PADERBORN, Germany — It’s one of the Holy Grails of retail: A shopper fills her cart with groceries, sidles up to a check-out counter, and virtually instantly, without a single item being taken out back out of the cart, the items are itemized and totaled.
RFID technology is currently the best technological bet to make that happen. But exactly when is a matter of no small contention.
Even on the floor of Wincor World, the annual trade fair sponsored by Wincor Nixdorf, there is gaping chasm between the optimism of some, who put the advent at about 10 years, and the belief of at least one Wincor executive, who in essence says not in our lifetime.
Score one for the optimists. Maybe. Wincor Nixdorf in partnership with IT component manufacturer Wanzel has developed a prototype grocery cart called the RFID-Tango.
According to spokesman Rainer Eckert, the cart and its software platform clear at least one of the major barriers.
The problem solved by the RFID-Tango is called bulk-reading. RFID chips broadcast their signal a thousand times a second. One reader attempting to comprehend can get confused trying to separate the various voices. Imagine trying to listen to a dozen voices at once. The bulk-reading solution developed by Wanzel manages to tell voices to “shut up” when it has finished reading them—up to a 100 items in one cart—and reexamines the set of signals constantly to listen for additional items or to detect whether any items have been removed from the cart.
Eckert admits the remaining challenges are not insignificant.
First, as has been discussed ad nauseum in stories about RFID adoption, the price of RFID transmitters must come down. Currently, chips are under four cents each, with a 24-bit chip. The goal is to get them under two cents, which would make the technology less costly than barcode printing, which costs about two cents per package, owing to the exacting standards of bar width and readability. In addition, current transmitters are metal-based, which limits the recyclability of the package. The goal is to make them polymer-based. Then, not only will the transmitters be recyclable, they can be imprinted onto the package as part of the offset printing process.
Second, retailers and RFID component manufacturers must agree on standards such as naming conventions and broadcast guidelines, as well as develop and roll-out a mammoth data transmission and storage infrastructure.
In about a decade, Eckert believes those problems will be solved, similar to the solutions that evolved to implement barcode scanning. But whether it 10 years or 15 or five, he’s confident it will be in this century.
Shortly after announcing the launch of MaxBox Digital Retail Ltd., a rebranding of MaxBox’s original home, Felix Corp., the new company is showing signs of life thanks to two deals that will bring a minimum of 2,000 MaxBox kiosks to Ireland and Australia.
MaxBox closed the Ireland deal last week at the ATEi/ICE trade show in London. Ireland-based Cyberhut Ltd., a provider of automated Internet terminals to the retail sector, signed a three-year contract to distribute a minimum of 1,000 MaxBox digital retail kiosks across northern and southern Ireland. MaxBox also plans to announce a similar deal to release another 1,000 kiosks in Australia, said Andy Egan, chairman and chief executive officer of MaxBox Digital Retail, in a phone interview.
These announcements come just a month after Egan’s resignation from Felix Corp. over business differences with the company’s board chairman. However, Egan said in reality he was pushed out and eventually fired. He attributes his downfall at Felix to the chairman’s impatience with the MaxBox’s rollout.
“He wanted to do something that was more quickly and the MaxBox has always been something that has come out more slowly,” Egan said. “Finally, they weren’t supportive anymore, which I thought was ridiculous.”
Thanks to mortgaging his home, car and a few other personal items, Egan, the founder of Felix Corp., bought back the trading arm of the company from its administrators on Jan. 11.
“I think I personally have more in the kiosk industry now than anyone else in the world,” he said only half-jokingly.
One stumbling block to taking back the MaxBox portion of Felix was that the company’s administrators had already begun to yank the already deployed MaxBox kiosks. However, Egan said some of the location’s owners refused to give up their machines. As for the ones that did get removed, the company is working to get those back in place.
MaxBox has also renewed talks with KIOSK Information Systems to install MaxBox software to new and existing kiosks in the United States.
Egan said his goal in obtaining the MaxBox property again was to finish what he started. Though he said the rollout will probably continue at a slow pace for now, he expects that once a big name retailer comes on board, the number of kiosks in deployment will increase rapidly.
“I think it will still come slow for us,” he said. “But I think 2008 is the year we will get some traction.”
DAYTON, Ohio — NCR Corp. has announced revenue of $1.52 billion for fourth-quarter 2007 from continuing operations which increased 13 percent over the fourth quarter of 2006 and included five percentage points of benefit from foreign currency translation.
Due to the spin-off of the Teradata data warehousing business to shareholders at the end of the third quarter of 2007, NCR's results from continuing operations for all periods exclude the results of Teradata, which is presented as discontinued operations.
NCR fourth-quarter income fell to $86 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, compared to $95 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2006. Earnings from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2007 included $9 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, of costs from items related to NCR's manufacturing realignment, the Fox River environmental matter and a realignment in Japan. Excluding these items, non-GAAP earnings from continuing operations were $0.52 per diluted share, which compares to $0.52 per diluted share in the prior-year period.
“NCR delivered a strong performance in its first quarter following the Teradata spin off,” said Bill Nuti, chairman and chief executive officer of NCR. “More balanced execution in the quarter helped us maintain progress in each of our strategic focus areas: driving profitable revenue growth, increasing our productivity and using our strong balance sheet for the benefit of long-term shareholder return. Looking ahead, NCR enjoys an outstanding opportunity to claim leadership in an expanding addressable market for self-service solutions. To that end, we expect our product development investments in 2007 will make 2008 the biggest new product launch year since the company's spin off from AT&T.”
NCR's financial self-service segment generated fourth-quarter revenue of $537 million, an increase of 14 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006, driven by strong growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region as well as in the Americas. The fourth-quarter year-over-year revenue comparison included 5 percentage points of benefit from currency translation.
Operating income of $79 million was impacted by an adverse geographic and deal mix of revenue in the quarter and compared to $84 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Expenses increased from the previous year due to higher revenues, foreign currency impact, and an increase in investment in research and development and sales in targeted high-growth areas.
The retail segment reported revenue of $331 million, up 28 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006. The year-over-year revenue comparison included four percentage points of benefit from currency translation. Revenue growth was driven by traditional point-of-sale rollouts in the quarter with continued momentum in self-service solutions.
Operating income of $22 million was flat when compared with the prior-year period. The operating income increase relating to higher revenues was offset by $5 million for the write off of radio frequency identification assets in the quarter. The higher percentage of assisted point-of-sale business in the quarter impacted the profit margin; and expenses increased due to higher revenue, foreign currency impact, and increased investment in sales and research and development related to our self-service initiatives.
Associated Press: The city that popularized the fast food drive-thru, Los Angeles, has a new innovation: 24-hour medical marijuana vending machines. Patients suffering from chronic pain, loss of appetite and other ailments that marijuana is said to alleviate can get their pot with a dose of convenience at the Herbal Nutrition Center, where a large kiosk will dole out the drug around the clock.
The Economic Times: Mobile driven remittances may quickly become the norm in India. Soon, customers will be able to transfer funds from their mobile phone to friends or relatives, bypassing other remittance routes like net-banking and money orders. In fact, the recipient need not even have a bank account or ATM card.
Centredaily.com: Consumers across the U.S. are ready to accept a broad set of mobile commerce applications, according to new research from Dove Consulting, a division of Hitachi Consulting. The research, sponsored by PSCU Financial Services, was conducted using focus groups in multiple cities and gauged consumer interest in and predicted future use of three major mobile applications: mobile banking, mobile payment at the point-of-sale and mobile person-to-person payments.
Ciol.com: A report by Juniper Research finds that the rush by banks and mobile operators to deliver financial services to the mobile phone will result in just over 612 million mobile phone users generating over $587 billion worth of financial transactions by 2011.
The hotel industry is constantly changing. New hotel brands are emerging to target specific age groups and lifestyles. Boutique hotels focus on high-end brand messaging, luxurious amenities, chic decor and hip cocktail lounges. Extended-stay hotels focus on low cost, business traveler essentials, comfort and security.
Within this changing landscape, hotels are looking to differentiate their brand. Understanding and satisfying guests' needs is at the heart of a great marketing vision. One of the differentiators is self-service. With the proliferation of self-service in the airline/airport industry, guests are looking for a self-service option when they stay at a hotel.
"Many people have already been exposed to it in many forms," said Robert Chan, practice leader for IBM Canada's e-access solutions. "The natural evolution is to extend it to hotel services and give the guest choice and control."
Doing it right
Many people find themselves often waiting in lines at grocery stores, retails stores, banks and hotels. They get frustrated and impatient. So, if they have a self-service option, they ask themselves if it is better service or no service.
