Ten days after the NRF Big Show in New York City, the Truecount team is still working full speed to follow up with contacts and customer requests from what was for me, a 3-day whirlwind. I cannot recall ever seeing as much enthusiasm for item-level RFID in previous NRF shows—the most important annual happening for the retail industry.
In fact, the stream of people visiting the Truecount booth was almost non-stop, with our demonstrations so much in demand that I barely had time for a break. I consider this all good; an indication that the RFID learning curve for retailers is nearly complete, and that the RFID for Retail industry continues to mature.
For the first time at NRF, we found we did not have to devote time to explaining item-level RFID. Based on the “missionary work” of the past five years, retailers now have a clear grasp of the benefits of RFID within the retail space. The retailers we met were saying things like “we know we need this technology” and “we are already aware of the benefits”. What they wanted to hear from us were the specific features and benefits that differentiate Truecount from our competitors.
Many savvy retailers at NRF came to our booth looking at item-level RFID as an important technology ‘tool’ for their tool chest. Another indication that the industry is maturing.
The “new technology” mystique is being replaced by clear-eyed practicality. As remarkable
as RFID is, the technology is not magic, nor is it overwhelmingly impressive on its own. Rather, RFID is powerful as an enhancement to existing systems, such as WMS, ERP, POS and others. Retailers who have already invested a lot of time and money into these systems are now recognizing that RFID can significantly accelerate the performance of each of these systems, complementing them and elevating them to their highest levels. This translates to maximum operational efficiencies, with everything streamlined and as near perfect as possible for each business model. That’s the true, profound beauty and value of item-level RFID.
One of the best quotes I heard during the entire show came from an executive from IBM visiting our booth: “It is silly the amount of attention around mobility and multi-channel at this show, when the greatest
ROI a retailer could make today would be in a solution like yours (Truecount). The hype drives the excitement in the industry while inventory visibility and accurate data is essential for all of the systems to work properly.”
We couldn’t agree more. What’s your opinion?