NeWave Sensor Solutions Smart Shelf Installation Guide Page 1
Technical Support American Offices NeWave Sensor Solutions, LLC Innovation Center Dr. Walter "Den" Burnside 9011 Heritage Drive Plain City, Ohio USA 43064 888.677.7343 sales@newaverfid.com www.newaverfid.com Canadian Offices NeWave Sensor Solutions Canada Innovation Center Kevin Schiissler 1-3480 Laird Road Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 5Y4 1-800-254-9026 Ext. 950 Canada-sales@newaverfid.com www.newaverfid.com Page 2
What is different about Smart shelf? What is different about Smart shelf? Retailers are used to semi-passive deterrents. They are notified when their merchandise leaves the store or shows up in the local flea market. The Smart Shelf provides information on shelf item movement in seconds, much like a motion detector for shelf merchandise. The Smart Shelf is an active deterrent against organized retail crime and out of stock shelf conditions (ROC & OOS). The ROI is in months, not years. We have removed the requirement to label each product with an RFID label costing 15-25 cents or more per item, as well as the significant labor cost to tag all the merchandise. A retailer can target their most vulnerable product categories and see a very fast return. Here are the key points to remember for Smart Shelf: Automatic Shelf Monitoring and Instant Merchandise Availability Alerts Avoid out-of-stocks Easy to Install and Scalable No Item Level Tagging Required Superior Accuracy Page 3
Features of Smart Shelf No item level tag cost or associated tagging labor required. ORC events are alerted at the shelf, not the front door. Automatic and simultaneous monitoring and notification of ORC and OOS and even avoid OOS. Historical item level movement. Middleware pre-loaded in NeWave Novel Reader. Internet based Data Base and GUI created by NeWave or any software company. Modular design (scalable), Easy to install, No Special Shelving Required Integrates with existing Plan-o-gram technology. Page 4
Smart Shelf Components Antennas installed vertically behind the shelf Or Horizontally Integrated into Shelf Reader Under the Shelf Product Pushers Management Reports Page 5
Smart Shelf Network Architecture Product sensors installed on the shelves wirelessly product movements. Data from product sensors is transmitted to a reader installed under the shelf unit. The reader has its own on-board smart controller that collects, processes, compresses and send the resulting data to the end user. The reader monitors the inventory movement detected by the sensors. In-store alerts are triggered when inventory conditions occur such as out of stocks, ORC sweeps, or distributor restocking. Alerts can also be sent over the PA system, text message, or email. Page 6
Smart Shelf Installation Requirements Test Evaluation Agreement Signed (if test equipment provided by NeWave ) Site Requirements Shelf model that allows antennas and reader to be installed such as Lozier metal shelving with 2- pegboard backing. 120V/AC or POE at shelf Ethernet connection at shelf WiFi access Pre-Installation/Site Survey Questions What form of power will be provided to each shelf? (120V AC or Power over Ethernet) How many shelf sections? What is the width? What is the depth? How many shelves per section? Are shelf dispensers used? What type? What product SKU s and how many facings of each SKU will be monitored? Is the category Planogram provided? How many changes to the category Planogram are made in a month and/or year? List of users and what information they need? List of re-stock personnel to avoid OOS. What systems will need to receive ORC/Out of Stock alerts? What users should receive email alerts? Who will we be trained at the time of installation? Store hours of operation Primary store contact & cell Secondary store contact & cell Identified monthly or annual $ losses to ORC and/or out of stocks or any other factor Photo of front and back sides of shelving sections Page 7
Smart Shelf Components for Typical 5-shelf 4 foot section Qty Item Typical Configuration 1 RFID Reader Per 4' section. May be 120V AC or POE 4 5' Antennas Per 4' section Network Cables As required 4 RF Cables Per 4 section 1 Network Connection Per reader Number of items on shelf Dispensers and RFID labels 1 per product facing. Generally 10-12 per shelf for a 4' section 5 Shelf Spacers/pads Per 4 shelf. Generally 5 shelves per 4' section. Mounting Hardware as required **Components may vary based on the number and type of shelves required.** Page 8
Shelf Dispenser Hardware Options: Front Fence Rail and Plexiglas Lens- Options are found at FFR Merchandising Retail Solutions http://www.ffr.com/power-zone-sure-set-self-facing-system Lens Front Fence Rail Lens Height Options 1-1/4 1-3/4 2-1/2 4-1/4 Page 9
Shelf Dispenser Hardware Options: Pusher Paddle and Track- Pusher Track Track Length Pusher Paddle Paddle Width 1-1/8 2-3/4 5 Track Color Beige White Black Track Length 10-22 in 2 increments 1-1/8 5 2 3/4" Page 10
