Kuwaiti Retail Chain Uses RFID to Improve Service and Deter Theft

Future Communications Co. (www.fcc-kuwait.com) operates 35 telecommunications retail stores and service centers throughout Kuwait. In a recent bid to improve inventory processes and enhance service and security, the company has deployed RFID at one of its Nokia mobile phone stores.

The project began in 2006 with a pilot to test the efficacy of RFID and was, according to the company, the first retail RFID deployment in the Middle East and North Africa. The goal of the pilot was to evaluate how RFID technology improved processes at the point-of-sale, in the supply chain, and when taking inventory. Based on the pilot’s successful results, Future Communications Co. decided to keep the technology in place.

Today, RFID tags are immediately applied to mobile phone packages and accessories as soon as new stock enters the store. Workers then use handheld and fixed RFID interrogators to perform inventory, a task that now takes 20 minutes rather than the half-day it used to take with manual processes. Additionally, a fixed RFID reader at the store’s entry and exit point gives operators the unique ID number of each item being taken from the store, issuing an alert when an item has not been paid for. This gives FCC an immediate and accurate way to combat theft.

The fixed RFID reader also performs another function: It identifies customers carrying RFID-based loyalty cards. This enables store employees to instantly access those customers’ purchase histories, giving them a highly personalized service experience (http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/5029/2).