80 Company & Application Guide 2017 81Company & Application Guide 2017

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) enables secure connections and infrastructure for a smarter world, advancing solutions that make lives easier, bet-ter, and safer. As the world leader in secure connectivi-ty solutions for embedded applications, NXP is driving

innovation in the secure connected vehicle, end-to-end security & privacy, and smart connected solutions markets. Built on more than 60 years of combined ex-perience and expertise, the company has 45,000 em-ployees in more than 35 countries.

About NXP

Retail | RFID Chips for fashion and more

One billion dollars in inventory cost saved by RAIN RFIDRalf Kodritsch explains that the advantages of RFID-driven retail solutions are well known through-out the industry and have been proven time and time again in re-al-life applications: “U.S. retailer Macy’s, for example, announced in 2016 that it had saved one bil-lion dollars in inventory cost – thanks to RAIN RFID. Increased sales, reduced inventory cost and a fast ROI have turned RAIN RFID into a key technology that numer-ous players in the market rely on. Enhanced read rates and mass distribution of billions of tags due to decreased tag costs lead to a faster ROI – even for retail-ers with only a few stores. Opti-mal availability of product on the sales floor and maximum product visibility along the entire supply chain are advantages no retailer can afford to miss today. Custom-ers and companies understand

the value and benefits that arise from an improved supply chain, product visibility in real-time or contactless payment.”

Together, RFID and software analytics support omnichannelWhere exactly on my sales floor or within my store room is item X? What are the precise stock counts of individual colors and sizes for article Y? Which point along the supply chain offers previously hidden potential for optimisa-tion? Is the customer’s shopping behaviour indicative of a success-fully implemented omnichan-nel strategy? When it comes to answering these questions, RAIN RFID is playing a key role in software analysis. Outlining the current technological develop-ments in retail, Ralf Kodritsch says, “In fashion retail, RAIN RFID and software analytics go hand in hand today. Big Data becomes Smart Data. Business analysis

software provides precise infor-mation about location count and inventory, while predictive ana-lytics software can interpret data, optimise processes, and identify potential drivers of increased rev-enue – which the retailer can then act on. Ideally, retailers can use the gathered and analysed data

From food to fashion, chip manufacturer NXP is betting large on RFID in retail

In RetaIl, There is No Way arouNd rFid

Whether it’s billions saved in inventory costs, supply chain accuracy of close to 100 percent in fashion retail or surveying the shelf life of fresh food, there is no denying the possible applica-tions and benefits of RAIN RFID in retail. For chip manufacturer NXP, RAIN RFID has long developed into a keystone for the retail mar-ket. Ralf Kodritsch, Director Segment Manager RFID Solutions, NXP, gives detailed insights into RFID trends and holistic perspectives on the market for which NXP provides a broad product portfolio.

“The advantages of RAIN RFID-driven retail solutions are well known throughout the industry. Increased sales, lower inventory cost and a fast ROI have turned RAIN RFID into a key technology that numerous players in the market rely on. From fashion retail to food retail, RAIN RFID should be on every retailer’s agenda.”Ralf Kodritsch, Director Segment Manager RFID Solutions, NXP Semiconductors

Retail | RFID Chips for fashion and more

high-end retailers such as rebecca Minkoff are reporting significant increases in revenue through the use of RAIN RFID-driven smart fitting rooms.

Source: Company & application Guide 2017 by „RFID im Blick“, www.rfid-wiot.com

82 Company & Application Guide 2017 83Company & Application Guide 2017

to optimise the information flow between warehouse, storage area, shop floor and e-commerce channel to increase the custom-er’s omnichannel shopping expe-rience on all levels.”

Smart fitting rooms increase high end-retailers’ revenue“They used to be mildly mocked, now they’re highly requested – smart mirrors. These interactive, intelligent mirror systems within fitting rooms are this year’s suc-cess story. They can significantly improve the shopping experience in brick and mortar stores. Today, smart fitting room solutions are ready for the market. Ideally fit-ted for flagship stores, they make marketing campaigns more ac-tive, increase brand recognition and foster long-lasting customer

loyalty. The RAIN RFID-based mir-ror scans the RAIN RFID tag of the garment the customer is trying on and can then recommend combi-nations with other matching items or accessories on the basis of a smart data solution. Moreover, the smart mirror can be connect-ed to the e-commerce channel of the brand to further enhance the full omni-channel experience for the customer,” Ralf Kodritsch ex-plains.

