Thursday 08 April 2010, SERGE BLANCO EXTENDS ITEM-LEVEL VISIBILITY TO RETAIL STORE WITH TAGSYS RFID SOLUTION

Serge Blanco and TAGSYS have worked together closely since early 2008 developing RFID solutions that can be leveraged across multiple applications and to support a variety of business processes, both in the supply chain and in-the-store. Following a successful deployment in its distribution center with several million articles ‘tagged’, Serge Blanco is now taking another significant step toward achieving complete, item-level visibility for its entire retail network.

“Using the TAGSYS RFID for Retail solution in our stores will give us real-time information about our inventory, sales and shrink,” said Mathieu Pradier, Vice President of Operations at Serge Blanco. “We will use the information to improve our replenishment processes and inventory management, which we believe will lead to optimum merchandise availability levels, an enhanced customer shopping experience and ultimately increased sales.”

This groundbreaking initiative builds on Serge Blanco’s roll-out of the technology at its distribution center, where it tracks over 1.5 million items per year. The process begins by applying TAGSYS UHF RFID tags to all of its products. On arrival at the store, the merchandise is received into the back room and then moved to the retail floor. The RFID tags are read as they pass through UHF portals positioned at a variety of checkpoints. As the events are recorded, the inventory is automatically updated within the store’s management software.

Fitting rooms have also been equipped with RFID stations, enabling Serge Blanco to accurately access the conversion rates of products that customers try on versus the ones they actually purchase. On the shelves, inventory is also performed on a regular basis to make sure that the right items are available to customers and not hidden away in the back room.

At the point of sale, inventory is updated real-time as customers are expedited through the checkout process; contributing to a reduction in cycle counting for the store employee and an improved purchasing experience for the consumer. The RFID infrastructure also helps to reduce shrink as stock control and security are maintained using the same RFID tags. By installing one chip on its products at the point of manufacture, theft management has become an additional benefit for Serge Blanco rather than a single separate application.

“We are extremely pleased with the reliability and performance of the TAGSYS solution,” added Mathieu Pradier. “Their understanding of our business processes and specific application requirements has given us the confidence to move forward with this exciting, new initiative. From system design to integration and post sales technical support, TAGSYS has made things easy every step of the way.”

The TAGSYS RFID for Retail solution incorporates UHF garment hang tags, HHU-400 handheld readers, the SRU-400 point of sale reader, UHF Security Gate for theft prevention and TAGSYS’ e-Connectware software, which manages RFID data and processes and provides an interface to in-store systems and enterprise applications. TAGSYS is one of only a few companies to deliver an item-level RFID infrastructure to both manufacturers and retailers to follow products through the entire supply chain to point of sale.

“Serge Blanco has proven the business value of using RFID for item-level identification in the supply chain and distribution center,” said TAGSYS CEO Alain Fanet. “By extending item-level visibility to the retail store level, they can fully leverage their RFID infrastructure to gain additional benefits, including enhanced inventory management, improved shelf availability of their merchandise and a reduction in shrink. This means improved service and satisfaction for the consumer and ultimately higher sales and profitability for the retailer.”

About Serge Blanco
Serge Blanco was founded in 1992 in the southwest of France. The retailer’s unique collections are made of the finest materials. Serge Blanco is known for the creative designs based on rugby sporting styles. With revenues of 30 million Euros in 2008, Serge Blanco has 180 employees and 360 stores, 60 of which are franchises.

About TAGSYS
TAGSYS provides complete, reliable, high performance RFID infrastructure systems for item-level tracking in a variety of industries. Our unique RFID expertise, combined with a true understanding of RFID business processes, make us the ideal RFID partner to ease and ensure the success of your project. With a proven track record of delivering reliable, high performance production systems, TAGSYS has deployed RFID systems to over 500 customers in more than 40 countries. More information on TAGSYS can be found at www.tagsysrfid.com.

Media Contacts
North America: Europe:
Maria Kaganov Angeline Fraud
Marketing Director Communications
Tel: +1 408-802-7096 Tel: +33 4-9127-5756
maria.kaganov@tagsysrfid.com angeline.fraud@tagsysrfid.com