Shelf Dispenser Hardware Options: Smart Shelf Product Dividers: Center Divider Right End Divider Narrow Divider Left End Right End Center Height and Width 2-3/4 H & ½ W 2-3/4 H & ½ W 2-3/4 H & 1 W Wide Divider Left End Right End Center Height and Width 4 H & 1-½ W 4 H & 1-½ W 4 H & 3 W Tall Divider Left End Right End Center Height and Width 5-1/2 H & 1-½ W 5-1/2 H & 1-½ W 5-1/2 H & 3 W Divider Color Beige White Black Divider Length 10-22 in 2 increments Page 11
Smart Shelf Application Overview: Embedded Vertical Mount: In this application, there are four 5 Wave Antennas covering a five shelf zone mounted in the center section of the shelving system in between the two pegboard panels. This type of layout works well for metal shelves by placing all four antennas in the center of the shelving system. The reader and cabling are easily hidden under the bottom metal shelf. Note: there is sufficient space in the center of these shelves that works very well for this application. This layout is used to cover as many as five metal shelves and can cover both the front and back of this shelving system. The antennas are easily mounted within the pegboard. To cover more shelves, then 7 foot antennas may be required. If using a 7 foot antenna a ground plane will be required, and therefore, it only covers one side of the shelving unit. Further, the antennas will be mounted similar to the positions shown above but they will all be shifted down equally until the first antenna hits the peg board base plate. Probe data has shown that one can achieve 100% read rate provided that the dispenser trays are tagged properly. Page 12
Installing Hardware Installing Hardware: 2 or 3-1.0 flat head screws with locking nuts Center dividers Front Fence Rail and Lens Shelf Mat One shelf will be installed and tested at a time. The installer begins by placing the corrugated plastic liner mat down on the shelf. The liner mat is either single or double layer depending on shelf depth and items mounted on the shelf. Page 13
Installing Hardware Holes will need to be lined up between the mat and the shelf itself. The front fence will then be placed on the front of the shelf and holes lined up between the shelf and corrugated mat. Take a 1 (1.5 for applications that require double mats) flat head screw and feed it through each of the three holes. Place the lock nut into the nut driver and tighten the nut onto the screw Feed half of the pusher dispensers onto the right side and the other half onto the left side by sliding them onto the front fence. Page 14
Installing Hardware Starting from the left moving right, insert the left end divider first. There are specific end dividers for the right and left side. Page 15
Installing Hardware The number of trays and the products placed in the tray should be defined by the store plan-o-gram. The following discussion provides the mechanical approach to mount the smart shelf hardware. A bar code scanner is provided to do the complete hardware and software installation. The bar scanner installation process is described in Smart Shelf Bar Code Scanner User s Manual on the NeWave website. Then using the product for a sizing reference, place the item one at a time in each of the trays and adjust the center divider to fit as close as possible to the product without disrupting the spring from easily sliding the product forward. Repeat this process moving left to right until all the center dividers are properly placed. Lastly, place the right end divider into place using the product to properly place the end divider. Page 16
Installing Hardware Check to make that the center and end dividers do not impeding the product from easily sliding forward by the spring. Once all trays are inserted and properly spaced around the product then the shelves need to be installed onto the shelving unit one shelf at a time. Page 17
Installing Hardware Now that the items have been installed onto Smart Shelf compare those items on the shelf to the software installed plan-o-gram making sure you are compliant with the plan. Run a preliminary tests of the system by allowing the reader to collect data and check the data against the actual product in the tray. Make sure that the correct number of items is accurate. Once that test has been preformed, place the reader under the shelving unit out of sight. Now that you understand how to install the hardware, you should go to the bar code scanner to complete the installation. The bar code scanner installation is described in Smart Shelf Bar Code Scanner User s Manual on the NeWave website. Page 18