Smart fitting rooms, which can be controlled which can be control-led by a touchscreen in the smart mirror, are also able to present an article under diffe-rent light con-ditions. This way, customers can model an evening dress under subdued light or see business at-tire with fluorescent office light. These functions make smart mir-rors and intelligent fitting room

Food tagging is the next step for retailers

Ralf Kodritsch believes the next wave of retail RAIN RFID adoption after the fashion industry will be large-scale implementation of food tag-ging. “For the fresh foods industry, one of the key challenges is enabling visibility of items’ shelf life. This includes knowing which item has the longer shelf life, or which item has to be moved to the sales area first in order to be sold as quickly as possible. Food retailers often have no precise count of their inventory, especially when it comes to perishables. This leads to unnecessary destruc-tion of spoiled food, financial loss and increased waste. RAIN RFID food tagging improves shelf ac-curacy on the sales floor and in the store room, improves processes, monitors product shelf life, provides loss prevention and reduces food waste. Several known retail brands, large players amongst them, are already testing solutions for the food industry and others will follow.”

RAIN RFID food tagging improves shelf accuracy on the sales floor and in the store room, improves processes, monitors product shelf life, provides loss prevention, and reduces food waste.

solutions especially interesting to high-end fashion and acces-sory retailers such as Ralph Lau-ren. Handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff reports a 30 percent in-crease in revenue thanks to smart fitting rooms.

NXP offers retailers a comprehensive RFID product portfolioNXP’s product portfolio follows a holistic approach. “The product portfolio comprises chip solutions ranging from HF reader ICs, HF tag ICs, NFC reader ICs, NFC tag ICs, and chips for wireless payment solu-tions in all kinds of form factors to RAIN RFID ICs. Our chip solutions can be found in many retail stores and consumer wallets all alround the world,” Ralf Kodritsch gives an overview of NXP’s offerings.

“The solution portfolio also in-cludes chips for RAIN RFID labels, which are used along the supply chain – from source tagging to the point of sale and for electronic article surveillance. That later al-lows registering the exact article stolen. NFC chips for consumer interaction, reader chips for the point of sale and for NFC-enabled smartphones round off the prod-uct range. NXP is also an enabler for the contactless world of to-morrow, providing chips for credit cards, loyalty cards and more. In re-tail, contactless payment is gaining in use and customer acceptance.“

NXP increases productivity and lowers environmental footprintRFID is of high strategic im-portance for NXP, especially in

retail, where large number of RAIN RFID tags are needed. “In retail, billions of RAIN RFID la-bels are required to tag cloth-ing. That’s why NXP switched from eight- to twelve-inch wafers in manufacturing. The larger format yields twice the number of RFID chips per wafer, while reducing the time needed to rearm production runs. NXP is now able to fit 250,000 ICs on a single wafer, which not only increases the productivity of our chip manufacturing, but also benefits our customers: by increasing the wafer size, the rearming time needed by label manufacturers is reduced, re-sulting in improved manufactur-ing process efficiency. As a posi-tive side effect, this change also leads to less packaging and less waste, lowering the environ-mental footprint of our entire chip manufacturing operation.” The segment director continues:

“In addition to high production numbers, the important factors in retail today are low cost, reli-able tag performance and high tag quality. NXP offers all these and is the only provider shipping RAIN RFID chips on twelve-inch wafers.”

RFID adoption is part of digital transformationFor Ralf Kodritsch, these de-velopments are a logical con-sequence of the digital trans-formation of everyday life: “In the last 60 years, retail has not changed by much. RFID and NFC have now opened the door to a new era of retail. The US and Europe are technological front-runners, Asia is not far behind. RFID today is no longer a matter of cost, but is driven by well-recognized benefits. NXP’s con-clusion: RFID should be on every retailer’s agenda.”

Retail | RFID Chips for fashion and moreRetail | RFID Chips for fashion and more

RFID-based omnichannel strategies successfully and actively support retailers in marketing campaigns, brand recognition and foster long-lasting customer loyalty.NXP is an enabler for the contactless

world of tomorrow, providing chips for credit cards, loyalty cards and more. In retail, contactless payment is gaining in use and customer acceptance.

Source: Company & application Guide 2017 by „RFID im Blick“, www.rfid-wiot.com