Contact Information

Cambridge Auto-ID Lab
Institute for Manufacturing
University of Cambridge
Mill Lane
Cambridge CB2 1RX
Tel: +44 (0)1223 764306

autoid-enquiries@eng.cam.ac.uk

The Impact of RFID on Shelf Replenishment Policies

Motivation

Although inventory control has been developed for almost a century, the occurrence of out-of-stock is still a significant issue in the retail industry. No matter how efficient the supply chain is in delivering to the retail store, inefficient backroom-to-shelf replenishment will lower the total supply chain performance. The motivation for this research came from the realisation that technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies, could provide information, in an accurate yet timely manner, to influence current shelf replenishment operations.

Research Aim

  • Improve on-shelf availability
  • Reduce shelf space allocation
  • Reduce stock-outs
    • .

    Approach

    A three-year PhD research project is underway to analyse the role of more detailed information and its timeliness. The research focus is within the boundaries of a retail store, although a thorough understanding of replenishment processes beyond this boundary is necessary. Conducting case studies in retail stores is important to bridge practical real-life scenarios with theoretical concepts.

    Deliverables

  • Dynamic retail shelf simulator
  • Shelf replenishment inventory control
  • Insights from case studies

    • Learn more...

    For further details about this project, please write to C Y Wong at cyw20@cam.ac.uk