Item-level track-and-trace technology expected to minimize threat of theft, loss and counterfeiting of luxury accessories at de GRISOGONO
Marseille — February 9, 2006 — Geneva-based watchmaking and jewelry company de GRISOGONO has adopted TAGSYS' radio frequency identification (RFID) track and trace solution for inventory management across its stores worldwide.
Under the terms of the rollout, the luxury retailer will utilize TAGSYS' high-frequency RFID readers and tags in its efforts to reduce theft and minimize loss of its jewels and watches. The project begins immediately in the company's Paris and Geneva branches, with future deployments in the company's European, Asia-Pacific and North American outposts, expected at the rate of one store every two months.
De GRISOGONO said it initially considered the use of traditional bar codes as a means to track individual items, such as gems, from its distribution center through the shipment process to the retail shop. However, the threat of theft or loss of assets required the deployment of a near errorless tracking technology.
By using the tagging capabilities of TAGSYS' RFID jewelry application, developed in conjunction with system integrator SOLID, the accessories company noted that it has enabled a real-time RFID-based detection system that monitors stock location at any point in the supply chain.
As a principle retailer of luxury watches and jewelry, we are extremely concerned by the threat of theft or loss of our assets, said M. Laurent Debief, chief financial officer of de GRISOGONO. By deploying this unique RFID jewelry application across our network of shops, we are better able to manage our inventory down to the item-level by giving us complete visibility of our products from the headquarters to the shop floor.
The application consists of TAGSYS' ARIO70-SM high-frequency RFID tags, which are affixed to individual jewels. The items are tracked and registered using RFID each time they are moved to a safe or consignment. By placing the trays with the tagged jewels on the customized TAGSYS reading station, featuring TAGSYS' Medio L100 reader and Aero LC antenna, the tagged items are immediately and automatically read. This replaces the time process of manually reading each item and data entry. Software from SOLID provides inventory information from the scanned tags to a central database housed at de GRISOGONO's headquarters.
Elie Simon, CEO, TAGSYS, commented, Through our partnership with SOLID, it was our intention to develop an RFID application for the jewelry industry that will provide customers with the virtually 100 percent readability and the security they require. In de GRISOGONO's case, accurate and reliable read-rates cannot be compromised when the management of highly priced assets is involved.
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