Fashion brand Scotch & Soda has selected fellow Dutch company Nedap’s RFID technology for its 162 stores in Europe and North America.

Scotch & Soda will deploy Nedap’s !D Cloud inventory management platform throughout the stores to increase supply chain accuracy.

One of Scotch & Soda’s long-term objectives is to increase customer loyalty, according to Rik Kok, procurement director of Scotch & Soda.

“We have been looking into RFID for quite some time already,” said Kok. “Now is the time for us to step in, as product availability has become vital to fulfil the increasing demand of today’s consumers.”

With stores in the world’s biggest cities and shipping to over 70 countries, the dynamics of countries going in and out of lockdowns made it even more important for Scotch & Soda to optimise the view on stock levels within its supply chain. This way, the balance of stock in-store and distribution centres can be adjusted to the local situation.

Scotch & Soda also faced a dramatic shift in shopper behaviour caused by the pandemic.

“A single view on stock is crucial for a successful omnichannel strategy,” said Kok. “It allows us to increase our online sellable stock, as we do not necessarily need to ship from our distribution centres anymore. We can now use our stores as mini-DCs and use stock from the shop floor and back-of-house for web order fulfilment as well.”

Scotch & Soda is kicking off the RFID implementation in the physical stores. This is closest to the consumer, as most sales take place there. Goods are source-labelled at the factory, leading to traceability in the supply chain from source to consumer.

In addition to ensuring product availability for store sales, Nedap’s !D Cloud offering also provides the ability to locate quickly web orders in the store. This way, the time spent to prepare an ecommerce order can be reduced.

The next step will be taken at Scotch & Soda’s new distribution centre to optimise efficiency and accuracy.

Besides designing beautiful clothes that feel good, one of Scotch & Soda’s top priorities is also to run its business with sensitivity to the planet by making more responsible choices every day that reduce environmental impact.

As RFID provides real-time insights in stock levels throughout the entire supply chain, safety thresholds can be reduced. This enables Scotch & Soda to fulfil consumer demand without overstocking, and eventually wasting garments.

“We are pleased to welcome Scotch & Soda to our ever-growing RFID community,” said Bruno Bakker, business development manager at Nedap Retail. “Our team is looking forward to working with this fine brand to create a fully transparent supply chain and make merchandise simply available.”