Johnson Controls subsidiary Sensormatic can offer retailers RFID source tagging services globally following the opening of a service bureau in Matamoros, Mexico.

This has expanded the footprint of this service, making custom-printed and encoded RFID tags and labels more accessible to North and Central American retailers and their manufacturers for application onto merchandise.

The North and Central America-focused RFID service bureau is the latest facility in the organisation’s network, which includes regional locations to provide services in Asia, Europe and the rest of Latin America.

“We are intensifying our focus on leveraging our established source tagging model for both electronic article surveillance and RFID, and this service bureau is the latest example of how we can make tagging at the source a simple process for retailers and their manufacturing partners,” said Tony D’Onofrio, president of Sensormatic. “The Matamoros facility will bring that simplicity to a new group of retailers, easing adoption and giving them the precise, RFID-enabled visibility they need to refine order fulfilment, verify in- and outbound shipping, discreetly protect merchandise and more to improve their business outcomes.”

Sensormatic delivers RFID-based inventory intelligence to stores, distribution centres and factories. With the RFID services bureaus, the capabilities expand by bringing direct delivery of RFID tags and labels to manufacturers worldwide. This helps local manufacturers and retailers improve item-level inventory programmes.

RFID technology automates inventory counting processes and updates records in real time, driving reductions in out-of-stocks and markdowns to grow revenue and improve gross margins. For example, the collaboration between Sensormatic and Renner (www.sensormatic.com/resources/cs/2022/renner) led to a 64% increase in the Brazilian retailer’s inventory accuracy and an 87% reduction in stockouts.

Source-tagging – equipping merchandise with RFID tags and labels at the point of manufacturing –extends retailers’ line of sight throughout the supply chain, turning merchandise flow data into insights that empower retailers to get ahead of disruptions.

When merchandise arrives floor-ready, staff don’t need to spend time adding tags and labels before stocking shelves and – thanks to automated inventory tracking – they no longer need to engage in time-consuming manual counting.

A long-time specialist in RFID-based inventory management, Sensormatic can provide retailers with inventory intelligence tools to uplevel operations. In addition to offering the hardware to support RFID programmes, it also offers a suite of analytics tools to support predictive insight and operational improvements.

Its cloud-based analytics software, such as Shrink Analyzer, Computer Vision and Supply Chain Intelligence, turns tracking, point-of-sale and other operational data into insights that enable faster distribution, more accurate order fulfilment and better overall decision-making to fast forward retail operations.

Sensormatic (sensormatic.com) is a subsidiary of Johnson Controls (www.johnsoncontrols.com). Its intelligent digital operating platform – Sensormatic IQ – includes third-party data to deliver insights into shopper experience, inventory intelligence, loss prevention and operational effectiveness with technologies such as AI and machine learning.