THOROFARE, N.J.— January 7, 2020 — Checkpoint Systems came out with a major release of the IoT software platform HALO which comes with omnichannel and task management functionality. HALO now supports in-store fulfilment of omnichannel orders, that is “buy online, pick up in store” and ship-from-store. Using RFID and accurate inventory data, HALO helps distributing the orders among stores based on availability. The HALO mobile app shows store staff the order information, helps scheduling the fulfillment, locating the items and preparing for pickup or shipment. The new functionality will increase in-store productivity, raising the Units Per Hour fulfilled, and boost sales together with customer satisfaction.
“Today, to pack an order, the store associate typically uses a printout from the ERP system to look for products in the store. Some items might be already sold, some misplaced. The associate will lose time looking for them and will sometimes have to reject the order. HALO uses near real-time inventory data and supports the associate with an easy to use app throughout the in-store fulfilment process, making it fast and efficient,” said Phil Fisher, product manager for HALO.
Inventory accuracy poses a problem for 56 percent of retailers who are implementing omnichannel programs, according to the market research company Forrester and the National Retail Federation. With RFID, inventory accuracy can be elevated from 65-75 percent to 93-99 percent, as found by GS1 and the ECR Community Shrinkage and On-shelf Availability Group.
“We continuously invest in logistics and IT to streamline the consumer-oriented omnichannel model. With HALO’s new in-store fulfilment functionality, we expect to further optimize operations through inventory accuracy, creating a new level of customer satisfaction”, says Daniel Muñoz, Operations Director of Desigual, the Spanish-headquartered international fashion brand.
HALO is a Software-as-a-Service platform that is part of Checkpoint’s RFID solution for retail. HALO tracks every tagged piece of merchandise across a retailer’s supply chain by collecting data from RFID readers in the stores and distribution centers. The platform synchronizes with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and warehouse management system (WMS) software, driving inventory accuracy, on-shelf availability and efficiency across the supply chain. Apart from omnichannel order fulfillment, task scheduling and locating items, store associates use HALO for cycle counts, receiving goods, replenishing shelves and display compliance.
Posted January 8, 2020
Source: Checkpoint Systems, Inc., A division of CCL Industries
