China shop boosts customer service with real-time location system

RFID Journal: When a customer is ready to make a purchase at high-end china retailer William Ashley, a salesperson runs an inventory check for the items via one of the store's 60 computer stations. Assuming the desired items are in stock, this sets a number of transactions in motion, resulting in the employee handing the wrapped purchases directly to the patron, or having them loaded into the customer's car. To speed the process of bringing the goods to the purchaser — and to improve other store business processes as well — the retailer has installed a Ubisense real-time location system.

When a salesperson processes a customer's order, an electronic picking list is generated and a hard copy is printed in the store's stock room, where an employee pulls requested items from inventory and sends them, via a conveyor, to a quality-assurance agent. That agent inspects the items for damage, cleans and packages them, and places them on a conveyor leading to a designated area, where another worker — known as a runner — collects the packaged goods and brings them to the salesperson on the floor who requested them.

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