American Apparel Advances RFID Projects
American Apparel, which recently announced a plan to employ radio-frequency identification merchandise tracking technology in some of its stores, is about to roll out the inventory-management element of the campaign.
The Los Angeles–based manufacturer/retailer has aligned with technology partner Xterprise Inc. to test its Clarity-ARS (Advanced Retail System) software, which is designed to track inventory as well as provide security at the store level. RFID uses wireless scanners and microchips to track merchandise and store SKU information. Until now, most companies have been using the technology in the warehouse. American Apparel is among the first retailers to use it at the retail level.
Company technicians are hoping the new system will help enhance sales and customer service and reduce outof- stocks.
Xterprise is a Microsoft Corp. Gold–certified partnerand uses Microsoft’s BizTalk Server and RFID tools.
“This will help American Apparel optimize inventory availability on the selling floor and respond more effectively to shoppers’ wants and needs in a way that will differentiate their experience at the local level,” said David Gruehn, U.S. retail industry director of Microsoft.
The pilot is designed to allow American Apparel to validate the solution’s store item–level inventory and operations-management capabilities in an actual store environment.
An American Apparel representative said it is looking for a system that can scale its growing network of 225-plus stores. —Robert McAllister
