Apparel Solutions - MSM Solutions

How RFID Helps You Create a Digital DNA for Unique Object Identity

Identity is a hot topic these days. Did you know that objects need an identity? Establishing individual object identities is an essential tool to streamline your daily operations. It’s more than just assigning an Electronic Product Code (EPC). It’s creating Digital DNA that enables you to identify, track, count and manage items in your inventory in real-time. Creating Object Identity through Digital DNA While barcodes and QR codes are great for identifying entire shipments of products, individual object identity is better...

By Brett WilkersonApparel Solutions, Automotive Solutions, Blog Posts, Distribution and Logistics, Healthcare Solutions, Omnichannel, PortalTrack

What Suppliers Need to Know When Meeting RFID Requirements

While RFID tagging in the retail industry has been around since the mid-2000s, we’ve recently seen a shift in tagging not only apparel items but hard and home goods as well. We’ve also seen other retailers begin mandating that RFID tags be placed on certain merchandise. A report from McKinsey & Company highlighted a couple of reasons for the spike in use: Individual RFID tags have dropped to approximately $0.04. RFID readers have dropped by 50% compared to a...

By Brett WilkersonApparel Solutions

How Retailers’ RFID Tag Mandates Will Impact Suppliers

In January, Walmart issued a new mandate requiring suppliers in certain departments to begin providing RFID tags on specific home and hard goods inventory. The mandate, which goes into effect September 2, was established so Walmart can ensure on-time replenishment and maintain the proper stock levels at each store. While Walmart’s mandate made headlines in the retail industry, they aren’t the only company to utilize RFID technology for inventory tracking. In the past two decades, other retail companies - Target,...

By Brett WilkersonApparel Solutions

What to Expect in 2022 – The State of the Global Supply Chain

It’s no secret that the current supply chain is broken, and we already know what’s to blame. The COVID-19 pandemic created disruptions in the global supply chain beginning in early 2021 that continue to linger despite multiple vaccines and fewer daily cases. To understand where we are and what we can do to cope with this enormous problem, we need to understand how we got here and the challenges we continue to face. Manufacturing Delays In the world’s biggest manufacturing hubs like...

By Brett WilkersonApparel Solutions, Automotive Solutions, Distribution and Logistics, Healthcare Solutions, IoT, Manufacturing, PortalTrack

Three Challenges Plaguing Today’s Retail Industry

The U.S. retail industry has seen unprecedented growth in the last two years, fueled by a pandemic that forced consumers to embrace online shopping and then return to brick-and-mortar stores once a vaccine was available. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 2020 saw a huge increase in sales versus the previous two years: 2018 - $3.635 trillion in total sales ($520 billion in eCommerce)2019 - $3.780 trillion in total sales ($598 billion in eCommerce)2020 - $4.040 trillion in total sales...

By Brett WilkersonApparel Solutions, Blog Posts, PortalTrack, Retail, RFID

Choosing the Right Label for Your Barcode Application

Many organizations are trying to keep production moving with fewer employees working per shift and order volumes rising by the day. Selecting the right label solution has never been more important to the success of your business.

By Justin JohnsonApparel Solutions, Automotive Solutions, Barcode, Distribution and Logistics, Manufacturing, Printing Technology, Service Bureau, Thermal Printingbarcode, label, workflow, Zebra

Get Control of Your Retail Inventory Management with EPC

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past year and a half, it’s that e-commerce has become an integral part of every day life. Despite the introduction of multiple vaccines and the opening of businesses across the country, online sales in the U.S. have continued to surge. In fact, e-commerce sales in Q1 of 2021 topped $199 billion, a 39% increase from the year before. For the average consumer, this means they’ve adopted the convenience of online shopping. However,...

By Brett WilkersonApparel Solutions, Distribution and Logistics, Omnichannel, PortalTrack, Retail, RFID

A Zebra Study: Mobile Solutions in Manufacturing

A well-functioning supply chain is essential for any manufacturing business, and that requires a well-connected warehouse operation that offers visibility into materials, supplies, and products at all times. The integration of mobile computers and rugged tablets are one of the best ways to transform warehouse operations to help manufacturers keep pace with the challenges of today’s on-demand economy. We’re not the only ones advocating for mobile devices as a way to transform manufacturing operations. Zebra recently released a study of...

By Brett WilkersonApparel Solutions, Automotive Solutions, Barcode, Manufacturing, Mobile Printing, Zebra Mobile Computers, Zebra Mobile Printersbarcode, Inventory Management, mobile computers, mobile workforce, rugged tablets, Zebra

Using Mobile Devices to Improve Inventory Management

Whether you’re tracking parts as they make their way to the assembly line, managing the flow of products through a retail back room, or monitoring the usage of essential supplies in a hospital, your operation’s efficiency is determined largely by your ability to ensure that everything your workflows need is in the right place at the right time. In fact, effective inventory management is essential for any business that moves materials through a supply chain or distributes and tracks...

By Brett WilkersonApparel Solutions, Barcode, Distribution and Logistics, Healthcare Solutions, Lab Samples, Manufacturing, Mobile Printing, Omnichannel, Retail, Zebra Mobile Computers, Zebra Mobile Printersbarcode, Inventory Management, mobile computers, Zebra

Is Your Barcode Printer Vulnerable?

When you consider enterprise IoT, information security, and the potential for data breaches in warehouse operations, your first concerns are most likely your network, computers, and mobile devices. Those are indeed well-known targets for hackers, but there are other security risks hiding in plain sight throughout virtually every warehouse: Your printers. We tend to think of printers as simple one-way appliances, but we’ve been relying on them as fully networked multi-function technology hubs for decades, and today they are just...