Summary

Catalyst is a division of Li & Fung that provides a variety of EAS solutions for use in retail. As a complement to its successful but still growing EAS enterprise, Catalyst has created a whole range of RFID solutions that have become an integral part of the core business. The company’s various RFID systems all make use of RFID tags and additional hardware to help retailers keep an accurate account of inventory, enhance the customer experience and prevent theft. The RFID tags allow retailers to take more accurate inventories, more rapidly, via automated robots or handheld scanners. To enhance the customer experience, Catalyst offers smart technologies that detect the RFID tag on a product and provide customers with additional information about the product and options for complementary purchases. The company’s loss prevention services rely on unobtrusive scanners built into overhead readers, pedestals or mats that signal an alarm when a theft is occurring and also keep track of which products thieves are most likely to attempt to steal. The implementation of RFID technology and the services provided by Catalyst allow for easy and accurate inventory management, enabling smooth omni-channel operations. The services also help turn brick-and-mortar retail locations into digital stores that sell not just products, but an experience—something that is considered a key retail trend.

About Catalyst

Founded in 2004 as a global supplier of electronic article surveillance (EAS) security tags, Catalyst was acquired by Li & Fung in February 2012. Since its founding, Catalyst’s product and service offerings have expanded beyond the provision of traditional EAS tags and hardware. It now offers products and services that include Catalyst Source Tagging Recycling (CSTR), the world-leading BottleLox (a device that helps prevent theft of alcoholic beverages) and a footfall counter. Catalyst provided an in-depth look at its innovative RFID technology at the National Retail Federation’s 2016 Retail’s Big Show at both its booth and in a presentation given by Lee Adams, Head of New Product Development and Marketing. The company demonstrated its inventory management systems, which include handheld terminals, fixed readers and an autonomous robot. It also displayed its customer experience solutions, which include a smart screen, a smart fitting room and a smart tray for cosmetics and footwear, along with its loss prevention solutions, which rely on overhead readers, pedestals or a mat. RFID is not a new technology, but both the size and cost of RFID tags have come down significantly in recent years, with individual tags now costing below 15 cents apiece when purchased in large quantities. RFID has been used in various industries for decades, but only recently in retail. The possibilities for its use are expanding, with further adoption allowing for more unique applications.

Inventory Management

Catalyst offers an array of RFID solutions to provide greater productivity and precision for inventory management, and accurate inventory is essential to effective operations in omni-channel retail. Catalyst’s offerings include a handheld device, the Catalyst Scan, a fixed reader known as the Catalyst Shelf and an autonomous robot that can roam spaces and provide even greater accuracy than the handheld devices.

1. Catalyst Scan obtains an average read rate of greater than 98.5% accuracy. The Scan works via wi-fi, so no additional computer is needed, and all inventory data are uploaded directly to the cloud. When an employee takes a stock count, it is instantly synchronized with the product database and a report is generated that accurately indicates stock loss via a daily actual versus theoretical stock position. Daily or weekly stock counts are possible, as the scanning can be finished in seconds.
2. Catalyst Shelf is a smart scanner integrated into a display shelf that can be adapted to different materials, including metal, plastic and wood. The shelf can provide inventory data in real time, and can also be set to provide alerts when product levels are running low. Additionally, it can almost instantaneously locate product within the store. The real-time data and the reports can be used to optimize product mixes in terms of size, color or other factor, based on sales.

Catalyst Robot can move in all directions and rotate without displacement, allowing it to freely roam retail stores, low-ceilinged warehouses or other spaces. The robot’s movements are synchronized with tag readings, so the robot moves only after no more unique tags are detected in a position. As it takes stock of inventory, the data is sent to the cloud where software then creates a map of where all items are located. To succeed, retailers increasingly need to offer omni-channel services that allow customers to purchase through a variety of retail paths beyond just brick-and-mortar, including online, mobile and social network channels. Catalyst’s inventory management solutions can support efficient omni-channel services, and precise knowledge of inventory is essential in omni-channel operations. To be effective, businesses must be able to handle distributed order management, and ship from anywhere in the network. Catalyst’s inventory management services help retailers turn any store into a distribution center and ensure that customers know whether an ordered product is in stock, so they are not disappointed by cancelled orders.

Customer Experience

Catalyst’s smart, RFID-enabled technologies—the Catalyst Smart Fitting Room, the Catalyst Smart Screen and the Catalyst Smart Tray—can help companies increase sales.

1. Catalyst Smart Fitting Room was one of the main attractions at the Catalyst booth at the 2016 Retail’s Big Show event. Catalyst Smart Fitting Room is a fully functioning mirror with an integrated touch-screen interface that is similar to a web browser. When a customer enters a dressing room, an RFID detector identifies the clothing that the customer brought in and brings up relevant information on the screen. The interface enables the shopper to request assistance from an in-store associate if a different size is needed or if a similar item that is in stock is also shown on the interface. The Catalyst Smart Fitting Room recommends complementary items and even allows the customer to order online. Along with reducing customer wait time and frustration, the smart mirror technology also leads to more streamlined upselling and cross-selling of products.
2. Catalyst Smart Screen is a sales floor screen that is similar to the Catalyst Smart Fitting Room. Lucky Brand Jeans has already begun testing both systems in stores. The Smart Screen enables customers to directly share their experience on social media, and even email product details to themselves or others if they are not yet ready to make a purchase. Lucky Brand Jeans’ CIO, Jason Richard, said, “It will keep people interested and in the store longer…We can cross-sell by offering other items. The whole idea is to make customers more inclined to ask for another product.”
3. Catalyst Smart Tray enables users to place a product on a tray in front of an RFID-enabled screen and see additional content and information related to the product. So far, it has been used mostly for cosmetics and footwear.

Catalyst’s technology can improve the customer experience at the point of sale, too. The technology allows customers to place all their items near the point of sale, where the RFID tags on them can all be scanned and deactivated at once. That means customers do not have to wait for a cashier to search for the barcode or remove every security tag. Additionally, as the goods are recorded as sold, they are tracked through the integrated RFID technology and removed from inventory.

Loss Prevention

At the 2016 Retail’s Big Show, Catalyst showcased three main loss prevention systems, the Catalyst Safe, Catalyst RFID + EAS Pedestals and the Catalyst Mat.

1. Catalyst Safe is an overhead RFID detection system that sets off an alarm when someone attempts to remove an RFID tag from the store before it is deactivated—this mainly occurs due to theft. The Safe can reduce costs by eliminating the need for more costly, separate EAS tags. As can be seen in the image, the Safe also clears up room in the front of the store. The Safe provides additional data that helps stores better understand which items thieves try to steal most often, so they can take the proper steps to reduce theft.
2. Catalyst RFID + EAS Pedestals are offered to stores that are not ready to completely switch over to using only RFID tags. The system works with both RFID and EAS tags to provide security protection to all products regardless of which kind of tag is being used. The pedestal provides maximum detection, while minimizing false alarms.
3. Catalyst Mat is a floor mat with built-in antennas and detection systems that can withstand the weight of three or four people. When RFID tags that have not been deactivated at the point of sale pass over the Mat, an alarm is triggered and data about the items are recorded.

Conclusion

Using the RFID technology from Catalyst allows for the derivation of accurate inventory visibility and transforms the customer experience to increase sales, profit and productivity. The solutions can significantly reduce out of stocks for both in store and online, allow for fewer items to mark down during sales periods, reduce stock loss, increase customer sales conversion as well as cross and up selling opportunities and provide for a quicker customer check out process. Catalyst’s RFID solutions ensure smooth omni-channel operations. The services the company offers also help turn brick-and-mortar retail locations into digital stores that sell not just products, but rich customer experiences. Catalyst’s solutions allow for improvements across many metrics of success, from accurate inventory taking to increased sales through cross-selling and upselling on the smart customer experience platforms to decreased theft.