Nedap announces that digital first activewear brand Outdoor Voices has selected !D Cloud, Nedap’s RFID inventory management platform. One of the key objectives within this deployment is achieving full inventory visibility.
This implies that all items, whether located in the distribution center or in stores, are consolidated into one centralized inventory hub. This allows Outdoor Voices to further unlock omnichannel services, such as ship-from-store, without the need for separate stock in order to fulfill web orders and replenish stores.
Providing best-In-Class experiences
“Outdoor Voices is a revolutionary brand that’s a prime example of fulfilling the omni-channel dream, merging the online and offline experience into one omni-channel”, says Rob Schuurman, President Retail Nedap Inc.
“They selected the !D Cloud as a turn-key solution to further enable the omni-channel journey to their customers. One of the key objectives is achieving full and reliable inventory visibility throughout their retail chain to successfully deliver concepts like ship-from-store and BOPIS.”
Nate Peterson, Vice President of Supply Chain at Outdoor Voices comments: “For us as a digitally native brand, it’s important that our online experience mirrors that of our shops and this plays an important part in our strategy of activating locally and amplifying digitally. Our job is ensuring that we have the key partners in place who can provide best-in-class experiences for our customers so that regardless of whether or not they purchase online or through our shops, we send them home with the apparel they’ve been looking for.”
Managing omnichannel experience
The Outdoor Voices team already had experience using RFID and knew the value it brings retail organizations. Kevin Harwood, Vice President of Technology at Outdoor Voices explains: “Nedap enables our store employees to better manage our omnichannel experience, where we can complete inventory counts with 99 percent accuracy and therefore expose our customers to every last unit available within our inventory."Web orders are located and picked from store shelves using Zebra RFID handhelds
"This coupled with the seamless integration of our newly implemented NewStore technology will ensure we can serve our customers wherever they are located, online or offline.”
As a digital-first company, online orders play a significant part of Outdoor Voices’ business. Order fulfillment therefore is crucial. One of the key results of the pilot project is that the amount of lost sales due to inaccurate stock dropped significantly. Web orders are located and picked from store shelves using Zebra RFID handhelds equipped with the !D Cloud app.
Increasing product availability
Orders are then shipped from there when they are not available in the distribution center. In addition, in-store safety stocks can be lowered as full inventory visibility allows for efficient replenishment. Besides the benefits to their omnichannel journey, the use of RFID allows for increased product availability and improved on-shelf availability that has ultimately transpired in a lift for Outdoor Voices.
Hilbert Dijkstra, Director of Business Development for !D Cloud Americas says, “Full inventory visibility paves the way to unmatched omnichannel services, allowing Outdoor Voices to continue their journey of building the No. 1 digital activewear brand. We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with this young and ambitious retailer, enabling them to do what they do best: grow their community and serve them in the best possible way. Wherever, on whichever social platform, and whenever they decide to buy”.
Learn first-hand how Outdoor Voices successfully implemented RFID and how this enables them to unlock omnichannel during Nedap’s Retail Round Table Event in New York City. Date: November 5, 2019. Speakers: Nate Peterson and Kevin Harwood.
