Case Study — Retail & Apparel
How FabStyle Apparel Achieved 99.5% Stock Accuracy Across 22 Stores with Item-Level RFID
The Challenge
FabStyle Apparel operates 22 mid-premium fashion stores across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune. With seasonal collections rotating every 8–12 weeks, maintaining accurate inventory visibility was a persistent operational challenge.
The traditional barcode-based system required weekly manual counts that were disruptive and still unreliable. The central merchandising team had no real-time visibility into individual store inventory, leading to poor replenishment decisions — some stores running out of bestselling sizes while others had excess slow-movers.
- Store inventory accuracy at 87–91% using barcode system
- Weekly manual count required 2 staff for 6 hours (closed floor section)
- Estimated 1.8% shrinkage rate (INR 86 lakhs annual loss)
- Stockouts on best-selling sizes causing 15–20% lost sales opportunities
- Replenishment delays of 3–5 days due to inaccurate store-level data
The Solution
FabStyle deployed Identium's item-level UHF RFID solution, starting with a 3-store pilot in Mumbai before rolling out to all 22 locations. RFID hang tags were applied at the central distribution centre before dispatch to stores.
- 1x UHF Handheld Reader (floor counts)
- 1x Fixed reader at stockroom exit
- Smart RFID hang tags (pre-applied at DC)
- Tablet for real-time dashboard
- Integration with existing POS (Increff)
- Central inventory dashboard (HQ)
- Automated replenishment triggers
- Shrinkage exception alerts
Results After 18 Months
"The visibility we now have into every store's inventory in real-time has completely changed how our merchandising team operates. Replenishment decisions that used to take 3 days now happen automatically within hours. The ROI was clear within the first season."— Head of Retail Operations, FabStyle Apparel India Ltd.
Products Used in This Deployment
| Product | Quantity | Application |
|---|---|---|
| UHF RFID Hang Tags (garment label) | 22 lakh units/season | Item-level tagging at DC |
| UHF Handheld Reader | 22 units (1 per store) | Daily floor inventory counts |
| UHF Fixed Reader (1-port) | 22 units | Stockroom exit monitoring |
| UHF RFID Printer (DC) | 2 units | Print-and-apply at distribution centre |
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