{"id":20398,"date":"2016-11-18T17:46:47","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T22:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/rfid-technology-key-to-success-for-la-tavola\/"},"modified":"2016-11-20T08:27:07","modified_gmt":"2016-11-20T13:27:07","slug":"rfid-technology-key-to-success-for-la-tavola","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/rfid-technology-key-to-success-for-la-tavola\/","title":{"rendered":"RFID Technology: Key to Success for La Tavola"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"lt-pics-2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

La Tavola is not your average mom & pop linen rental business.\u00a0 In fact, La Tavola stands among few providers of scale, servicing tens of thousands of weddings, social and corporate events a year to customers in nearly all 50 states.\u00a0 This requires a massive undertaking: the company operates a full processing facility and houses 25,000+ individual pieces of linen.\u00a0 RFID technology \u2013 chips sewn into each piece of linen, representing a unique stock keeping unit (SKU) \u2013 has made this possible, and has been instrumental in the company\u2019s path to success.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Based in Napa, La Tavola has emerged as a leader in specialty linen rentals, a niche market that has gained enormous momentum over the past decade.\u00a0 The company was founded in 2007 by two husband-and-wife entrepreneurs \u2013 dubbed \u201cFine Linen\u2019s First Couple\u201d \u2013 who had prior success with other event rental ventures.\u00a0 Based in Napa, the company exploded (during a recessionary period!) and continues to exhibit impressive growth.\u00a0 Table linens (think fancy table cloths and napkins) have become increasingly important for events, and fundamental demand remains the primary driver for success.\u00a0 The company was acquired by a PE firm in 2015.<\/p>\n

Operations<\/strong><\/p>\n

La Tavola offers tablecloths, napkins and ancillary products to rent for various events.\u00a0 Napa headquarters serves as its central distribution facility, where linens are sewn, laundered and either delivered locally by truck or shipped.\u00a0 Product is returned (either picked up or shipped back), sorted\/counted, laundered and placed back into inventory.\u00a0 Breadth of inventory is key for customers, and the company offers thousands of SKUs with unique colors, patterns, textures and sizes.\u00a0 Since linen cloth is a significant expense, inventory management is imperative for profitability.<\/p>\n

RFID Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is the \u201cwireless use of electromagnetic fields to transfer data through tags\u2026[which] carry electronically stored information\u2026to identify and track [items]\u00a0automatically.\u201d\u00a0 RFID chips are also used in other capacities, such as with companion animals and livestock tracking.\u00a0 In La Tavola\u2019s case, RFID chips are sewn into each linen and matched with a unique SKU code.\u00a0 These RFID chips enable seamless tracking throughout all parts of the rental process, as opposed to manual bar code scanning or counting, which is done by many smaller providers.\u00a0 Specifically, linens that are outbound pass through a scanner, which assigns the RFID codes to a customer order using the inventory management system.\u00a0 Upon return, soiled linens pass through a different scanner, and are marked as returned in the system.\u00a0 Lastly, once laundered, the linens are bagged, passed through a third scanner and placed back into inventory.\u00a0 With three levels of tracking, the company knows precisely where each linen is and can plan accordingly.<\/p>\n

Significant Benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Minimizes human error.<\/strong>\u00a0 Prior to RFID tracking, finding and selecting the correct linens proved to be difficult.\u00a0 Using chips with exact identifiers enables the precise and efficient selection of linens.<\/p>\n

2) Significant reduction in losses.<\/strong>\u00a0 Linens lost by customers represented a large expenditure for La Tavola.\u00a0 RFID chips address this by enabling automatic, accurate identification\u00a0of items missing from an order upon return; La Tavola is then able to recover costs from customers.<\/p>\n

3) Ensures a premium, competitive service offering.<\/strong> \u00a0Fast, reliable and flexible service (imagine table linens arriving late to a wedding!) is imperative.\u00a0 RFID chips eliminated many manual components of La Tavola\u2019s prior process, thereby reducing labor, doubling processing speed and enabling the company to meet last minute requests.<\/p>\n

4) Inventory management and associated costs.\u00a0 <\/strong>The actual purchase of linens is a significant expenditure.\u00a0 Using RFID technology, La Tavola keeps a close watch on turnover and inventory trends, enabling better purchasing and strategic decisions (La Tavola strives to rationalize its product offering and get rid of inefficient, low-turnover SKUs) and leads to cost reduction.<\/p>\n

5) Scalability.\u00a0 <\/strong>The investment in RFID technology has set La Tavola apart from the myriad of local providers that aren\u2019t able to reach the same scale.\u00a0 La Tavola\u2019s breadth of product and quality of service \u2013 all bolstered by RFID chips \u2013 has supported the company\u2019s growth into a leading, national linen rental company.<\/p>\n

Additional Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is plenty of opportunity to further integrate technology into its operations, thereby augmenting La Tavola\u2019s edge against competitors. \u00a0First, a mobile app could facilitate seamless linen ordering. \u00a0Second, given the design aspect of events, the ability for consumers to \u201cvote\u201d or provide design input through digital means could help with inventory expansion decisions.\u00a0 Lastly, technology could improve the logistics of pick-ups for completed orders.\u00a0 For example, instead of having three fixed scanners in the facility, the company should explore smaller scanners to place on its trucks to complete scanning prior to arriving at the facility.<\/p>\n

(799 words)<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n

La Tavola Fine Linen Rental, \u201cTechnology & Linen Rental \u2013 Revisited,\u201d https:\/\/latavolalinen.com\/category\/rfid\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

Datamars, \u201cKey Markets Overview,\u201d http:\/\/www.datamars.com\/key-markets-overview\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

Datamars, \u201cDatamars Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Inventory Tracking System for Party Linens,\u201d https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8zn2YsUV_x8<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

Special Events, \u201cHerb and Betsy Stone: Fine Linen’s First Couple,\u201d http:\/\/specialevents.com\/linen\/herb-and-betsy-stone-fine-linens-first-couple<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

Party Track, \u201cAppetite for Technology Adds Savings on the Table,\u201d http:\/\/partytrack.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Case-study_LA-TAVOLA_2008.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

Datamars, \u201cHow RFID Works,\u201d http:\/\/www.textile-id.com\/how-rfid-works-in-textile\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

Pictures:\u00a0latavolalinen.com, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

La Tavola Fine Linen Rental has become a leading provider of scale, and RFID technology has played a major role in its success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2207,"featured_media":20399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[2832,2118,2831,2830],"class_list":["post-20398","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linen","category-rfid","category-scanning","category-tracking"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/digitization-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nRFID Technology: Key to Success for La Tavola - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/rfid-technology-key-to-success-for-la-tavola\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RFID Technology: Key to Success for La Tavola - 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