Building retail inventory management capability for the future with Ramp RFID
Salon Lane enhances inventory management processes as the business expands into new locations and channels.
OVERVIEW
An inventory backbone that scales for a growing multi-site operator
Salon Lane gives independent hair, beauty and wellness professionals the freedom to run their own businesses from premium shared workspaces, without the cost and complexity of operating a traditional salon. Members operate under their own brands, set their own schedules and can use and sell professional hair and beauty products supplied through Salon Lane, earning retail commissions along the way.
As Salon Lane expanded its network, managing retail inventory was becoming increasingly difficult. Manual stocktakes, spreadsheets and a growing number of SKUs created significant administrative effort and plenty of opportunity for human error. Ramp RFID helped Salon Lane create an inventory management backbone that provides better visibility, reduces manual effort and can scale with the business.
THE CHALLENGE
Limitations of manual inventory management processes
Manual inventory management processes included counting products by hand, entering data into spreadsheets and then checking and reconciling by multiple team members. Salon Lane operates a high-SKU, low-visibility environment (including many variants of hair colour products for example) with products moving quickly between storage, salon use and retail sale, so maintaining an accurate picture of inventory was becoming increasingly difficult.
A half-yearly stocktake typically took three people around eight hours each to complete. The system was barely manageable when Salon Lane had few locations, but as locations were added and retail operations grew, the limitations became clear. The business needed a better way to see what stock was on hand, where it was located and what needed replenishing – without multiplying the administrative effort and physical time required to achieve stock visibility. With the planned addition of a new and larger premises imminent, Salon Lane decided to find a better inventory visibility solution.
THE SOLUTION
An inventory backbone built for growth
Salon Lane began working with Ramp to introduce RFID-based inventory management across its retail operation and growing network of locations. The solution combines item-level RFID tagging with the Ramp RFID software platform and integration with Salon Lane’s retail point-of-sale system for more accurate and timely stock visibility at each location.
Products are individually tagged using a combination of standard UHF and on-metal labels to accommodate the diverse product range that includes metal and aerosol items. Salon Lane team members use handheld readers to conduct regular inventory scans far more quickly and frequently than was possible with manual counting. Rather than counting each item individually and reconciling spreadsheets, the team can quickly identify what is present, and what isn’t.
As Salon Lane has expanded, Ramp has supported the operational rollout with a local ‘Run and Hold’ arrangement to keep RFID label stock available as required, helping new locations come online without unnecessary lead times or minimum order constraints.
For Salon Lane, the real value isn’t RFID itself. It’s having an inventory management backbone that provides better visibility, reduces manual effort and can scale alongside the business.
THE OUTCOME
Better visibility means better decisions
Since implementing Ramp RFID, the differences are substantial. A stocktake that previously required three people for most of a working day can now be completed by one person in around two hours. That doesn’t simply save time on stocktake day. It allows the Salon Lane team to conduct counts far more frequently and work with more current inventory information all the time – not once or twice a year.
The benefits extend well beyond faster stocktakes. Greater inventory visibility gives Salon Lane a more accurate understanding of stock across its locations, helping the team make better-informed purchasing and replenishment decisions. It also makes discrepancies easier to identify. If a product can’t be found, the system’s item-location functionality can help staff determine whether a product is on hand, rather than relying on a time-consuming manual search.
As Salon Lane Co-Founder and Director Lance Kalish puts it: “If staff want to locate a missing product, the Geiger counter feature is great. They simply walk around the store or stock room with a handheld reader, and very quickly determine if the product they’re looking for is there or not.”
AT A GLANCE
Ramp RFID delivers for Salon Lane
“Ramp RFID has proven to be a great investment for us. There’s been obvious and significant time savings for stocktake, but beyond that we have much more integrated and streamlined inventory management processes from stocking to transfers to sell-through and replenishment. We now have a system that can easily grow with the business.”
Salon Lane
Lance Kalish
Co-Founder, Director
THE FUTURE
Supporting Salon Lane’s next stage of growth
Since implementing Ramp RFID, Salon Lane has expanded to seven locations, and the solution has grown alongside it. The business has also moved from Square to Shopify, with Ramp’s integration helping connect inventory visibility with its evolving retail and e-commerce environment, including services such as click-and-collect.
For Salon Lane, better visibility has helped turn inventory from a labour-intensive administrative process into a capability that supports growth.
TECHNOLOGY
The technology behind the solution
Ramp worked with Salon Lane to implement an RFID solution designed around the requirements of its retail environment.
The solution includes:
- Item-level RFID tagging across retail inventory
- UHF and on-metal tags to suit different product types
- Ramp RFID software for stock visibility
- Integration with Salon Lane’s evolving retail systems and channels
