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Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc. has announced that the three-month installation of AbsoluteSKY’s radio frequency identification (RFID)-based intelliTRACKER product suite in STAPLES Business Depot’s first store was successful.

STAPLES Business Depot, Canada’s largest supplier of office supplies, business machines, office furniture and business services, worked with Fujitsu to install AbsoluteSKY’s real-time, long-range inventory tracking system in a 37,000-square-foot. STAPLES Business Depot store in May as a test pilot.

To date, roughly 1,500 SKUs have been tagged, and the system has been dynamically reporting inventory status and changes on a minute-to-minute basis as merchandise travels from receiving to store shelves, across retailer-defined zones and through the point-of-sale process. The results achieved illustrate a fully automated and highly accurate business system for item-level inventory tracking.

Key benefits achieved include:

- 100% read rate with no system issues
- 21% reduction in out-of-stock merchandise
- Increased comparative sales for the tagged inventory categories
- Increased gross margin on tagged inventory classes
- Low cost per use of approximately eight cents (intelliTRACKER tags are reusable over a 5-year lifespan)
- Significant return on investment (ROI)

“The clear and measurable gains we experienced with intelliTRACKER have exceeded our expectations,” said Joe Soares, director, process engineering at STAPLES Business Depot. “The system was easy to install and has consistently delivered inventory visibility with 100% accuracy since we went live.”

The intelliTRACKER system eliminates the need for STAPLES to conduct physical cycle counts on the RFID tagged inventory. In an audit, the intelliTRACKER system proved to be more accurate than physical counts, and shrinkage for the tagged inventory was completely eradicated. The system has quickly balanced STAPLES’ master inventory system, and has provided a critical tool for locating merchandise, managing returns, feeding the replenishment system and preventing out-of-stock situations.

The installation and tagging process was quick and efficient and the system operation and user interaction was intuitive and easy to learn. Establishing RFID zones in the store has made it easy for employees to locate merchandise and set business rules and conditions relative to particular zones. The browser-based intelliTRACKER application enables STAPLES’ staff to interact with the system directly, remotely or via mobile devices (laptop, PDA, etc).

“The flawless execution of item-level RFID tags at STAPLES Business Depot is a profound achievement for this emerging technology,” said Peter Sciberras, general manager and vice president of sales, Canada, Fujitsu Transaction Solutions. “In the hands of an innovator like STAPLES, this new technology becomes an incredible tool for increasing efficiency and improving the retail shopping experience."