"In my mind, and to many people, it is better service if I have the option to go (to a kiosk)," said Clyde Dishman, NCR's director of hospitality industry marketing. "Is it better service? I certainly think so in many scenarios."
However, to be successful at giving people a superior alternative, it needs to do everything that a front-desk person could do and, in most cases, it needs to do more. At the beginning of a self-service deployment, NCR looks at what the needs and requirements are for successfully deploying kiosks in hotels, Dishman said.
Customer attitudes
With an install base of more than 800 hotel check-in/out kiosks in approximately 500 hotel properties, IBM has learned invaluable lessons for successful rollouts.
"Both guests and staff expect the kiosk to do the right thing. Each group has a different set of expectations," said Robert Chan, practice leader for IBM Canada's e-access solutions.
The guest expects the kiosk to perform as well as or better than a staff member person. It should offer the guest control, choice and convenience.
"The bar has been set by the airline check-in success," he said. "Hotel kiosks must take advantage of the many years of airline check-in refinement."
Another important thing for check-in kiosks is that they need to run smoothly, right away. Most people take this step for granted.
"Hotels have a small window of time in which to impress the guest or they will not try the kiosk again," Chan said.
Much like a new staff member that has undergone training, hotel staffs expect the kiosk to perform efficiently.
"One would assume the kiosk has been trained properly," Chan said. "This means the check-in and check-out success rate needs to be high, with the widest possible acceptance coverage."
There will be some exceptions, such as cash payment or requirement of photo ID. In those cases, the staff needs to understand all the limitations so that the kiosks are looked at in the most positive light versus being deemed a failure.
"The kiosk is their teammate," Chan said. "It is there to help during the busiest times. For simple transactions, the staff should encourage the guest to use the kiosk. For more timely interactions like a customer service issue, staff will deal with guests face to face."
Most of the hotel check-in kiosks today are less capable than their staff counterparts. To delight the guest and offer more control, hotels are adding new features that are not present at the front desk. Much like how the airlines introduced the seat map, hotels are looking at this control feature to meet guest expectations. Most everyone, at one point in time, has thought of this as they approach the front desk.
Hotel kiosks are not utilized throughout the day. There are peak periods in the morning when check-outs are frequent. Check-ins then become frequent later in the afternoon. So, for a large percentage of the day, the kiosk is unused. To help recoup the investment cost as well as market their presence, hotels are adding new attractions to the kiosk.
One very successful feature has been airline Web check-in. Leveraging the airline and travel expertise of IBM, the IBM hotel application uses the same Common Use Self Service platform that powers thousands of airline check-in devices in 28 airports worldwide.
"Using the IBM Hotel solution along with IBM NetCDS, hotels have successfully incorporated a much-needed function for hotel lobbies," Chan said. "No longer does a guest have to request their boarding pass to be printed, find a printer in the business center or arrive early at the airport to check-in."
This story is excerpted from the free how-to guide "Self-Service Check-in at Hotels and Motels."
MELBOURNE, Australia — Symstream Technology Group Ltd. has named Mike Hudson vice president and managing director of Symstream Americas.
Hudson most recently served as general manager of NCR EasyPoint LLC, formerly Tidel Engineering Inc. Hudson also served as the chief executive of Money Quik, a 1,000-unit independent ATM network in California, and was division manager for 7-Eleven Inc. convenience stores in New York and Washington, D.C.
Hudson serves on the board and executive committees of the ATM Industry Association and the Electronic Funds Transfer Association.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minn.) Star Tribune: This week brings the debut of an interactive way for everyone to get the latest information on the rebuilding of the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River. Touchscreen kiosks in Minneapolis will serve up bridge facts, photos and other interactive features, including animations of what the finished bridge will look like from a helicopter, a boat and a car. The I-35W bridge collapsed on Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13 people.
MINNEAPOLIS — Wireless Ronin Technologies, a Minneapolis-based digital-signage provider, has announced that Alteris Group, a Michigan-based marketing communications company, will launch a Ford Motor Company interactive digital program using RoninCast software.
The digital signage system will promote and demonstrate the latest Ford SYNC in-vehicle technology designed by Microsoft in collaboration with Ford engineers. The initial deployment is 50 units for use in public events.
Ford will utilize the interactive RoninCast digital signage system at auto shows and other special events to demonstrate and promote Ford SYNC features and benefits. The system integrates 50-inch and 32-inch touchscreens with fabricated Ford SYNC branded enclosures. The program simulates the key SYNC features with on-screen virtual guides that interact with the audio "voice" of SYNC to demonstrate hands-free calling, play audio tracks from an MP3 player and USB drives.
"The Ford SYNC product is a unique technology that will greatly enhance the customer explanation experience for Ford's customers," said Alteris Group Co-owner, John Thompson.
DAYTON, Ohio — NCR Corp. says it has released a new kind of ATM — one that addresses today’s most critical banking issues.
The NCR SelfServ line is a new family of ATMs with first-of-its-kind self-healing technology, NCR says. NCR SelfServ ATMs offer greater availability and enhanced manageability tools to provide consistent service. Changes to the servicing and operational functionalities available in this new ATM family are expected to help NCR customers streamline their business processes and create new efficiencies.
NCR SelfServ also helps drive deposit and revenue growth by delivering a range of transaction services, such as bulk-check deposit, bill-payment or local-governmental fine-processing, while at the same time making the device consumer-friendly.
Offered in both cash-dispensing and full-function lines, NCR SelfServ is available as a cash dispenser or a full-function ATM. And because the new line requires less human intervention, staffs gain time for serving and satisfying the end customer.
“NCR SelfServ is a key tenet in our strategy to connect the consumer experience across the ATM, the Internet and mobility,” said Bob Tramontano, vice president of marketing for NCR. “Today’s technology innovations can better meet changing consumer expectations and habits. By deploying an ATM with unparalleled efficiency and operational gains, NCR customers can sharpen their focus on the business of banking and customer service interaction, and focus less on whether their ATM channel is up and running.”
Progressive Grocer: Stew Leonard's has rolled out a deli self-order kiosk from Lombard, Ill.-based ADUSA Inc., provider of self-ordering solutions for grocery supermarkets, restaurants and foodservice operations, in its Yonkers, N.Y. store. The kiosks will allow customers to self-order the full range of items available at the service deli, among them meats, cheeses, party trays, and, eventually, sandwiches — reducing, or completely eliminating, the time that a customer has to spend waiting in line.
LEWIS CENTER, Ohio — Microcom Corp., maker of specialty-use thermal printers, has announced a new printer designed specifically for kiosk applications. The 428M thermal kiosk printer offers a small footprint and affordable price without compromising performance.
The 300 dpi heavy-duty-use kiosk printer can output on all types of media, including tickets, wristbands and customer loyalty cards up to 11 mils thick and at 8 inches per second. The adjustable paper guides make loading easy, and the field replaceable wear parts and reliable rotary cutter make it inexpensive to maintain. Other features include a steel construction, USB connectivity, and movable sensors that detect gaps, holes, notches and black lines.
"Since we designed the 428M to print on virtually any thermal stock, it takes the engineering challenges and costs out of integrating the printer in all types of kiosks," said Jim Larson, president and chief executive of Microcom Corp. "And best of all, our printers far exceed the industry's average for mean time between failures, promising the users years of reliability."
KOAT-TV, Channel 7 (Albuquerque, N.M.): The Nob Hill neighborhood of Albuquerque is one of the city's most trendy spots, and now police are taking steps to keep the area safer. "Safe City" is a new partnership between the city, police, Nob Hill businesses and neighborhood associations. As part of "SafeCity," residents can tell police over the Internet what crimes they feel need attention, and police can alert residents to crime trends. It also includes a series of high-tech kiosks that will be installed along Central Avenue.
CBS 2 HDTV: Ever find yourself unable to get the attention of a waiter? That may be a problem of the past thanks to new tableside touchscreens. The technology is being used at uWink, the latest offering from the founder of Chuck E. Cheese. The company said the new system is providing faster service, fewer mistakes and fewer interruptions.
Business Week: Consumers are using their plastic instead of their spare change to snap up luxury items such as digital cameras, cologne and even software from automated kiosks in airports, malls, supermarkets and other high-traffic areas. ATMs, flight check-in kiosks and subway-ticket machines have made consumers much more comfortable with using their credits cards at self-service devices.
The (Boulder, Colo.) Daily Camera: If you have a bad credit card, Boulder's new parking system has your number. The city installed a new kiosk system downtown that checks credit cards against a local blacklist, officials say. The list includes credit cards that banks have rejected for various reasons.
It wasn't the speed of sound that made noise at last week's National Retail Federation's trade show, but the fact that rapidity is driving retail technology.
"Speed is impacting greatly what is going on in retail stores," said Dan Butler, NRF's vice president of retail operations. "In the future, retailers are going to be paying for speed."
A swift look around the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York saw attendees interacting and doting on the latest up and coming products, Butler said.
"There is a satisfaction that is coming to these latest products," he said. "They are getting refined and are going to the next level. Plus, we are also seeing a pattern of newness to products as consumers are making demands for that."
The NRF show floor was bigger and more diverse than ever before, as 18,500 attendees and 600 exhibitors attended the event. Hundreds of companies showed off their latest digital signage, kiosk and retail technology products and services.
AirDefense, a wireless LAN security company for retailers, showcased its retail security services which are used by more than 700 customers, many in the federal government. On Monday, the company put its services to use by monitoring those companies using wireless services at their booths. AirDefense discovered less than 10 percent of the 458 access points in use were using 'bullet proof' encryption such as WPA2. In fact, nearly 60 percent of access points were using wired equivalent privacy, the weakest protocol for wireless-data encryption, which can be compromised in minutes.
18,500 attendees and 600 exhibitors attended the National Retail Federation's annual Show & Expo.
"It is evident that the majority of companies exhibiting are not taking wireless security seriously or there would be a much higher percentage of 'bullet proof' encryption practices in place protecting APs," said Richard Rushing, chief security officer of AirDefense.
Fujitsu, in addition to showcasing its new self-checkout features, touted its partnership with Modiv Media and its Modiv DeliVision self-service ordering kiosk. The kiosk, which is currently deployed at Stop & Shop, Giant Eagle and Ukrop’s grocery stores, allows shoppers to enter their deli orders via the touchscreen on the Fujitsu U-Serv kiosk.
By automating the deli queue and integrating both self-service kiosk orders and in-person counter service into one queue, Modiv DeliVision also optimizes staffing levels and reduces "tickets not served" because all deli customers know their exact place in line as well as the estimated time until they will be served.
Modiv Media also teamed with Motorola at the NRF show. The two companies announced that Stop & Shop grocery store customers are the first to use the Modiv Shopper, a portable shopping assistant powered by Motorola's MC17 mobile computer. The handheld device, known as "easySHOP" by Stop & Shop, gives consumers the option for "scan-and-bag" service and provides targeted savings to Stop & Shop customers. Customers also receive tailored promotions based on their individual shopping history, redemption history, in-store location tracking and just-scanned items in aisles. The Modiv Shopper has been deployed in about 100 Stop & Shop stores.
IBM's Digital Movie Kiosk, touted as the ATM for movies, is the culmination of a partnership with Ireland-based Portomedia. The kiosk allows consumers to rent or purchase DVD-quality movies, which are downloaded in under a minute to a small USB device called the Movie Key. The kiosk itself can be loaded with anywhere from 500 to 1,000 movies and can be refreshed with new content from a remote location.
IBM's Digital Movie Kiosk allows consumers to rent or purchase DVD-quality movies.
"It's essentially a Blockbuster in a box," said Cathal Deavy, Portomedia’s director of marketing.
Mediaport presented its MediaATM system, a self-service kiosk that allows consumers to download digital content such as movies and music on-demand. The company recently inked its first video-download deal with a major studio, NBC Universal.
Last week, Mediaport installed several of its kiosks at the Consumer Electronics show and let convention-goers download free NBC Universal-owned episodes, spanning such shows as 30 Rock and Project Runway. At NRF, Mediaport let attendees create a custom mixed-CD from the kiosk's music catalog, which included Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
NCR also launched a digital media offering with its Xpress Entertainment kiosk. But it was the company's unique FastLane Self-Return that made a hefty impression. The kiosk allows shoppers to return goods for a refund on their own by first scanning the items and entering relevant product information. Next, the item is inspected by a store associate who can approve the return. A reimbursement is then issued in the manner the item was originally purchased - debit, credit, cash or gift card.
The Microsoft booth was home to a giant-format "œno-touchscreen" from Solaris Labs - just point at the screen to interact with it. That same screen was also displayed at the NEC booth. Microsoft also had its Surface tabletop computer on display. Demonstrations included assisted selling (place a product on the table, and marketing content swirls around it) and loyalty (drop a loyalty card anywhere on the table, and a customized menu of choices appears next to it).
Netkey touted its Webpavement digital signage software solution, showing off an application used by Kohl's department stores. Netkey now has more than 10,000 active digital signs using its software, said James Dougherty, Netkey's vice president of channel development.
Pay By Touch and St. Clair Interactive touted its loyalty and gift card kiosks. The kiosks generate personalized cards automatically with built-in activation, payment and settlement capabilities. The kiosks are deployed in five retail locations and have had great success, said Chris Peter, St. Clair's project manager. At just two of its mall locations, the kiosks made $16,000 from 400 gift card purchases in just six weeks.
At the Stored Value Solutions booth, 5point showcased an Electronic Gift Card kiosk based on the 5point Alliance series kiosk platform, with an application developed by Self-Service Networks. The kiosk has been deployed at several mall locations by HQ Gift Card, a division of Stored Value Solutions.
The gift card dispensing solution is easily deployed, said Ed Crowley, vice president of 5point, and is remotely monitored and managed. The Alliance series kiosk can be configured to dispense and encode cards on demand and can also support an optional card printer and encoder to print custom graphics.
"The kiosk has more capacity than typical gift card solutions," Crowley said. "This solution has reduced human intervention for consumables and this all results in maximum uptime for consumers and more successful transactions per kiosk."
VeriFone announced the MX800 Series Price Checker, a multifunctional customer interaction kiosk that can deliver multimedia promotions, double as a gift card registry or loyalty program enrollment kiosk or enable a variety of other customer-facing applications. The MX800 Series Price Checker will be available in the second quarter of 2008.
Wincor Nixdorf, a supplier of total IT solutions for the retail and banking industries, introduced its TP.net software solution to the United States. The software helps retailers meet operational challenges with a single product suite that provides seamless connectivity for multi-store management, customer loyalty, intelligent rules-based pricing and promotions, and advanced checkout concepts.
Wincor is currently discussing trials of its TP.net solution with multiple leading U.S. retailers, said Frank Rant, a Wincor regional sales director.
TP.net has a user base approaching 50,000 in 26 countries. The U.S. introduction offers American retailers an alternative to legacy or Java-based systems already on the market.
"We wanted to bring this software over to the U.S. as a proven product," Rant said.
BurlingtonCounty (Pa.) Times: The Lenape Regional High School District in Pennsylvania has turned to a comprehensive computer system to monitor visitors who pass through its four schools each day. LobbyGuard, an electronic visitor-management system and kiosk, was installed before the start of the school year at several high schools. The LobbyGuard kiosk eliminates the days of paper sign-in sheets, and seems to be a major security upgrade for the schools.
BURNABY, British Columbia — TIO Networks Corp., an automated bill payment and non-bank financial network, and Work Software Systems, provider of Retail Management Systems to the Wireless dealers, have announced an agreement where TIO’s bill-payment processing services will be made available directly from the WorkWireless RMS solution, which is used by thousands of wireless dealer locations.
According to a news release, Work Software Systems will use TIO’s Application Programming Interface to process billpay transactions directly from the WorkWireless RMS Solution.
WorkWireless agents will not require any additional hardware or software.
“We are excited to work with TIO to deliver their services directly to our clients through the WorkWireless RMS” said Bill May, president of Work Software Systems. “We are focused on providing our clients with the ability to process all of their point-of-sale transactions through WorkWireless and integrating with a market leader like TIO is a big part of that strategy.”
RFID Journal: Portuguese book retailer Byblos has deployed an item-level RFID system in its new Lisbon store, Byblos Amoreiras, to track 250,000 books, games and videos. Byblos opened the 50,000-square-foot store with the best technology available to enhance customer experience. The store's system includes 40 RFID-enabled kiosks where customers can learn about books and print out their sales-floor location.
KNOXVILLE, Maryland — Kiosk Group Inc and Shenzhen KaiMingYang Technology Co. Ltd. have announced a partnership, under the name KMYAmerica, to promote KMY’s line of kiosks in the Western Hemisphere.
KMY, manufacturer and integrator of kiosks throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East, develops banking, phone, parking system, ticketing and photo kiosks. Yang Lingxiang, head of KMY’s engineering department, also designed and developed Kodak photo kiosks.
NEW YORK — VeriFone Holdings Inc. has announced the MX800 Series Price Checker, a multifunctional customer interaction kiosk that can deliver multimedia promotions, double as a gift card registry or loyalty program enrollment kiosk or enable a variety of other customer-facing applications. The MX800 Series Price Checker will be available in the second quarter of 2008.
The Verifone device combines with MX800 payment systems to deliver a PCI PED-approved price checker, one that is capable of accepting secure payments from consumers.
Integrated with VeriFone's MX870 or other MX800 Series payment system, the MX800 Series Price Checker will increase customer interaction by offering self-service customer applications and multimedia promotions anywhere throughout a store. The system can provide consumers with services including price checking, product locator, product information, gift card lookup or reload, gift card purchases and bill payments.
BEAVERTON, Ore. — Planar Systems Inc. has announced shipments of the new Planar iS40 integrated digital signage and DS15 integrated kiosk.
“More businesses large and small across different industries, including financial services, gaming, retail and transportation, are recognizing how effective digital signage is at capturing customers’ attention and engaging audiences,” said Brad Gleeson, Planar’s vice president of business development.
As a fully integrated digital-signage system, the Planar iS40 combines a 40-inch LCD, CoolSign iS software, Windows XP processing, optional Wi-Fi features, and all the networking components needed for integrators to set up digital signs throughout multiple locations. The “plug-and-play” appliance only requires AC power and an Ethernet connection for set-up.
Featuring CoolSign, Planar’s digital signage software solution, the iS40 allows users to create, display and centrally manage digital signage content being displayed in multiple locations.
The new DS15 offers a kiosk solution that combines hardware and software, and can be placed anywhere there is an electrical outlet. It combines a heat-tempered, scratch-resistant IR touchscreen and high-bright 550 nits display with an operating system and software suite that enables businesses to incorporate their creative assets such as JPG, HTML, Flash, Shockwave and QuickTime content.
NEW YORK — AirDefense, a wireless LAN security company, unveiled results from its wireless airwave monitoring on Monday, Jan. 14, at the annual National Retail Federation Convention & Expo.
"It is evident that the majority of companies exhibiting are not taking wireless security seriously or there would be a much higher percentage of 'bullet proof' encryption practices in place protecting APs," said Richard Rushing, chief security officer of AirDefense.
AirDefense discovered less than 10 percent of the 458 access points in use at NRF were using 'bullet proof' encryption such as WPA2. In fact, nearly 60 percent of APs were using wired equivalent privacy, the weakest protocol for wireless-data encryption, which can be compromised in minutes. In spite of that, it remains in wide use.
While monitoring the wireless LAN traffic throughout the day Monday, AirDefense also found that nearly 80 percent of the 1,693 wireless devices such as laptops, PDAs, phones and vendor PCs were susceptible to "Evil Twin" types of attacks.
"Evil Twins" are the wireless version of email phishing scams, a technique whereby an attacker tricks victims into connecting to a laptop or PDA by posing as a legitimate hotspot.
TORRANCE, Calif. — Seiko Instruments USA Inc. has signed a distribution agreement with Current Components Inc.
The deal gives CCI’s customers access to the Seiko Instruments line of kiosk printers, mobile printers, and direct thermal printer mechanisms.
CCI is a North American distributor of printers and printer components.
“Seiko Instruments product quality is second to none,” said Chris Miller, chief technology officer of Current Components. “With our technical support capabilities and commitment to stocking product, our customers can be assured of best-of-breed products, in a properly tailored solution, with fast delivery.”
MEBANE, N.C. — ArcaTech Systems, a supplier of transaction automation solutions, has introduced a solution for the control and remote capture of cash in retail environments.
Both currency and coin recycling devices are used in the Arca8000D, an integrated cash-control system that allows retailers to control the cash-handling process and obtain provisional credit for cash that remains secured within store locations. Designed specifically for retail cash management, this system dispenses and reconciles cashier tills, sorts and counts deposits and enables remote cash capture, the electronic deposit of cash values.
The Arca8000D is a cash recycler and high-volume, bulk storage system for banknotes. A bulk coin recycling and bulk storage device also can be added for till management and coin handling.
Remote cash capture systems allow funds to be electronically deposited to retailer-specified accounts. Cash can be transported to the financial institution at a later time.
"Retailers know that more employees handling cash means more mistakes and discrepancies," said Jim Halpin, ArcaTech's Retail Solutions Director. "Our automated cash control system will eliminate human error and reduce shortages and deposit variances."
ROSEMONT, Ill. — One of the largest exhibit halls in the nation, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, has gone digital with visitor information. In the main lobby, visitors and convention attendees are greeted by two AD-VantagePoint kiosk systems. These systems run TouchQuest applications designed to enhance and assist the traveling public with valuable information and services.
The kiosk provides information about restaurants, events, weather, flights, news, hotels, and other local area attractions. Local tourism also is promoted through digital public education.
TouchQuest systems provide touchscreen interactivity together with a secondary digital-signage monitor, allowing advertisers to promote products and services in front of a captive audience. The interactive kiosk portion of the product is the VantagePoint Sterling stainless steel, free-standing, fully integrated 19-inch LCD and touch creen system from SeePoint Technology.
The interactive digital-signage piece uses a commercial grade, flat panel 40”-inchLCD by NEC.
The digital-signage system can be configured to run independently of, or in conjunction with, the interactive kiosk system.
Nashville Business Journal: Edgenet Inc., a Brentwood, Tenn.-based company that provides software for retailers in the home-goods industry, has released Edgenet Vision, a software platform that can display 3-D renditions of real products in virtual-room settings. Consumers can utilize the software online, or on an in-store kiosk.
NEW YORK — Tyco Electronics' Elo TouchSystems demonstrated one of the first network powered multifunction and multimedia touch stations incorporating power-over-Ethernet technology from Digi International at the NRF 97th Annual Convention & Expo.
Incorporating a unique low power design featuring Digi's POE technology and Elo's design for LED backlighting and power distribution board, the new POS multifunction touch station from Elo TouchSystems is intended to eliminate local cabling with power provided from an Ethernet network connection.
This "no-power required" station will add flexibility to the deployment of many retail applications such as price checkers and digital advertising without using separate power connections or adding infrastructure. Eliminating the need for local power can result in lower costs wherever deployments are made. With this unique design concept, retailers can place a variety of POS devices wherever they want in their stores, without having to add separate electrical power.
"Digi's POE zero-client technology coupled with the Elo TouchSystems multifunction touch station initiates an exciting alliance of technology strengths," said Steve Popovich, vice president of business development, Digi International. "The deployment of display technology and integrated peripheral devices without local power is unique in the retail industry."
NEW YORK — Source Technologies, a provider of integrated solutions for managing financial transactions and other secure business processes, has announced the availability of TreoSystems' interactive iPAL product locator system for large-format retail stores on their new interactive kiosk. The new kiosk was on display at the National Retail Federation Annual Show & Expo.
"Today's consumers are very open to using self-service applications when they realize how it benefits them," said Robert Johnson, TreoSystems' co-founder and chief executive officer. "We designed iPAL with this in mind, offering an extremely powerful yet simple-to-use tool for not only customers, but employees as well. Source Technologies offers a wide range of interactive, self-service kiosks that are a perfect platform for our system. We are pleased to partner with them to help retailers provide the highest level of service and convenience for their customers."
Source Technologies' interactive kiosks feature an open, Windows Embedded operating system that supports a virtually unlimited number of applications, maximizing the value and usability for retailers. TreoSystems' iPAL product locator system is an integrated set of software tools developed specifically to help both customers and store staff find items faster and easier in large retail operations, such as discount superstores, home centers, department stores, supermarkets and other specialty stores.
"Customers are increasingly familiar with self-service kiosks to speed their retail shopping experience. By integrating our kiosk hardware with TreoSystems' product locator application, retailers can offer customers the option of locating products quickly using an interactive kiosk display," said William Bouverie, CEO of Source Technologies. "Using the iPAL product locator, a customer entering a large store can quickly locate a specific product on the sales floor. The customer finds what they are looking for faster which makes their visit to the store more enjoyable, eliminates frustration and increases their likelihood to return again."
NEW YORK — Elo TouchSystems has announced its new 17-inch integrated, multifunction touchscreen with a a fully functioning all-in-one touchcomputer. The new 17A2 retains both the compact footprint of the 1729L and its comprehensive range of options, but also adds a host of new features to help customers gain an even firmer foothold in the point-of-service marketplace.
The new device was displayed at the National Retail Federation’s annual Show & Expo Monday and Tuesday.
Many applications take advantage of the new device including loyalty systems, kiosk information systems, home control, casino management, POS systems and Internet access points such as those for Web surfing and hotel reservations.
NEW YORK — Micro Industries, a company specializing in interactive retail computers, has announced the Touch&Go Messenger 65, a 65-inch addition to its line of 32- and 46-inch high-definition computers. The new device was displayed at the National Retail Federation’s annual Show & Expo Monday and Tuesday.
"The Messenger 65 provides a large-format, all-in-one computer system to retailers for direct-to-consumer, in-store, interactive marketing applications," said Michael Curran, Micro Industries' chief executive officer. "It's big enough for use in open retail environments ranging from huge airport complexes to large stores and malls."
Manufactured in the company's Westerville, Ohio, plant with Advanced Retail Technology, the new Messenger 65 is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The computer is retail-ready for interactive consumer applications, digital signage, store maps, advertising, messaging, product information and demonstrations.
Grocery Retail Online: For shoppers in thousands of stores worldwide, the ability to scan, bag and pay for items has become synonymous with NCR's FastLane — today's version of the self-checkout solution that NCR Corp. introduced 10 years ago. Though the concept of self-checkout had been toyed with since the late 1980s, it was 1998 when Ball's Food Stores, based in Kansas City, Kan., first installed NCR's self-checkout solution.
NEW YORK — Modiv Media, a retail interactive media delivery solutions company, and Motorola's enterprise mobility business has announced Stop & Shop customers are the first to use the Modiv Shopper, a portable shopping assistant powered by Motorola's MC17 mobile computer. The handheld device, known as "easySHOP" by Stop & Shop, gives consumers the option for "scan-and-bag" service and provides targeted savings to Stop & Shop customers.
A version of the mobile device was displayed at the National Retail Federation’s annual Show & Expo Monday and Tuesday.
The deployment of the Modiv Shopper in about 100 Stop & Shop stores allows shoppers to save time and money through self-service. Shoppers benefit from speedy checkout, instant price checks and running totals. Customers also receive tailored promotions based on their individual shopping history, redemption history, in-store location tracking and just-scanned items in aisles.
NEW YORK — Source Technologies Inc., a Charlotte, N.C.-based provider of integrated solutions for managing intelligent self-service kiosks, and Direct Source Inc., a Chanhassen, Minn.-based provider of retail kiosk integration, deployment and services, have announced a partnership to provide tier-1 retailers with new interactive self-service kiosks.
According to a news release, the new kiosks and modular customer applications are being showcased at the National Retail Federation Convention & Expo in New York this week.
"The retail industry is rapidly developing a need for self-service technology beyond price-checking and self-checkout," said William Bouverie, chief executive of Source Technologies. "Our interactive kiosk is the first to provide multiple, unique self-service functions in a single, all-inclusive device."
The kiosks offer retailers a flexible device that performs multiple consumer services, including price checking, product location, gift-card and -registry transactions, store mapping, coupon dispensing and frequent shopper tracking. Additionally, the kiosks support digital signage and assisted selling, and they can be deployed in any new or existing retail environment.
"Retailers recognize the potential benefit of multifunctional kiosks and are ready to move toward more consumer-friendly self-service devices," said Brad Fick, president of Direct Source.
Business Wire: CheckFreePay, now part of Fiserv Inc., has signed a deal with Ready Credit Corp. to implement the CheckFreePay bill-payment service at all ReadySTATION kiosks in the United States. The bill-payment service is expected to be available at the kiosks, which use the NCR EasyPoint Xpress kiosk platform, in early spring.
NEW YORK — The popularity of Apple’s iTunes and Redbox’s DVD-rental kiosk was evident Monday at the National Retail Federation’s annual Show & Expo, though not in the form of those devices.
The popular online digital music store and DVD kiosk were not on display at the NRF show, but their influence was felt on several of the retail digital media offerings on the show floor. Digital media kiosks were introduced by self-service giants IBM and NCR as smaller companies like Mediaport introduced their own products.
The rise in digital media kiosk popularity is due largely to consumer demand and the fact that only a small portion of music is bought on the Internet, said Dave Champlin, vice president of marketing for Mediaport.
“We offer them a place to get quality content onto their cool devices (such as a cell phone or MP3 player),” Champlin said.
Mediaport's MediaATM system is a self-service kiosk that allows consumers to download digital content such as movies and music on-demand. The company recently inked its first video-download deal with a major studio, NBC Universal.
Last week, Mediaport installed several of its kiosks at the Consumer Electronics show and let convention-goers download free NBC Universal-owned episodes, spanning such shows as 30 Rock and Project Runway. At NRF, Mediaport let attendees create a custom mixed-CD from the kiosk’s music catalog, which included Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
The launch of NCR’s Xpress Entertainment follows the company’s acquisition of Touch Automation, a privately held firm that provides the digital media merchandising kiosk.
The machine enables rentals, sales of shrink-wrapped media or a combination. In addition to transactions at the kiosk, future versions of the device will allow consumers to interact and download content via the Internet or their mobile devices.
“Self-service is best when all three self-service channels (automated kiosk, Internet and mobile device) are utilized,” said Mike Webster, vice president of NCR's self-service solutions. “This is only the first phase for this kiosk.”
Webster said the kiosk can be deployed in virtually any venue, including retail stores, convenience stores, supermarkets, quick-serve restaurants, shopping malls and airports.
IBM’s Digital Movie Kiosk, touted as the ATM for movies, is the culmination of a partnership with Ireland-based Portomedia. The kiosk allows consumers to rent or purchase DVD-quality movies, which are downloaded in under a minute to a small USB device called the Movie Key. The kiosk itself can be loaded with anywhere from 500 to 1,000 movies and can be refreshed with new content from a remote location.
“It’s essentially a Blockbuster in a box,” said Cathal Deavy, Portomedia’s director of marketing.
One of the reasons movie studios have allowed companies like Portomedia to sell its content is the kiosk’s use of DRM, or digital-rights management. For example, if a consumer rents a movie, that person may only have 48 hours to watch that movie before the movie’s license expires. That person would then have a chance to either rent the movie again or purchase it before they could watch it yet again.
Portomedia and IBM bypassed the Redbox-like DVD-rental kiosk for digital content because they see it as being more flexible, Deavy said. With a digital download kiosk, the content is always in stock and there are no returns.
Watch this Web site in the coming days for more news and insight from NRF 2008.
AUSTIN, Texas — Wincor Nixdorf International has announced the U.S. introduction of its TP.net software solution — an advanced, end-to-end platform that provides retailers with unprecedented control and visibility into every part of the store system. By utilizing the Microsoft .NET Framework, Wincor Nixdorf’s TP.net enables U.S. retailers to respond quickly to business requirements with unprecedented ease.
At the store level, TP.net solution helps retailers meet operational challenges with a single product suite that provides seamless connectivity for multistore management, customer loyalty, intelligent rules-based pricing and promotions, and advanced checkout concepts. TP.net centralizes the management of the entire customer shopping process with a hardware-independent approach to retail software.
Wincor Nixdorf’s TP.net solution has a user base approaching 50,000 in 26 countries. The U.S. introduction offers American retailers an alternative to legacy or Java-based systems already in the market, allowing them to reduce development time for customized components with minimal impact on the core framework.
Tad Shepperd, vice president of retail for Wincor Nixdorf USA, says the introduction of TP.net is ideally suited for the American retail market, which is transitioning away from proprietary systems to more open end-to-end IT solutions.
“Current retail IT strategies are capitalizing on the inherent benefits of open systems and managed services, following years of heavy investment in proprietary solutions that have turned out to be costly, as well as impractical to upgrade and manage throughout their lifecycles,” Shepperd said. “We are finding that retailers are turning to us as a single source for best-of-breed retail solutions; however, they appreciate our open approach that allows our software solution to run on any hardware platform.”
DAYTON, Ohio — A recent NCR Corp. survey showed that 64 percent of consumers consider the ease of returns as somewhat or very important. Now NCR’s new self-service solution, NCR FastLane Self-Return, enables retailers to provide more convenience to their customers during the often time-consuming and frustrating merchandise-return process.
Deployed by a major European retailer, NCR FastLane Self-Return will be demonstrated Janl. 13-16 at the 2008 National Retail Federation Convention & Expo in NCR’s booth.
“The ease of returning products is a significant factor in a consumer’s purchasing decision. Our research finds that over half of consumers would prefer to shop at stores that offer a self-service solution to help speed returns,” said Mike Webster, vice president of NCR's self-service solutions. “The first solution of its kind, NCR FastLane Self-Return provides retailers with a new vehicle for enhancing the consumer experience and building customer loyalty, while also improving staffing and operational efficiencies.”
In a typical retail environment, the solution allows shoppers to return goods for a refund on their own by first scanning the item(s) and entering relevant product information. Next, the item is inspected by a store associate who can approve the return. A reimbursement is then issued in the manner the item was originally purchased — debit, credit, cash or gift card.
DAYTON, Ohio — NCR Corp. says it expects 2007 earnings from continuing operations to exceed previous guidance. On Thursday, the company said earnings per share for the fourth quarter are expected to fall between 87 cents and 92 cents per share for 2007. Full-year EPS for 2007 is expected to be between $1.35 and $1.40, rather than the $1.20 to $1.25 per share previously expected.
NCR says it also expects to report full-year revenue growth of approximately 8 percent, and strong-than-anticipated profitability in the customer services, financial self-service and retail-store automation divisions.
PC Magazine: During his keynote speech at CES 2008 on Sunday, Bill Gates touched on Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Computing platform. Since then, the company has announced more details on its touch-enabled table-top digital screen. By adding Windows Live support, Microsoft plans to use Surface not just as a novel way of interacting with digital content, but as a way for consumers to create a persistent digital identity.
LONDON — Retec Digital announced that it has developed a touch-enabled digital sign used for wine retailing. Retec says the touchscreen is designed to impact the customer’s enjoyment and knowledge of wine, increase sales, reduce dependency on staff and make a positive impact on the retailer’s bottom line. The company, which already has partnered with Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, IBM UK Ltd., Boots and Argos, is currently in talks with a number of large retailers for deployments in 2008.
A screen shot of Retec Digital's Wine Selector.
The units have been designed to help shoppers make the best purchasing decision based on what they look for in a wine, be it taste, price or occasion. Recommendations of which foods accompany and compliment each wine also are incorporated into the solution.
“Wine is very personal,” said Matthew Stubbs, a master of wine who helped design the solution. “Each batch is unique in quality, price and most importantly of all flavor, and it can be extremely difficult for retailers to train staff adequately and consumers to ensure their purchase suits their personal palate or, indeed, occasion.”
NORTH CANTON, Ohio — Rent-A-Center, a rent-to-own company with more than 3,300 stores, has partnered with Diebold Inc. to install seven Diebold Express Cash Recyclers as part of an agreement to purchase 500 units from Diebold over the next two and a half years.
According to a news release, the recyclers automatically count, authenticate and safeguard cash deposited by clients. That same cash is later dispensed for customer cash withdrawals.
The ECRs serve high- and low-volume transactions, expedite customer service and eliminate manual cash counting. They also significantly reduce cash exposure and heighten cash transaction speed and accuracy, says Brent Turner, vice president of financial services for Rent-A-Center.
The ECRs fit under a countertop with no refitting required. Up to 10 storage cassettes enhance productivity, while a built-in 3.5-inch color-video graphics array touchscreen displays intuitive and easy-to-use functionality, including graphics icons for easy recognition and on-screen progress display.
Diebold teamed with Arcatech Systems, supplier of transaction-automation components, to design and manufacture ECRs to penetrate the teller market with an automated recycling solution specifically designed for North America.
DAYTON, Ohio — Gift cards have become one of the easiest and most appreciated forms of gift-giving, although standing in a long line of shoppers to purchase one may take some of the joy out of giving. But thanks to a self-service offer from NCR Corp., gift card purchases may soon be more convenient for consumers.
NCR Xpress Gift Card, which allows retailers to extend their gift card programs to self-service kiosks, will be demonstrated Jan. 13-16 in the NCR booth at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & Expo.
“Gift cards are increasingly becoming one the most popular gifts throughout the year, providing flexibility to both the gift giver and receiver. However, shoppers find they still have to wait in the same long lines to purchase and load the cards,” said Mike Webster, NCR vice-president for Self-Service Solutions. “By offering a self-service approach to purchasing gift cards, retailers can provide their customers with quick and convenient service while also freeing sales associates to assist with more complex or revenue-generating activities.”
In an NCR survey conducted by Opinion Research Corp., two-thirds of consumers said they expected to purchase at least one gift card during the holiday season. Those who purchase at least one gift card will buy, on average, more than seven gift cards per year.
NCR Xpress Gift Card can work with any NCR EasyPoint kiosk and can be integrated with any point-of-sale system. NCR’s Professional Services and Human Factors Engineering groups work with each retailer to customize a gift card program tailored to fit its specific business needs.
Dozens of small parts make up a car engine. But most people who end up buying that car never see the vehicle's makeup or know where it came from. The buyer typically takes the car and begins using it immediately.
Several self-service manufacturers are providing retailers and other kiosk users a similar deal, no assembly required. The all-in-one kiosk is an automated device that has a software program installed and then is placed in a public environment where it works as a customer-facing self-service device without any other pieces needed.
IBM and NCR have been leading complete kiosk providers for years, but several smaller companies have been able to stay in the game. Planar Systems, SeePoint Technology and Flytech Technology are a handful of "mom-and-pop" companies that are able to compete against conglomerates by offering personalized service and other special features that larger companies sometimes overlook.
"The kiosk industry requires a hands-on approach with your clients," said Jeff Goldstein, account manager for SeePoint Technology. "(Our) dedication to and experience in the kiosk industry gives us an advantage in tailoring a solution to meet our clients' needs."
The VantagePoint is SeePoint's signature self-service kiosk. Some of its features include a high-power/low-heat-generating motherboard, patented side pivots for different viewing angles and fully assembled kiosk shipping.
Goldstein said SeePoint's customer service includes pre-loading and testing the kiosk's software applications prior to shipping to ensure it works upon arrival. In addition, remote management services allow SeePoint to service the kiosks remotely and to upload and download additional content.
"This service provides a 'no touch' approach to our clients when it comes to manufacturing, deploying and maintaining the kiosk hardware," Goldstein said.
Pricing and production flexibility are traits that help smaller companies compete, said Hermes Huang, Flytech Technology's kiosk sales manager.
Flytech's K895 kiosk includes a 19-inch LCD display surrounded by a steel enclosure, large access back door with locks and keys, internal peripherals with modular design for easy and quick maintenance and framework to fit in most public indoor access areas.
Planar Systems is a focused display and digital signage company that offers a full solution that solves customer problems, said Miho Hasuo, Planar's digital signage marketing manager.
One of Planar's unique features is its content creation software that allows users to create interactive kiosk surveys.
"We add value by being nimble and listening to our channel partners," Hasuo said. "Planar offers the flexibility of a startup, with the financial backing of a successful NASDAQ company."
Not all small companies try to make it on their own in the industry. Some businesses manufacture kiosks on their own and partner with larger companies such as IBM and NCR.
"We feel IBM and NCR have a great product and knowledge of the self-service industry," said Chris Gilder, chief executive officer of Meridian Kiosks. "We feel fortunate to be able to work alongside them when opportunities arise."
The Monarch is Meridian Kiosks' signature design. It combines stylish appeal, flexibility and durability, Gilder said.
He said so many applications are out there for kiosks and new ones are being created all the time. Any application that helps users make more effective use of their time and improve the customer experience from ticket purchasing to bill payment is a good thing. And partnering with large companies is sometimes the best way to accomplish that.
"We typically don't find ourselves competing with IBM and NCR but working with them to build a kiosk around their all-in-one units that meets their clients needs exactly," Gilder said.
Symon is a digital communications solutions company for businesses that operate contact centers, supply chain facilities, employee communication systems and retail, hospitality, gaming and automotive digital signage networks. Symon`s solutions feature reporting, messaging and alerting systems using an advanced infrastructure that enables the consolidation and display of real-time information. symon also provides state-of-the-art content creation, management and display software, and hardware with award-winning graphic capabilities.
Headquartered in Plano, Texas; Symon maintains direct sales, professional support offices and distributors around the globe.
WLNS 6 (Lansing, Mich.): A commercial driver's license is now available, literally at your fingertips. Touchscreen testing kiosks will be installed at 100 Secretary of State branches throughout the state. These automated systems give branch employees more time to help other customers. The kiosks also give immediate test results.
BOSTON — Modiv Media has announced a technology, sales and marketing partnership with Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc. As part of the agreement, the two companies will jointly market and sell Modiv’s DeliVision, a deli kiosk that features self-service ordering and coordinated media. An interactive demo of Modiv’s DeliVision will be at the Fujitsu booth at the National Retail Federation’s 97th Annual Convention & Expo on Jan. 14-15, 2008, in New York City.
Modiv’s DeliVision provides coordinated queue management, self-service kiosk ordering, operations analysis and targeted promotions delivery. The coordinated offers and advertisements are located on the touchscreen self-service kiosk, the deli department's overhead electronic display monitor as well as on the printed-coupon tickets from the kiosk and the queue ticket dispenser. Modiv DeliVision relies on Modiv MediaHub, a campaign management and analytics engine, to coordinate the timing and delivery of the offers and advertisements across these touchpoints.
As part of the solution, shoppers enter their deli orders via the touchscreen on the Fujitsu U-Serv kiosk. Retailers can opt for multiple wireless U-Serv kiosks around the deli or throughout the store to increase visibility and usage. Shoppers can select a specific category, such as turkey or cheese; item, including store or other well-known brands; weight and cut, such as thick, medium or thin. The associate-facing Fujitsu TeamPoS 3000 terminals automatically guide deli associates to fill both counter and kiosk requests in the proper order.
Modiv DeliVision is being used by several grocers, including select stores at Stop & Shop and Giant Landover, and has now processed more than 8 million orders since it was first deployed in 2006.
SouthCoastToday.com: A new way of grocery shopping has been introduced at the Super Stop & Shop in Fairhaven, Mass. It's called easySHOP. Customers carry a handheld scanner with them as they cruise the aisles, scanning the goods they buy and then bagging them right away if they wish, either in their own bags, or paper or plastic they pick up at the kiosk. At checkout — either at one of the self-service registers or a traditional, cashier-staffed one — they download the tally from the gun, pay and go.
DAYTON, Ohio — Consumers who hate to wait may soon be able to check out faster thanks to NCR’s RealScan 78OFX scanner. The scanner, included in NCR’s FastLane self-checkout solutions, will be on display at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & Expo, Jan. 13-16, in New York.
“NCR led the industry with the introduction of its NCR RealScan 78OFX bi-optic scanner, setting a new standard for scanning performance in assisted-service lanes,” said Mike Webster, NCR vice president for Self-Service Solutions. “Advanced scanning technology is critical to providing a user-friendly self-checkout experience. This enhancement to NCR FastLane will help make self-checkout quicker and even more convenient for consumers.”
The NCR RealScan 78OFX provides technology to equip retailers with enhanced investment protection and operational efficiencies. The scanner offers NCR’s Optical Effects Technology, which sets a new standard for scan pattern density — a key factor in scanning performance — by generating more scan lines at greater lengths.
Assisted-service customers are citing improved speed and convenience at traditional checkouts with the NCR RealScan 78OFX. Foodstuffs Wellington Co-Operative Society Ltd., a New Zealand grocery company, deployed the NCR RealScan 78OFX in October 2007.
“By replacing our legacy scanners with the NCR RealScan 78OFX, we have experienced a significant improvement in first-time read rate and speed,” said Alistair Garvie, retail systems manager for Foodstuffs Wellington. “We have been thrilled with its performance.”
The NCR RealScan 78OFX provides features designed to make self-checkout scanning more accessible for consumers. For example, the LED “scan adviser” on the top of the scanner provides visual feedback to the user. The scan adviser, which also serves as a diagnostics tool, is particularly helpful for hearing-impaired users.
NCR RealScan 78OFX is available as an option on new NCR FastLane self-checkouts or as a field upgrade for existing units.
DAYTON, Ohio — NCR Corp. and Experticity, provider of live, video-assisted customer support solutions, are collaborating to offer Experticity’s customer-service platform with NCR EasyPoint self-service kiosks.
Experticity is the only retail-specific solution that engages shoppers at the point of service with high-quality, live video customer support. Remote expert service agents — supplied by the retailer, consumer goods manufacturer or a third party — can be accessed by the consumer according to language and skill, giving retailers a new vehicle for ensuring customers receive face-to-face service when and where they need it. This self-service support technology also allows retailers to improve staffing efficiencies by optimizing store associates between peak and slow hours.
The companies expect to demonstrate Experticity’s latest software platform with the NCR EasyPoint 42 kiosk Jan. 13-16 in NCR’s booth at the 2008 National Retail Federation Convention & Expo in New York.
LOS ANGELES — Olea Inc., a designer and manufacturer of self-service kiosks, has announced plans to debut its “green” kiosk, which is made from organic-waste material, Jan. 13-16 at the 97th Annual National Retail Federation Convention & Expo in New York.
The kiosk's main structure is made from an engineered panel from Sorghum plant. Sorghum plant is grown around the world for food production. The plant stalks are dried and heat pressed using a non-toxic adhesive to form the board product. The stalks of the plant are not used in food production and would otherwise be thrown away.
While Olea has no current plans to put the kiosk into production, it is hoping to spark an interest in the self-service industry to start thinking green.
“We feel that this new kiosk is a very innovative step in the right direction showing retailers and other companies that it is possible to go high-tech green,” said Frank Olea, vice president of Olea Inc.
The kiosk can be seen at IBM’s booth in the Green Pavilion at NRF.
LONDON — Customers at selected Tommy Hilfiger Denim stores can now join the Hilfiger Hall of Fame by adding their pictures to an interactive storefront campaign that launched today.
The Tommy Hilfiger Denim store on Carnaby St. in London.
Hilfiger stores in London, Amsterdam, Cologne, Antwerp and Dublin now feature through-window touchscreens, providing an interface for passing shoppers to capture, stylize and submit their image as part of collage of images being shown on digital screens in the shop windows.
The digital storefronts enable customers to interact with the Hilfiger brand even outside of business hours. At the end of the campaign, customers will be able to return to the store and have their own T-shirt specially printed using the image they created as the design. The campaign also serves as mechanic for driving subscriptions to Hilfiger’s email newsletter, with users being asked to opt-in when uploading their images.
The campaign was created by Hilfiger’s marketing agency Ministry of Experience. Coupled with special UCS optical rear-projection screens from dnp, which deliver bright, sunlight-resistant images through the glass, and a camera behind the window, the systems allow passers-by to interact directly. Users can pose, then take their own photo, then manipulate and add effects ready to be printed onto T-shirts.
Pixel Inspiration, a digital-signage agency, developed the interactive software that powers the touchscreen displays and their attached cameras. The software is also responsible for managing the marks that users create, integrating the solution with the Hilfiger Web site and the in-store printer.
The (Grand Junction, Colo.) Daily Sentinel: The grocery shopping lists of parents of some Colorado students may now include grade reports or teacher e-mail messages, in addition to the standard fare of bread, milk and eggs. Six stores in the Grand Valley area contain kiosks where parents can gain a little insight into how their children are performing in school and stay connected with teachers.
The New York Times: After the 2000 election, counties around the United States rushed to buy new computerized voting machines. But it turns out that these machines may cause problems worse than hanging chads. The questions about voting touchscreens continue as the 2008 presidential election looms.
DAYTON, Ohio — Retailers who have deployed NCR Corp.'s FastLane self-checkout kiosks can extend FastLane's capabilities to shoppers in other parts of the store, thanks to a new solution from NCR called NCR FastLane Order and Pay.
According to a news release, FastLane Order and Pay is designed to address a variety of self-service opportunities within a store — such as a deli or bakery section or an in-store food-service operation. In addition to food stores, it also can be deployed in general merchandise, convenience or other retail formats.
"With this solution, retailers can leverage their NCR FastLane investment by migrating additional transactions to self-service," said Mike Webster, NCR vice president for self-service solutions. "Because their customers will already be familiar with NCR self-checkout, they can use NCR FastLane Order and Pay with ease and confidence."
Introduced initially in Europe, NCR FastLane Order and Pay has been deployed in Italy by leading retailer Auchan, which operates supermarkets and hypermarkets across Europe. It also has been installed by one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America.
NCR FastLane Order and Pay features the familiar NCR FastLane interface without the scan and bag functionality. The touchscreen presents shoppers with a pre-set menu appropriate to its location in the store.
After entering choices, a consumer can use NCR FastLane Order and Pay to pay with cash, debit card or credit card and receive a receipt that he hands to a store associate before picking up his purchase.
NCR FastLane Order and Pay makes its North American trade show debut Jan. 13-16 at the National Retail Federation's Annual Convention & Expo in New York.
TRUMBULL, Conn. — KioskCom Self-Service Expo is now accepting submissions for its Self Service Excellence Awards.
According to a news release, KioskCom launched its global Self Service Excellence Awards to recognize the most successful and innovative interactive self-service solutions deployed. KioskCom has honored more than 150 companies across multiple industries for their leadership, innovation and success with self-service and kiosk business solutions.
This year, all entries are being accepted online. Simply click here and fill out the entry form and post supporting images on a URL.
Entries are $195 each. The deadline is Feb. 15.
Enter in one or more of the following categories:
Best Retail Deployment
Best Financial Services Deployment
Best Government/Education/Non-Profit Agency Deployment
Best Travel/Hospitality Deployment
Best Entertainment/Gaming Deployment
Best Healthcare Deployment
Best Human Resources Deployment
Best Food Service Deployment
Best Other Deployment (for categories not specified above)
Best Overall Software Solution
Best Hardware/Enclosure Design
Best New Innovation in a Deployment
Winners in each category will be recognized April 16 at the Self Service Excellence Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas during KioskCom Self Service Expo and The Digital Signage Show.
DAYTON, Ohio — NCR Corp., in partnership with ViVOtech, has introduced a suite of contactless payment terminals for the point of sale. These solutions enable mobile and contactless payment at a variety of customer touch points, including retail checkout, restaurant drive-thru and the diner’s table.
Demonstrations of the new technology will take place Jan. 13-16 during the National Retail Foundation's Annual Convention & Expo in New York.
“NCR’s unparalleled experience in payment transactions, combined with ViVOtech’s expertise in contactless technology, provides retailers with the latest contactless payment options and a platform for future near field communication applications,” said Greg Egan, NCR vice president for Retail Assisted Service Solutions. “This line of NCR RealPOS contactless readers is designed to help merchants achieve a successful contactless and mobile payments program, and provide a new level of service to their customers.”
(United Arab Emirites) Khaleej Times: Dubai Traffic Police have launched a new service in which citizens can pay traffic fines at kiosks in various shopping malls or online at the police Web site.
The Globe and Mail: The trend toward self-service kiosks at airports will accelerate this year. That's good news for tech-savvy travellers who prefer punching a few buttons over waiting in line up to talk to an agent. But for some, the future could be an intimidating place.
The Associated Press: A First National Bank branch in Papillion, Neb., has added several self-service options for its customers. The bank features some new high-tech innovations — including a "digital koi pond." The digital projection system displays banking options on the floor. Users can step on an icon projected onto the bank's floor that points the user to the appropriate kiosk in the bank. The kiosks cover such things as loans, new accounts and small business advice. The bank also uses eye-scanning technology for safe deposit box access.
The Associated Press: Stores spend $34.5 billion a year on all kinds of technology, from the cables and routers behind the scenes to in-store devices like price checkers, self-service checkout stations and electronic kiosks for customers, says the National Retail Federation. And with older equipment needing to be replaced, spending for high-tech upgrades is expected to increase.
Branch automation, end-to-end cash management, security and channel integration are expected highlights at this year's Wincor World technology fair in Paderborn, Germany.
The annual event, hosted by Wincor Nixdorf International, this year is said to be one of the company's largest, now that Wincor Nixdorf is making big pushes for strategic growth in international markets such as the Americas and Asia.
"This year will be different," said Uwe Krause, Wincor Nixdorf's banking-division marketing head. "Our solutions on the banking side are more modern and are more business-process oriented than they have been in the past. Not only are we showcasing security and hardware solutions, we are showing our consulting capabilities and tools, and this is how we are renewing the branch."
Solutions and products, which include contributions from Wincor Nixdorf's more than 60 global solutions partners, will highlight chain processes within the branch, from the teller to the self-service channel, Krause says.
The 2008 event, set for Jan. 29-31, also is expected to have greater U.S. representation, as Wincor Nixdorf's push in 2007 to reach more U.S. bankers has been met with success, company executives say. In December, Wincor Nixdorf reported a 17 percent gain in net sales for the Americas.
The company's bulk-note deposit, which began taking off in the States last year, and its mixed-deposit technology, which Wincor Nixdorf officially introduced this fall during BAI's Retail Delivery Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, have been well received by U.S. trade media and analysts. U.S. self-service banking innovator Wells Fargo & Co. has touted high consumer adoption of Wincor Nixdorf's bulk-note deposit technology, which Wells is using at its ATMs along the West Coast.
The backing from financial institutions like Wells, coupled with Wincor Nixdorf's renewed marketing and sales efforts in the States, is having an impact.
"The most important thing from the banking side is to show our knowledge in banking in the business-process and solutions area," Krause said. "That means we have built a special solutions center for marketing and sales processes, for monitoring and cash management, and the next best for channel integration. We are showing solutions for the branch, the self-service terminal and mobile banking."
Beyond the United States, other markets, including Latin America, Sweden, India and parts of Eastern Europe, are expected to pull a substantial number of attendees. Krause says those markets, which Wincor Nixdorf has been targeting with special biometrics solutions designed for the self-service channel, are experiencing substantial growth, and Wincor Nixdorf is focusing on those markets in 2008.
"The general message is that we don't just have products," Krause said. "We also have services and solutions for the overall environment. We have made the migration from a product company to a services and solutions company, something we have been working toward for the last year."
Wincor Nixdorf's ProClassic Enterprise is the banking base upon which all end-to-end, payment, cash-handling, mobile-payment and branch solutions are based, Krause says.
"Everything today and in the future will be part of this banking solution," he said. "It's the center, and the highlight of the show."
The ProClassic Enterprise suite is a service-oriented architecture that is now fully integrated.
"We are showing how we can analyze processes, how we can design branches and re-engineer branches," Krause said. "And if I can manage a bank branch, I can manage a store. We can improve the entire cash process, and that's done by using analytical tools and improving process by using RFID technology."
A retail angle
Joachim Pinhammer, who oversees marketing for Wincor Nixdorf's retail division, says end-to-end cash management also will be a focus on the retail side, where Wincor Nixdorf is integrating retail with banking.
"Like on the banking side, with our monitoring tools, we know exactly where the money is," Pinhammer said. "We can manage the entire cash cycle in a way that works more efficiently. We know exactly the amount of money we need in each machine so we can reduce the amount of money in flow, and this ties in with the synergies between retailers and banks. I think retailers and banks are trying to learn from each other about how they can reach customers and improve the customer experience."
Partners expected
at '08
Wincor World
ACI Worldwide
AHB ELECTRONIC
alphyra
Atos Worldline
Bizerba
Bütema
CA
Cash Bases
Cisco
Concept Bankware
Datalogic Mobile
Datalogic Scanning
Dauphin
EHI Retail Institute
EL-ME
Ergonomic Solutions
Fujitsu Siemens
HESS Cash Systems
inform solutions
Ingenico
Intel
Kranz InnenArchitekten
LANDesk
MAKU
Metrologic Instruments
Mettler-Toledo
Microsoft
Milestone Systems
Motorola
Novell
Online Software
Penkiu kontinetai
ProfitBase
Retalix
SAP
Saperion
Scantech-ID
SealBase
Selecta
signotec
SOLQUEST
Sun Microsystems
TeleCash
Telekurs Card Solutions
Thales e-Transactions
transact
Transaction Printer Group
VeriFone
Visa
Building on those synergies has fueled international growth for Wincor Nixdorf in the retail sector as well.
"TP.net is an international product, and now we are launching it in the U.S.," Pinhammer said. "We now have customers in 24 countries using it. It is a highly modern architecture that is easily customized, so it fits different retail segments and really integrates all of the processes, starting with the shopping experience of the consumer and ending with different types of automated check-out solutions."
TP.net, which Wincor Nixdorf plans to officially introduce to the U.S. market during the National Retail Federation's show on Jan. 13-16 in New York, is a store solution that helps retailers organize, drive and control IT flexibly.
"We see a good market for this in the U.S. because it really is a modern platform that can be easily customized," he said.
Retail segments for which Wincor Nixdorf expects to highlight solutions include the petrol, food, general-merchandise, hospitality and postal-services segments.
All of these segments can run with one international software that is applicable on all five continents.
The payment process is the differentiator for Wincor Nixdorf, Pinhammer says.
"For payment, we have all the modern technologies that include cash payment with cash recycling and cashless payment with a normal debit or credit card or contactless payment with NFC technology," he said. "Even with biometrics, we have a number of payment functions. All of these are seen in Europe currently."
Pinhammer says Wincor Nixdorf's expertise in the check-out area is the retail focus.
"We have the best of self-service check-out solutions. Mobile self-scanning, for instance, with self-service payment at a payment terminal that works with cash and cashless payments is something we know a lot about."
Wincor Nixdorf is working with partners such as Microsoft Corp. to perfect its retail solutions for international deployments, Pinhammer says.
Other corporate partners working closely with Wincor Nixdorf on the retail side include Intel and SAP.
"The Digital Screenmedia Association and its membership is critically important to the growth of the industry. We are paving the way for accelerated industry growth and excellence of digital screenmedia deployments worldwide".
Stuart Armstrong
Managing Director, Direct Sales ComQi
Symon is a digital communications solutions company for businesses that operate contact centers, supply chain facilities, employee communication systems and retail, hospitality, gaming and automotive digital signage networks. Symon`s solutions feature reporting, messaging and alerting systems using an advanced infrastructure that enables the consolidation and display of real-time information. symon also provides state-of-the-art content creation, management and display software, and hardware with award-winning graphic capabilities.
Advantech - Manfacturer of commercial-grade computer hardware for use in digital signage (players), kiosks, and at-retail touch-panel displays.
