MINISO Manages Vast, Varied Inventory by Thinking Small
MINISO boosted inventory counting speed and accuracy across its U.S. stores with Xindeco’s tiny RAIN RFID tags, enabled by Impinj M830 tag chips.
Managing MINISO’s expansive inventory posed a major challenge
Global retailer MINISO had difficulty managing its expansive inventory in its 200 U.S. retail stores. The China-based fast-moving consumer goods retailer sells a broad range of items, including kitchenware, toys, jewelry, cosmetics, and more. To keep its inventory fresh and engage its customers, MINISO launches 100 new SKUs every seven days. Its barcode-based inventory management system couldn’t keep up with the sheer number of products and near-constant inventory turnover. MINISO’s barcode-based process proved time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often inaccurate. In addition, the barcode labels MINISO was using were too large to fit on its smallest items.
MINISO needed a better way to tag and track every single product on its shelves — even when products change quickly — so they turned to Impinj partner Xindeco IoT for a RAIN RFID solution based on the next-generation Impinj M830 RAIN RFID tag chip. With Impinj and Xindeco’s XD-VersaMini M800 retail tag, MINISO can:
- Quickly and accurately gather inventory quantity, location, and status information
- Tag a wide variety of products — including small items that contain liquids and metals
- Optimize labor and control costs
Xindeco VersaMini and Impinj M830 meet MINISO’s needs
Xindeco IoT created its XD-VersaMini M800 tag specifically for MINISO. Three versions of Xindeco’s custom RAIN RFID tag fit the entire range of MINISO’s retail products — from large items such as t-shirts and stuffed toys to small items such as bottles of makeup and jewelry — simplifying tagging operations and reducing tag cost.
Each VersaMini tag includes an Impinj M830 RAIN RFID tag chip, which enables reliable reading of small tags at high volume and speeds. The XD-VersaMini M800’s small size and enhanced capabilities enabled by the Impinj M830 make it an ideal tagging solution for MINISO’s extensive and varied product line.
How the Xindeco and Impinj solution works
Xindeco’s XD-VersaMini M800 RAIN RFID tags are applied to each item at MINISO’s distribution center in China and shipped to MINISO stores. Once the items land on MINISO’s store shelves, handheld RAIN RFID readers from Impinj partners are used to take inventory counts quickly and in real time so employees always know the exact count and location of every item, even when tagged items are tightly packed on shelves or include hard-to-read materials such as liquid or metal. RAIN RFID readers can read RAIN tags at a distance and without direct line of sight, so employees don’t have to scan each item individually.
Smarter inventory, faster counts, lower costs
Benefits of the Impinj and Xindeco IoT solution include:
Improved inventory management processes
The more products that are on a store’s shelves, the longer it typically takes to inventory those items. Xindeco’s XD-VersaMini RAIN RFID tags offer improved tag sensitivity and tag read range, making inventory-taking with handheld RAIN readers faster and more accurate. MINISO also uses RAIN RFID to understand how products are selling in different stores, allowing product managers to quickly shift inventory in response to the market.
Ability to tag small items
Many of MINISO’s products are tiny items such as rings and necklaces that make the usage of large hang tags impractical. XD-VersaMini M800 RAIN RFID tags incorporate one of the most compact inlays on the market and are small enough (33-38 mm x 12-18 mm) for use on MINISO’s smallest products, minimizing the impact on their appearance. And the VersaMini’s M830 RAIN RFID tag chip ensures that small tags are read more accurately in large tag populations, making it the ideal tag for use in MINISO’s product-dense stores.
Improved reading of hard-to-read items
Some products — such as liquid items like make-up or metal-encased items such as games and puzzles — make it more difficult for RAIN RFID readers to read tags. The XD-VersaMini’s Impinj M830 tag chip includes Impinj AutoTune, which improves tag sensitivity and enhances the readability of these hard-to-read tags.
Streamlined use of labor
The less time it takes to perform inventory counts, the more time employees can spend on other, more rewarding jobs. The Xindeco and Impinj solution helps speed up inventory processes, freeing employees for more meaningful tasks.
MINISO embraces RAIN for efficiency, accuracy
MINISO is one of many retailers adopting RAIN RFID to improve processes in their companies. While many suppliers are adopting RAIN RFID in response to retailers’ directives, MINISO is using RAIN because it has recognized the value it provides in the highly competitive, fast-moving retail industry.
Since MINISO started using Xindeco’s XD-VersaMini M800 RAIN RFID tags in its U.S. stores in March 2024, the company has experienced improved inventory management, operational efficiency, and stocktaking accuracy. MINISO is considering using RAIN RFID for self-checkout in its stores in the near future.
Xindeco IoT and the Impinj Partner Network
Xindeco IoT is an Impinj partner and manufacturer of RFID inlays, tags, labels, and readers and offers comprehensive IoT services. Learn more about the Impinj Partner Network, the Impinj platform, and how RAIN RFID helps retailers stay competitive.
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Wednesday, April 16, 2025
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Xindeco IoT
Xindeco IoT is a leading global manufacturer of RFID inlays and tags, with over 20 years of experience in research, development, and production.
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