industriesApparel & Footwear

Apparel & Footwear

Increase sales, reduce overstocks, and improve the customer experience with brand identification and item-level RFID solutions.

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Industry Challenges

For the past 30 years, the apparel and footwear sector has managed inventory using the same SKU-based methods and barcode technology. Amid new omnichannel buying models, increasing retailer competition, and massive shifts in consumer behaviors, the need for improved inventory accuracy has never been greater.

SML’s item-level RFID for inventory management solutions enable retailers to know precisely what they have in order to deliver exactly what the customer wants, when they want it. From clothing and shoes to hard-to-tag items like sporting goods, SML ensures retailers have the insight needed to gain critical visibility into inventory flow. With inventory accuracy rates of 98% and drastically reduced out-of-stocks, apparel and footwear retailers using these solutions experience a tangible return on investment (ROI), resulting in cascading benefits across the entire retail enterprise.

Benefits of Item-Level RFID for Apparel & Footwear

>98% item-level inventory accuracy
Reduction of out-of-stock 3%-9% sales lift
Inventory reduction in supply chain between 5%-12%
70% reduction of internal shrink
>50% reduction of BOPIS cancel rate

Brand Identification

Our broad spectrum of labeling and packaging products enables apparel and footwear brands to differentiate themselves through their unique brand identity while maintaining brand integrity and quality consistency across the globe.

Item-level RFID

RFID TotalCare™ solution simplifies the brand transformation journey by providing the technologies needed for item-level RFID adoption, from high-quality encoded RFID tags to our enterprise item-level RFID software platform, Clarity®, delivering proven ROI for apparel and footwear retailers of all sizes.

Printing & Encoding

With 20+ global service bureaus, our printing and encoding services reliably deliver a range of printed labels and encoded RFID tags to customers around the world, with the reduced lead times and more localized support that today’s apparel and footwear brands need.

Trusted by the world’s leading retail brands

Real-World Success

“Before RFID, we thought that every item shipped to the store would end up on the shop floor, but that was not the case,” says Johan Stenström, Stadium’s supply chain developer. “Items were misplaced, lost or stolen and never surfaced in our ERP system. It meant that items that we made in China, had shipped to Sweden, and distributed to our stores were never sold because they got stuck, misplaced or lost in the backroom 10 meters from the customer. This was not acceptable. Now we get a replenishment list in real time of the items that should go out on the shop floor.”

“Teamwork and communication between F&F and SML have been the main reasons why this project has been successful. SML has provided excellent account management, smooth processing of vendor orders, flexible production planning and above all a strong desire to work with F&F. “

“Finding a partner that reliably and quickly executes high-quality designs is critical to our business and is why we’ve turned to SML for more than 10 years.”

“Our initial pilots using SML’s Clarity® RFID solution allowed us to gain a significantly improved view of our inventory and the return on investment across the business was apparent.”

“SML’s RFID solutions allowed us to drastically improve store efficiency. From an in-store stock count efficiency improvement of 26 times and an overall inventory accuracy of 98%, I am confident that RFID is one of the technology that can continue to help us improving store efficiency.”

How We Help

With deep industry experience and a strong foundation in apparel and footwear, SML offers comprehensive solutions from item-level RFID technology to brand identification solutions that meet the needs of today’s apparel and footwear leaders.

Our printing and encoding solutions, produced by the industry’s largest in-country service bureau network, are designed to meet ever-changing retail demands, delivering both RFID and non-RFID products in less time and from more locations. From in-plant printing and seamless RFID tag technology to a wide spectrum of brand identification form factors to support all product types, including hard-to-tag items like sporting goods, our breadth of product offerings and depth of experience ensures the best results for our customers and their unique brand needs.