How HANGCOUNT works
HANGCOUNT is RFID stock control for fashion shops, boutiques and sports retailers: every item is given an RFID label once, linked to the barcode it already carries — after that a full stocktake takes one to two hours instead of a weekend. The film above shows the whole process in 55 seconds, without sound.
How is an item labelled?
A member of staff takes the item off the rail and records it with the handheld. There are two ways to do that: scan the barcode it already has, or type in the article number from the tag and pick the match from the list. Both lead to the same result.
The RFID printer in the shop then prints the label. The visible side carries the price, the article number and the barcode; inside sit the antenna and the chip, which you cannot see. In the same pass the chip is encoded and the link between chip and barcode is stored. The label goes onto the hangtag — done.
How long does labelling one item take?
Recording, printing and sticking take around twelve to thirteen seconds together. A practised member of staff manages roughly 200 to 300 items an hour. That is the only substantial effort at the start: existing stock has to be tagged once. New stock is labelled as it arrives and runs alongside everything else.
How do you know an item has been created?
At the till the member of staff opens the stock list and sees every labelled line with a green tick. In the HANGCOUNT app green means one thing only: book stock and counted stock agree. There is no second meaning and no decorative use of that colour.
How does the stocktake run the next morning?
The member of staff opens the shop, switches on the handheld and walks past the floor and the stockroom once. Nothing has to be touched, lifted or scanned individually — the device reads the labels through the air, through stacks and boxes as well. A handheld picks up around 700 items a minute.
The items appear on the screen as they are read. Each line shows book stock and counted stock side by side. Where the two agree a green tick appears; where a piece is missing the line shows −1.
What happens to the counted figures?
At the end the member of staff is back at the till, goes through the list and confirms the stock. The checked figures go to the till system as a CSV or Excel file — or straight to the web shop, so that the availability shown online is correct. The till system itself stays unchanged; nothing has to be replaced or reconfigured.
Common questions
How long does an RFID stocktake take?
One to two hours for a shop with around 4,000 items. A handheld reads about 700 items a minute; the rest of the time goes on walking the shop and clearing discrepancies.
Do I have to change my till system?
No. HANGCOUNT runs alongside the till system. The counted stock is handed over as CSV or Excel — a format practically every system can read.
What happens to my existing barcodes?
They stay. The RFID label is linked to the barcode once; after that the same item can be found either way.
Are RFID labels visible on the garment?
The label sits on the hangtag and looks like an ordinary price ticket. The antenna and the chip lie in an inner layer and cannot be seen from outside.
How much work is tagging existing stock?
About twelve to thirteen seconds per item, so roughly 200 to 300 items per person per hour. For 4,000 items that is broadly 15 to 20 working hours — once.
More on this: RFID stocktaking · RFID tags · RFID printers · RFID readers