SML Wins In-Store Technology of the Year at Retail Systems Awards 2024

The 19th edition of the Retail Systems Awards, hosted in London on June 19, 2024, brought the retail industry together to celebrate excellence and innovation. A finalist on the night, SML RFID was named the winner of the In-Store Technology of the Year Award for its Clarity solution, deployed in more than 7,500 locations across the globe, delivering a proven ROI in stores, distribution centers, and factories.

The award category recognizes in-store technology that can significantly improve retailer’s operations and create a best-in-class customer service. SML’s item-level RFID technology transforms retail inventory management and in-store operations, delivering over 98% inventory accuracy, and creating a foundation that provides retailers with rapid return on investment (ROI).

“Being awarded ‘In-store Technology of the Year’ reflects our team’s commitment to developing and delivering RFID solutions that generate compelling return on investments (ROI) for retailers and brand owners,” Dean Frew, president of RFID Solutions Division at SML Group, said. “We are honored to be given this prestigious award by Retail Systems and look forward to serving existing and new customers with the same level of service that justified this selection.”

To date, SML’s Clarity software has more than 100,000 users in more than 60 countries, managing over 500,000,000 items in every week in brand stores, distribution centers and factories.

Inventory accuracy plays a key role in improving retail operations. To address challenges, retailers must have advanced technology in place that can provide accurate inventory visibility in real-time, allowing retailers to conduct stock counts seamlessly. With SML’s Clarity software, retailers can conduct frequent and rapid inventory counts – thanks to the potential of item-level RFID technology. As a result, brands can reduce out-of-stocks, improve stock availability, and achieve complete inventory accuracy.

Leveraging SML’s Clarity solution, retailers can empower their staff to perform stock counts 20x faster compared to manual inventory counting. As a result, employees’ productivity can be significantly increased. It reduces their time spent on repetitive tasks and allows them better capacity to instead provide valuable customer experiences in-store.

To make it easier for store associates, Clarity Stock Explorer helps staff locate missing and hard-to-find items within seconds. The solution also provides real-time data about product sizes, colors, and styles in the store’s inventory.

Additionally, to deliver exceptional omnichannel shopping experiences, retailers can use real-time inventory visibility provided by the Clarity software, and better facilitate offerings such as Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) and Buy Online, Return In-store (BORIS).

Staff can quickly locate products and deliver high-quality customer service without engaging in any time-consuming manual processes to navigate items. This, in turn, can positively impact consumer loyalty as customers are likely to shop again with a retailer following a positive customer experience.