Smart Shelf FAQ s What are the benefits of the Smart Shelf System? Real time information on out of stocks, low inventory conditions, shelf movement, and replenishment needs. Reduced labor costs by automating the shelf inventory process. Increased sales and customer satisfaction by having the product on the shelf. Increased security for high theft items. No worry about RFID privacy issues. Do I need a lot of power and cables? Is it too infrastructure heavy for a full store solution? We typically plug into existing power and Ethernet cables. Our current approach is geared toward solving problems with specific departments and specific SKU s. The beauty of Smart Shelf is that it can be targeted for specific categories without a full store implementation. This provides a much faster ROI that is scalable to any size. Page 19
Smart Shelf FAQ s I don't know much about RFID, but I do know liquids and metals can cause problems. How does Smart Shelf work with these? Products with liquids and metals actually work to our advantage as they cover the RFID label on the dispenser tray. Once the product is removed our Smart Shelf system detects the absence of the product(s) and provides immediate notification. What is involved with a Smart Shelf system? Typically for a four foot wide shelf system: 4 NeWave antennas, 1 RFID reader, RF cables, tagged shelf dispensers and spacers, mounting hardware and network cables as required. This system can see both front and back shelves. Keep in mind one NeWave Nobel reader is typically needed. We can also multiplex 16 antennas to one reader providing more economies as you expand into more product categories. How do I determine an alert notification? You establish the out of stock criteria when you want to be alerted. We can send an alert message to you in store and remotely. Page 20
Smart Shelf FAQ s Do I need to put in new shelves? We use the existing shelves in the store. The only new equipment should be Smart Shelf components. Can I get vendors to pay for this? We are working with several large consumer goods companies who are interested in providing visibility to their merchandise and inventory levels on a remote basis, as well as providing a new layer of protection against organized retail crime. We have had vendors that want to share in the costs, due to the benefits, such as rate-of-sales of their products in the store. Page 21
Smart Shelf FAQ s What about the software? NeWave can provide the software in terms of spreadsheets that are sent in the proper form to the appropriate people. Using this approach, the data is processed in various forms so that everyone gets what they need to do their job. The NeWave Nobel reader has all the smart shelf middleware preloaded. Thus, our customer can use our software or their own preferred software vendor. Note that the transfer of smart shelf data to a third party software company is very easy and done directly from the NeWave Nobel reader. How much data retention/file size is allowed with the software? Unlimited (with per store hosting fee) Some of the CAT5 cable runs will be over 325 ft, does that affect the system/ can it be done? CAT5 can't be run past 325 feet (100 meters), that is the limit. Another switch or fiber can be used to extend it. Page 22
Smart Shelf FAQ s Are there any details we need to know on the wireless integration of devices (pager, smart phone, etc.? Can you provide more detail/specifications? There is audio and GPIO on the NeWave Nobel reader. We can send alerts and notifications in any format required by these third party devices provided they have an interface to do so. What type of overt loss prevention practices would help? We can integrate with audible message units, overhead public view monitors, etc. as long they have an interface. We have seen shelf talkers be very effective as well. Can the antenna configuration be mounted differently? We can mount the antennas horizontally or vertically in the back of the shelving unit or between the peg board racks. It is recommended, however, to place four antennas vertically in between the peg board. With either configuration it is likely that you will still need 2-4 antennas for any application to see the RFID signal in a typical shelf arrangement. Further, the antennas can be integrated in shelves. Thus the number of antennas would be equal to the number of shelves. Page 23
Smart Shelf FAQ s Who is NeWave? NeWave Sensor Solutions is a leading provider of optimized solutions for today s most challenging itemlevel Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) problems. The company develops an open RFID technology platform based on the patented Wave antenna that sets a new standard for accuracy, versatility and efficiency. NeWave s core technology was developed by the world-class ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL) of The Ohio State University, a pioneer in RF research and development, and is produced in partnership with Wistron NeWeb (WNC), the Taiwan-based global leader in antenna manufacturing. The company s management team leverages a strong heritage in the RFID and retail industries for its mission of applying optimized solutions to today s greatest RFID challenges. Our Innovation Center is based just outside Columbus, Ohio. Page 24