Background
As MINISO continues to expand its store network and product portfolio, its retail operations face increasing challenges from a large number of SKUs, frequent product updates, and dense product displays. From accessories and stationery to daily consumer goods, many small-sized items are displayed in compact spaces, making traditional inventory methods less efficient.
Previously, store employees relied on item-by-item barcode scanning for stocktaking, which required significant time and manual effort. During periods of frequent product launches and promotional campaigns, delayed inventory updates could affect replenishment decisions and daily store management.
To improve inventory accuracy and operational efficiency, MINISO introduced an RFID-enabled store management solution using Chainway C72 and C5 UHF RFID Readers, enabling faster product identification and more precise inventory control.
Challenge
- Large SKU volumes with inefficient manual counting: MINISO stores manage a wide range of small-sized products, making traditional manual counting and barcode-based operations time-consuming and labor-intensive.
- Dense product displays affecting identification accuracy: Compact product arrangements can make individual scanning more difficult, increasing the risk of missed items and inaccurate inventory records.
- Delayed inventory updates: Frequent replenishment, product transfers, and new product introductions require faster inventory synchronization to support effective store operations.
- High-frequency retail activities requiring reliable equipment: Daily receiving, replenishment, and stocktaking tasks demand efficient and accurate RFID identification capabilities.
Solution
MINISO deployed Chainway C72 and C5 UHF RFID Readers to build an RFID-based inventory management solution for store operations. By leveraging UHF RFID technology with Impinj Gen2X support, the solution improves tag identification performance in complex retail environments and enables more efficient stock management.
- Faster inventory counting with bulk RFID reading: C72 and C5 enable employees to identify multiple tagged items simultaneously, allowing entire shelves or product areas to be counted faster without scanning each item individually.
- Improved identification for small and densely arranged products: The RFID solution helps maintain stable reading performance for small-size tags and closely displayed products, reducing missed reads and improving inventory reliability.
- Streamlined replenishment and product handling: Employees can quickly verify product information and identify inventory shortages, supporting faster replenishment and reducing picking errors.
- Efficient receiving and transfer management: Incoming products can be verified through RFID batch identification, while inventory data is synchronized with backend systems to reduce manual recording and repeated checks.
Result
The RFID-enabled retail solution delivered significant operational improvements:
- Higher inventory counting efficiency by reducing repetitive manual scanning and accelerating daily stocktaking tasks.
- Improved inventory accuracy through automated RFID identification and enhanced reading performance in dense product environments.
- More efficient store operations with smoother receiving, replenishment, and transfer processes.
- Better product availability management through more timely inventory information and improved replenishment decisions.
- Enhanced retail digitalization by enabling more precise, data-driven store management.
By deploying Chainway C72 and C5 UHF RFID Readers, MINISO improved inventory visibility, optimized daily store operations, and strengthened its digital retail management capabilities.
