01732 759725 30 OPINION Boosting efficiency is going to be essential in 2024 as retailers eye up new ways to enhance resilience. Stuart Nock, Pre-sales Solution Specialist – Auto-ID at Brother UK, explains how resellers can support customers with tackling the problem of mislabelling with technology that can save them time and money A new opportunity to support retailers Boosting efficiency More than one-third (38 per cent) of the businesses in the research admitted to mislabelling prices on products at least once a day, while more than a quarter (28 per cent) said it happens multiple times per week. More than two in five consumers said they’ve saved money on mislabelled products at an average of £38 per mispriced item – 5 per cent said they’ve saved as much as £500. This is a serious problem and much of it is caused by retailers habitually using handwritten labels or using the technology they have incorrectly by printing designs in the wrong format. An opportunity for the channel There is a clear opportunity here for resellers to create propositions to tackle the issue and provide the consultancy that can help deepen their customer relationships with retailers. There are several options that resellers should consider and helping customers digitise their labelling operations is a key starting point. Implementing handheld label printers helps staff to eradicate the errors that arise from handwritten labels and ensure that staff are able to print accurate labels on the go. For example, Brother’s RJ mobile print range is built with the latest connectivity, charging and integration features to keep users printing on the move, while the print speeds of five inches-per-second and 16-hour battery life means they can print quicker for longer. This is an essential capability for labelling price markdowns in the aisle Building resilience will be high on New Year wish lists for retailers as they continue to face an uncertain economic picture, and driving new efficiencies will ultimately be the goal. Undoubtedly technology will have a central role to play; and we know that businesses across the sector are considering new labelling systems to make those savings, from the back-office to the shop floor. A key driver for this is mislabelling and reducing the loss of earnings it creates. Censuswide recently conducted research among 2,000 consumers and over 250 UK retailers (18+ general managers, store managers, regional managers or sales managers with responsibility for setting pricing or managing pricing rollouts in store(s), in retail businesses that have 10-249 staff) on behalf of Brother UK. The study found that 74 per cent of retailers are planning to acquire new devices and software to enhance their in-store labelling operations, predominantly driven by concerns that mislabelling products is hitting margins. – a daily task during the January sales – rather than needing to return to the back-office each time a new label is needed. Taking this a step further, resellers can help customers build on these efficiency gains by introducing specialist software that enhances the process of designing and creating labels. For example, cloud-based management systems, like BarcodeGenie’s, allow users to create a new label design centrally that can be rolled-out automatically to devices in the store and across a network if needed. This relieves the admin burden from retail assistants and ensures that labels are clear and accurate every time. New year, greater resilience It’s clear to see, then, why technology is going to play an important role as firms look to boost resilience in 2024. Problems like mislabelling may not be retailers’ biggest concern, but they add up across the business and new solutions will be key to delivering the marginal gains that will help to trim fat and protect margins. For resellers, this is a significant opportunity to engage their customers as they embark on this journey and help them drive the efficiencies that will provide a platform for growth this year. www.brother.co.uk Stuart Nock
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