RFID Tags Not Reading and Inventory Showing Inaccuracies

As you restock products with tags attached in the Byte store, you will start to see products and inventory shown on the menu screen. Inventory is read after closing the door and clicking the lock button on the restock pannel screen. The store will then continue checking tags on the newly stocked products.

In the case that products are not reading in inventory after restock, follow the steps below to troubleshoot in an attempt for all products to read accurately.

Tagging Practices:

Making sure products are tagged correctly according to the documentation here

Merchandising practices:

Making sure tags are visible, products are not stacked nor tag being sandwiched up against the wall. Moving drinks/metal cans to the middle two lanes for best readability. See the image below for an example planogram of mix merchandising products:

Metal Tag Read Sensitivity

In March 2020 Byte Technology launched several new RFID tag types in order to support our clients with a broader range of product types. The new tag types included microwave-safe tags and metal safe tags. The metal safe tags were a recent and exciting innovation from Byte Technology’s tag partner.

Before launching these new tags in the marketplace, Byte Technology partnered to test the tags on a range of product types. The initial tests noted that the tags performed equal to or better than the existing set of Byte Technology tags, so we proceeded to launch. While the pandemic delayed learnings on these new tag types, it is now evident that metal safe tags are very sensitive to how they are applied, as well as how the products are merchandised within the fridge. When these conditions are met, the tags appear to perform as expected.

Byte Technology is currently doing more extensive testing, but early findings show:

Tags separated by a distance and not touching other products perform better. Dividers that space product may result in improved readability performance

Screen_Shot_2020-11-11_at_3.48.16_PM.png

Tags appear to perform better when facing away from one another. When tags are close to one another they appear to cause more “scatter” which makes it hard for sensors to properly read inventory. Rotate drinks or product to maximize the space between other tags

Liquid-laden products such as drinks or yogurts, and products with metal packaging inherently cause more “RF scatter” When possible, either use a packaging alternative (ie glass option instead of aluminum) or distribute these products throughout the fridge. For example, instead of an entire shelf of drinks have a row or two of drinks on each shelf.

Next steps of troubleshooting once all above is completed:

Reboot the store
Login to restock pannel and move items around in the fridge - if there are issues in certain areas, try relocating them
Replace Tags if not applied correctly OR not reading after moving around

If you continue to see errors in reading please send over the below details of what you are experiencing to support@bytetechnology.co

- Pick a date and time that this information is current ex. Wed 10.11.2020 at 12PM noon EST

- List KID/name of the store you are looking at ex. KID 2345 Name Byte Tech HQ

- Count of how much of each SKU is physically in the store (you can pick 1 or two of the SKUs you are seeing this the most, ex. a specific drink OR meal)

- Take a photo of the tags of that product that are in the store - specifically looking for that long serial number that looks like this 000102680116032135970039

Tagging Practices:

Merchandising practices:

Next steps of troubleshooting once all above is completed:

Comments

Articles in this section