We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • Upload your video
  • BLOGS & MORE
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • SCQ Forum
      • Reflections
    • Mobile Apps
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • Upload your video
  • BLOGS & MORE
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • SCQ Forum
      • Reflections
    • Mobile Apps
Home » Levi Strauss' "wonderful world" of RFID
Forward Thinking

Levi Strauss' "wonderful world" of RFID

June 13, 2016
Susan Lacefield
No Comments

In a well-known television ad from 1985, a man wearing nothing but Levi's 501 jeans sinks into a bathtub while Sam Cooke croons the opening lines of the song "Wonderful World": "Don't know much about history/Don't know much biology..."

The song's lyrics notwithstanding, it's safe to say that there's one thing San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. does know a lot about: RFID technology.

In recognition of its pioneering efforts in implementing the auto-identification technology, the iconic clothing manufacturer recently won the 2016 Apparel and General Merchandise Operational Excellence Award presented by GS1 US, the standards organization that is responsible for the electronic product codes (EPC) and standards used with RFID. The award is based on a vote of the 130 member companies in the organization's Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative.

Levi Strauss's RFID journey began in 2005 with a pilot program that involved tagging individual pieces of clothing for one customer in the United States and Levi Strauss retail stores in Mexico. Since then the company has expanded its efforts and is now tagging 12 million items each year.

"Levi Strauss was one of the first companies that stood up on behalf of the technology and promoted it as a powerful tool for improving inventory accuracy," says Melanie Nuce, GS1 US vice president of apparel and general merchandise.

As it ramped up implementation of the technology, however, the clothing company found that it also had to rework its supply chain operations. Originally, Levi Strauss tagged its jeans and khakis at its distribution centers (DCs), but that soon became inefficient. The company then decided to move RFID tagging to the factories and worked with its 50-plus manufacturing partners to do so. According to Nuce, tagging at the manufacturing source has proved to be more cost-effective and scalable than tagging at distribution centers further downstream because RFID tags can be applied at the same time that other clothing labels and tags are attached to the merchandise.

To accomplish the transfer of tagging to the manufacturing facilities, Levi Strauss worked closely with its partners to educate them on using EPC standards, sourcing and applying RFID tags, compliance requirements, and the overall benefits of RFID. In 18 months, the company went from tagging 100 percent of its U.S. apparel at its own DCs to tagging more than 85 percent at its vendors' manufacturing sites. The company plans to continue to expand the program.

That change resulted in significant productivity improvements and double-digit cost savings, according to Levi Strauss' award application. Tagging at the manufacturing source also has the capability to minimize disruption with the company's garment vendors (by simplifying the tagging process), improved inventory accuracy throughout the entire supply chain, and reduced shipping costs, according to the apparel maker.

Levi Strauss received the award at the GS1 Connect 2016 conference. GS1 also presented four other awards at that time. Dan C. Smith, former chief information officer at Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, and Hudson's Bay Co. and current president of RetailWise Consulting, received the GS1 US Apparel and General Merchandise Roger Milliken Career Achievement Award. UPS was presented with the Corporate Social Responsibility Award for using GS1 standards to enhance electronic links with customers while reducing its carbon footprint. Dillard's Inc. received the Standards Innovation Award for using GS1 standards to automate the capture and sharing of product information for e-commerce product setup and publication. The nonprofit The Blessing Basket Project received the Small Business Standards Success Award.

  • Related Articles

    Once in a lifetime

    University of Michigan revamps SCM program, debuts Supply Chain Consulting Studio

    Which country has the most resilient supply chain of them all?

Susan Lacefield is Executive Editor of CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly.

Recent Articles by Susan Lacefield

New charitable organization looks to provide funding for pursuing a career in supply chain management

Riders on the storm

The master supply chain builder

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • COVID-19 and the health care supply chain: impacts and lessons learned

  • Domino effects of Suez Canal blockage could last for months

  • What type of supply chain strategy drives market cap leadership?

  • Demand for robotic goods-to-person systems to quadruple through 2023

  • The future of supply chain sustainability

Featured Video

6cabd6ef 64df 4460 bb11 e90c2bdea0a5

Identifying Intralogistics Solutions to Fit Your Operation: LinkedIn Live Ep. 4

Viewer Contributed
As technology evolves, the advantages of using semi- and fully automated solutions to increase productivity and address labor shortages are clear. However, before an organization jumps fully into automation, optimization is a key step that must happen first. Intralogistics solutions, such as Raymond’s iWAREHOUSE and...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Special Report: Supply Chain Trends in Retail & Consumer Goods

  • Operations: Adapt Fast or Disappear

  • Using innovation to manage peak seasonal demand

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

View More

Subscribe to Supply Chain Quarterly

Get Your Subscription
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • E-NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing