BSN, a one-stop solution provider for RFID and supply chain technology, announces a successful year of industry growth, employee retention, and production expansion, despite the disruptive impact of the global pandemic. Whilst navigating the challenging economic and social environment, the company broke ground on its new RFID Production and Innovation center, representing BSN’s aims to increase investment in RFID technology for 2021.

Industry Growth

At the start of 2020, the growth of E-commerce looked to be threatened, having achieved an increase of 13% at the end of 2019. However, despite the ever-present uncertainty over the last 12 months, digital spending has outpaced the previous year with an annual growth of more than 100%. Today, e-commerce sales account for 28% of all retail purchases.

This steadfast pace and growth of the E-commerce industry have encouraged BSN to break ground on its new BSN RFID Technology Centre in Guangzhou, China. The construction of the new production base represents BSN’s dedication to increase investment in RFID Innovation, expand production, and strive to provide more high-quality, fast, and comprehensive services to global customers in 2021.

Navigating COVID-19

This year has seen BSN, along with the rest of the world, navigate through the COVID-19 crisis. With the heightened demand for Ecommerce, huge challenges for supply chain and logistics operations have followed. With omnichannel capabilities becoming a preferred option for consumers, services like Door-step delivery, Buy Online Pickup In-store (BOPIS) and Curbside Pickup (CSPU) have taken preference, leading to an impact on product availability and lead times.

The global pandemic has also resulted in all-time-high unemployment, with many of BSN’s competitors making redundancies at the factory level. BSN has been able to buck the trend, stay steady and take care of its factory workers during a time where it was crucial to nurture employees at every level, not one person was let go due to the pandemic. Where possible, team members work at home, if not, factory adjustments have been made to incorporate safe social distancing.

The New Normal 

Looking forward to 2021, BSN aims to take a ‘new normal’ approach post-COVID. The pandemic has highlighted the need for item visibility through every phase of the supply chain. The company has developed its Trysor RFID solutions which focus on e-commerce and omnichannel strategies, providing real-time item-level visibility from Vendor to Door-Step. With retailers beginning to recognize the value in RFID technology, there will be new heights of innovation coming over the next year.

“Over the last year, the pandemic has challenged us not only as a company but as individuals. We are proud to have been able to use these challenges as an opportunity to show our dedication to our team members and our customers, by adapting to changing consumer behaviors,” comments Philip Calderbank, RFID Consultant at BSN. “Our company can only grow from here, with fresh innovations and possibilities coming out of the new Technology Centre. It is a testament to our business and we are primed to hit the ground running in 2021.”