Remember the toilet paper scarcity? Yeah. That. What if we told you that could have been avoided or minimized? In the third episode out of this five-part series, Herb Billings, vice president of technology strategy at Datascan, dove into the effects radio frequency identification (RFID) has on the supply chain with host of Herb’s Hot Takes, Tyler Kern.

RFID has been around since WWII and, along with other drivers, provides inventory record accuracy at more affordable rates. Clearly, having this feature during the pandemic toilet paper fiasco would have helped companies prepare for the demand surge and plan accordingly. Because the supply chain is so fragile, it’s obvious that “big changes needed to happen,” according to Billings.

To try to avoid issues, retailers often prepare a safety stock, but this drives costs upward. Additionally, if the retailer did not order appropriately, they may wait extended times due to the backup of the supply chain.

During the pandemic, issues in the supply chain affected different items, such as bikes, fishing equipment, weight training equipment, and yes, toilet paper. But when process can’t meet demand, how does one manage the supply chain?

That’s where RFID steps in. Providing confidence in logs and records, RFID helps retailers remain flexible and confident in their decisions.

RFID can be applied at the point of manufacture and utilized within inbound and outbound audits at the item level. This provides “visibility, transparency and accurate stock levels” which “helps everything run smoother,” according to Billings.

One way Datascan is helping retailers avoid toilet-paper-shortage-like scares is through their partnership with Frequentiel, Europe’s Premier RFID company, and its Octoplus system. Find more information about RFID by tuning into the series, visiting Datascan’s website, or connecting with Herb Billings on LinkedIn.