From March 14–16, 2018, the China International Clothing & Textile Expo (CHIC) was held at the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center, spanning 117,200 square meters and attracting 1,210 exhibitors and 1,395 brands from 21 countries and regions, including Italy and France. The event showcased innovations driving the future of fashion—with RFID technology taking center stage in supply chain transformation.

Global giants like ZARA and UNIQLO, alongside Chinese brands such as La Chapelle, UR, and HLA, have adopted RFID to tackle the industry’s most pressing challenge: inventory management.

Overtaking the Competition? RFID Solves Fashion’s Inventory Crisis

The short sales window for fashion items—dictated by seasons and trends—makes inventory a make-or-break factor. Delays in getting products to market exacerbate the problem:

• Local brands: 6–9 months from design to shelf.

• Fast fashion (e.g., ZARA): As little as 7 days.

RFID bridges this gap by accelerating supply chains and aligning production with real-time demand.

Building a Visible Supply Chain & Smarter Stores

1. Speed & Accuracy

• Bulk scanning replaces manual counts, slashing time for:

• Warehouse shipments

• Store receipts

• Inventory audits

• Example: RFID reduces stocktake time by 80%, freeing staff for customer-facing roles.

2. Data-Driven Decisions

• Smart fitting rooms and magic mirrors capture try-on data, revealing:

• Preferred styles

• Purchase conversion triggers

• Result: Brands like La Chapelle use insights to cut overproduction and optimize assortments.

3. End-to-End Visibility

RFID unifies factory-to-store data, enabling:

• Real-time tracking

• Loss prevention

• Dynamic replenishment

Century Lead’s Showcase at CHIC 2018

As a leading RFID solutions provider (not just hardware vendor), Century Lead demonstrated its "Smart Supply Chain 'Chip' Management" suite, including:

• Smart Factories: Embedded RFID at production.

• Intelligent Warehouses: 99.9% inventory accuracy.

• Digital Stores: Self-checkout + interactive experiences.

• Century Sky Platform: AI-powered analytics for demand forecasting.

Li Jie of La Chapelle emphasized: "China needs end-to-end partners, not just hardware." Century Lead is answering that call—pioneering IoT-driven upgrades for fashion’s future.

RFID isn’t just a tool—it’s the backbone of next-gen fashion retail.