly assist customers and make meaningful recommendations.
Additionally, the real-time data facilitated by SML’s item-level RFID technology enables retailers to enhance business intelligence to monitor organizational operations more effectively and efficiently. As a result, retailers can significantly improve their decision-making to ensure it aligns with consumer demand and business needs.
Top-Tier Customer Experience
From point-of-interaction (POI) terminals to checkout kiosks, SML’s Clarity® software can significantly improve customers’ shopping experience. RFID-powered POI terminals can offer customers accurate stock information and affinity suggestions. Similarly, the technology delivers real-time insights for retailers, enabling them to make relevant product recommendations to their customers, ensuring they are available in stock.
Additionally, to deliver exceptional omnichannel shopping experiences, retailers can use real-time inventory visibility provided by the Clarity® software, and better facilitate offerings such as Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) and Buy Online, Return In-store (BORIS). Staff can quickly locate products and deliver high-quality customer service without engaging in any time-consuming manual processes to navigate items. This, in turn, can positively impact consumer loyalty as customers are likely to shop again with a retailer following a positive customer experience.
Want to understand how Clarity® can help streamline your operations and improve retail ROI? Get in touch.
