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Barcode and RFID inventory counting solutions for global retailers

Datascan provides barcode and RFID inventory counting solutions for major retailers operating in more than 42 countries. Their MarketScale channel covers inventory accuracy, cycle counting methodology, and the business case for outsourced physical inventory programs. Retail operations and supply chain teams use this content to evaluate inventory management strategies and technology partnerships.

44 episodes
Channel Brief·Datascan · 44 episodes
Updated Jan 12, 2024

Inventory accuracy is retail's hidden profit lever

Datascan argues that precise inventory counts drive omnichannel operations, reduce shrink, and unlock RFID ROI. The channel offers evidence from Walmart's 80% apparel RFID success and concrete labor and accuracy benchmarks.

Datascan's thesis is that retail competitiveness hinges on inventory accuracy, and that RFID technology paired with disciplined counting practices is the operational foundation for omnichannel retail, loss prevention, and customer satisfaction. The channel substantiates this with recurring examples of how inaccurate counts destroy fulfillment (especially BOPUS orders), inflate safety stock costs, and leave inventory records around 35% accurate when counted biannually.

Drawn from Getting to Know Datascan and the Retail Landsc… and 3 more →

“We've been in the business of inventory counting in retail stores for 50 years.”

Adrian Thomas, President and CEO of Datascan

By the numbers

35%

average inventory record accuracy before annual count with barcodes

80%+

Walmart apparel items tagged with RFID, expanding to other categories

$500M

Target predicted profitability impact from inventory shrink

$0.04-$0.08

cost per RFID tag, cheaper further upstream in supply chain

What the channel argues

DataBarcode-only systems leave stores with 35% inventory accuracy before each annual count.→
DataWalmart achieved over 80% RFID adoption on apparel and is expanding to sporting goods, electronics, and toys.→
DataRFID tags cost $0.04-$0.08 per unit, with cheaper pricing the further upstream you tag.→
InsightPoor inventory accuracy cascades into five documented business harms: lost sales, customer churn, excess safety stock, operational chaos, and supply chain disruption.→
InsightOrganized retail crime and theft at manufacturing, distribution, and transport stages disrupt both physical and online retail operations.→
InsightBOPUS and online channels intensify demand for real-time inventory visibility on the sales floor and in backrooms.→

What you'll learn

•RFID provides measurable inventory accuracy gains and faster labor-intensive tasks like stock counts, freeing staff to assist customers.
•Four core drivers push retailers to RFID: accuracy, reduced manual labor, anti-theft, and display compliance ensuring one of each item on shelves.
•Omnichannel fulfillment (BOPUS, curbside, ship-from-store) breaks under inaccurate counts; real-time inventory visibility is now operationally non-negotiable.
•Post-COVID retail workforces have shifted leaner and seasonal; supply chain fragility (toilet paper shortages) could have been mitigated with RFID inventory visibility.
•Metals and liquids pose technical challenges to RFID deployment, requiring workarounds; ROI justification hinges on quantifying checkout speed, auto-replenishment, and customer experience gains.

What to do about it

→Audit your current inventory record accuracy by counting a sample across store zones and backroom; if below 50% when using barcodes alone, prioritize RFID pilot in highest-SKU-velocity zones.
→Map your omnichannel fulfillment paths (BOPUS, curbside, ship-from-store) and measure stockout and fulfillment failure rates; use this baseline to justify RFID ROI to finance.
→Engage suppliers on item-level RFID tagging at source, particularly for apparel and high-shrink categories, to push cost downward and reduce your counting labor as adoption scales.

Who and what shows up

Adrian Thomas

President and CEO of Datascan

Frames inventory counting as a 50-year legacy capability and shapes the broader conversation around retail data and analytics trends.

Herb Billings

VP of Product Strategy at Datascan

Provides detailed RFID technical and ROI guidance, explains the history and modern applications of RFID, identifies barcode accuracy baseline (35%), and articulates the five harms of bad inventory management.

Max Dunn

Manager of RFID Solutions at Datascan

Documents the evolution of RFID in retail over two decades, from pallet and base-level tagging to item-level adoption, and provides insider insights on current state and challenges.

Walmart

Major retailer

Demonstrated measurable RFID success with over 80% apparel tagging and is expanding RFID across sporting goods, electronics, and toys, signaling industry momentum.

Target

Major retailer

Cited as predicting a $500 million profitability impact from inventory shrink, illustrating the scale of shrink losses for major retailers.

Questions this channel answers

Q

What is the real scale of the retail shrink crisis?

Conflicting data clouds the picture. Target cited a $500 million profitability impact from shrink, and organized retail crime is documented, but some surveys show slight declines in average shrink rates, leaving the true severity uncertain.

Retail Roundtable: How Serious is the Retail Shrink Cris… →
Q

Why does inventory accuracy matter more now than before?

COVID-era shifts pushed retailers into omnichannel fulfillment (BOPUS, curbside pickup, ship-from-store) that requires real-time visibility both on sales floors and in backrooms, making traditional biannual counts obsolete.

The Importance of Inventory Accuracy for Retailers World… →
Q

What are the main business drivers for RFID adoption?

Four core drivers: improving inventory record accuracy, reducing manual labor around inventory tasks, implementing anti-theft controls, and ensuring display compliance so every item on shelves is properly stocked.

Keeping Count: What are the main drivers prompting retai… →
Q

How does bad inventory management damage retail profitability?

Poor inventory accuracy causes lost sales, customer dissatisfaction and lifetime value loss, excess safety stock costs, operational chaos from unmatched counts, and supply chain disruption from demand signal distortion.

Herb’s Hot Hot Takes: The Five Effects of Bad Inventory … →
Q

Is RFID the right solution for every retailer?

Metals and liquids pose technical challenges to RFID tags despite workarounds. Retailers must quantify ROI through benefits like faster checkout, auto-replenishment, and customer experience gains, and acknowledge that some benefits are hard to quantify.

Keeping Count: How to Successfully Deploy RFID in Retail →
Topics:RFID technology and implementationInventory accuracy and countingOmnichannel retail fulfillment (BOPUS)Organized retail crime and loss preventionSupply chain visibility and shrink
Themes:Inventory accuracy as hidden competitive moatOmnichannel fulfillment depends on real-time visibilityRFID as labor and accuracy leverage, not just loss prevention

Industry context

Retailers are shifting RFID investment from pilot programs to core infrastructure, with Mexico's market doubling by 2032 as operators recognize real-time inventory visibility as essential to omnichannel fulfillment and competitive positioning.

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