Patented technology could help revolutionise stock taking process for retailers

A rollout of technology in a two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership supported by Leeds Beckett University could help retailers dramatically speed up the stock counting process.

The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) KTP has been part-funded by the Government through Innovate UK.

Dr Akbar Sheikh Akbari, reader in the School of Built Environment, Engineering and Computing at Leeds Beckett, said: “RFID uses radio waves to passively identify a tagged object, tracking items in multiple commercial and industrial applications.

“Embedding RFID tags in low-value, high-volume items, such as greetings cards, is highly innovative.”

The KTP has seen the university team up with Wakefield-based greetings card business Riverside Greetings.

This technology allows the firm’s stores to complete a full stock count of hundreds of cards by design in less than two minutes, with 100% accuracy – the current manual counting system takes around 30 minutes.

It is helping Riverside Greetings realise its ambition to become the largest supplier of greetings cards to convenience and forecourt stores in the UK. Sales in Riverside’s pilot stores grew by 11% using the new method.

Dr Akbari added: “The challenge for Riverside was a lack of real-time business performance data.

“The KTP aimed to create a sustainable platform for growth – using RFID and AI to develop better data management, tighter stock control, and a clearer understanding of which designs are selling in each store, so that Riverside can anticipate and meet the needs of their clients more quickly.”

A KTP associate, Dan Lamsdale, was recruited as a full-time member of the Riverside team, and was pivotal to the management and delivery of the project.

He designed and implemented the RFID pilot programme across a number of convenience stores, creating a plan for rolling out the technology to all stores after the project, and researching and driving forwards the successful patent pending application.

He created a strategic marketing framework and campaign plans, and a programme of cultural change and training within the business to support the growth and adoption of the new technology.

Andrew Glen, managing director of Riverside Greetings, said: “The KTP has exceeded our expectations, and we have seen significant benefits.

“The RFID technology patent pending status has positioned us as a leader in our field.

“We can now investigate other markets where the technology could be applied, as well as licensing the solution to other parties in the future. The RFID technology has critically improved our responsiveness to the needs of our customers.”

Riverside is now planning a phased rollout of the technology across its UK store network.

Jo Griffiths, head of knowledge transfer partnerships at Leeds Beckett University, added: “The Outstanding grading awarded to the project is a clear indication of the high quality of innovation achieved by the team on this KTP.

“That Riverside has a patent pending application is an exciting output that we did not foresee as part of the original project plan. We look forward to seeing Riverside’s continued growth in the future.”