INESC TEC invests in innovative concept of value chain management for the footwear industry, from the production line to the store.

The Shoe-ID is a project that revolutionised the management of the value chain of the footwear industry, from the production line until the products gets to the store. The concept of the Shoe-ID included defining new processes, information systems and logistics that take advantage of the use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) on the product.

Performing Research and Development (R&D) in various areas, the project incorporated RFID in the early stages of the production cycle of the shoe in order to make it easier to monitor the entire value chain, from the early footwear manufacturing operations to the consumer.

With this project it was also possible to eliminate the high burden of paper documents, optimise distribution routes, and introduce innovative solutions, both at the shops and stands, that allow a better interaction between  producer and consumer.

The Shoe-ID solution was developed for the company FLY London in order to improve efficiency throughout the entire supply chain. Besides optimising processes and helping prevent losses in the supply chain, the solution adds value in the store, incorporating a smart RFID floor, which allows customers to try on a pair of shoes and see their projected image in real time on a screen that puts them immediately in a virtual interactive scenario in the busy streets of London, Tokyo or New York.

The Shoe-ID also provides a new platform for forecasting demand for the Fashion Footwear sector, which includes developing a framework for gathering qualitative data, which will be subject to statistical analysis, forecasting and an innovative solution that fits the characteristics and specificities of forecasting demand for this sector. With this solution, it will be possible to increase the degree of automation and efficiency in decision-making and create a new monitoring methodology of the critical factors for sale. The information resulting from this system is central to any distribution network, which serves as the basis for product development, negotiation with manufacturers, business planning and the distribution network of stores.

This wasa multidisciplinary project that benefited from the know-how of the Centre for Enterprise Systems Engineering (CESE) at INESC TEC. As part of this project, researchers developed activities related to integrating RFID across the value chain, optimising distribution routes and devising sales forecasting models.

In 2011, the Shoe-ID was one of the winners of the European awards RETA (Retail Technologies Awards) of the EHI Retail Institute (Germany), in the category of Best Enterprise Solution.

The project was developed by a consortium between the company CREATIVE SYSTEMS, promoter of the Shoe-ID, INESC TEC, the Footwear Technology Centre of Portugal (CTCP) and Kyaia, the project’s pilot company  responsible for integrating and validating the results in the manufacturing structure. The Shoe-ID also features the company WOW, which works on interactive solutions for footwear shops.

Project Leader:

• CREATIVE SYSTEMS
  

Partners:

• CREATIVE SYSTEMS
• INESC Porto
• Footwear Technology Centre of Portugal (CTCP)
• Kyaia
• WOW
  

Contacts: Rui Diogo Rebelo