Walki’s SmartFacing item-level RFID tagging is a fast, cost-efficient and accurate solution to track inventory through the supply chain and in the retail environment. The booster antenna in SmartFacing is manufactured using a dry process with the use of laser patterning and paper as the substrate. This makes the SmartFacing concept also less burdensome to the environment.

Item-level tagging is on the road to becoming an established practice in the apparel industry as well as other consumer goods sectors, because of its many benefits compared to, for instance, barcode inventory solutions.

-It is estimated that item-level RFID tagging can lower inventory levels by some 5-30 % and increase store-inventory accuracy by at least 30 %, says Sami Liponkoski, Business Line Manager at Walki’s 4E Technology.

Walki Group, a leading supplier of technical laminates and protective materials, utilizes laser-based 4E Technology in production of its Pantenna RFID antennas for SmartFacing.

Made with digital manufacturing technology, SmartFacing antennas can help retailers to reduce their per-unit costs of item-level tagging. When retailers item-level tag their products with SmartFacing, RFID technology can also lessen the risk of lost sales caused by out-of-shelf problems, by eliminating inventory inefficiencies.  

One tag fits all

In the retail industry, the variety of objects to be tagged has so far been a challenge for designing adequate RFID tags. Up until now each item has required a different tag.

With SmartFacing tagging, retailers can avoid this problem.

Liponkoski says that in SmartFacing tagging an individual tag includes a specially designed “kernel tag” microchip. The kernel tag is attached to a booster antenna which, in turn, can be tailored to match the properties of different items in the inventory.

-Where the booster antenna is attached to on the final product, is highly flexible. The base substrate is not restricted to being plastic film, it could also be, for instance, recyclable paper or even cardboard material and fabric, directly attached to the final product material, Liponkoski explains.

- The digital process also allows manufacturing of unique antenna designs flexibly to the needs of the customer and fitted to individual items, Liponkoski adds.

Tag to your needs

For companies in the apparel or consumer goods industries SmartFacing tagging gives the opportunity to customize RFID-tags according to needs.

Flexibility also means that apparel manufacturers or other goods producers can choose when not to tag their products.

Because of the kernel tag function of SmartFacing, suppliers can decide which products should be tagged in order to keep their costs at bay.

-If, for instance, their products are going to shops with no RFID capabilities it makes sense not to waste money on costly microchips.

Liponkoski notes also that RFID enabled booster antennas can be read if passed near a reader, even if it is covered by the object or not visible. They can also be read hundreds at a time. This helps to speed up a business’s inventory process considerably.

- For companies SmartFacing provides a cost-efficient opportunity to adapt their business to RFID-based item-level tagging. Whether operating in the apparel, sporting goods, pharmaceuticals or even, for instance, the cosmetics industry SmartFacing is a simple, fast and material-saving way to tag individual products, Liponkoski concludes.

Caption 1: ‎Walki Group’s digital booster antenna manufacturing process allows manufacturing of unique antenna designs flexibly to the needs of the customer and fitted to individual items. © Walki

Caption 2: ‎Walki Group utilizes laser-based 4E Technology in production of its Pantenna RFID antennas for SmartFacing – a solution that helps retailers to reduce their per-unit costs of item-level tagging. © Walki

About Walki Group

Walki Group is a leading producer of technical laminates and protective packaging materials, specializing in the production of fibre based, intelligent, multilaminate products for markets ranging from energy saving construction facings and construction membranes to barrier packaging applications. The Group has plants in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, Russia and China with a workforce of about 950 people. Annual net sales for the Group are over 300 million Euros.  

For more information, please contact:

Walki Oy
Sami Liponkoski
Business Line Manager, 4E Technology
Mobile: +358 (0)40 842 2470
www.walki.com

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