This Week’s Product Pick

Intermec (Everett, WA) unwrapped its PW50 rugged workboard printer for direct store delivery (DSD) applications. It is designed specifically for use with the Intermec CN3, CN3e, and CK61 handheld computers. Optimized for the high-volume transaction environments of DSD, according to Intermec, the PW50 printer incorporates DEX communications, Bluetooth connectivity, and optional integrated smart-card and magnetic-stripe readers for POS. Custom holders safely secure the handheld computer in the printer, while allowing for easy removal for scanning or data entry. Additionally, hand straps and shoulder straps are available to simplify the moving of equipment between the truck and the point of delivery. Finally, the PW50’s patented power management system maximizes battery life. Its dual-charging capability keeps both computer and printer batteries charged via a single electrical connection through the vehicle mount or 12-V adapter. “Intermec always seems to be a step ahead of the competition, and this is definitely the case with the Intermec PW50,” said Rich Pacella, President, Velocitor Solutions (Charlotte, NC). “By providing an easy-to-carry integrated computer and printer solution, businesses will quickly realize their return on investment.”

PW50 Printer Completes Intermec's DSD Solution

Worth Your While

“PCI Security Compliance-the New Y2K?”

This Web Seminar Presented by
Microsoft Dynamics RMS on Tuesday, May 13

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RU Ready for RFID? 2008 Conference
RFID Center for Excellence, The Behrend College, Penn State Erie
May 14
Erie, PA
www.ebizitpa.org

NRA Show
National Restaurant Association
May 17-20
Chicago
www.restaurant.org

Greening the Supply Chain
Warehousing Education and Research Council
June 9-10
Sacramento, CA
www.werc.org

RetailNOW
Retail Solutions Providers Association
July 12-17
Las Vegas
www.gorspa.org

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COMPANY BUSINESS

RiteMade Rolls Out Plans for New Facility

RiteMade Paper (Kansas City, KS) will move to its new headquarters and manufacturing facility in September 2008. This 90,000-sq.-ft. facility will have many environmentally sustainable features, according to the company, including the use of reclaimed natural materials from construction, $110,000 trim collection system, T5 lighting with auto on/off, R Value ratings substantially above standard, and 100% paperless interaction with vendors and customers by the end of this year.

“This is a very exciting time for RiteMade and our customers,” declared Steve Schwartz, CEO. “It’s important that we continue to evolve as a leader in this industry. Our new facility will bring the benefits of this evolution directly to our customers’ bottom line.”

RiteMade Paper is a converter of small paper rolls for business machines. The company is 100% employee-owned with manufacturing plants and full-line warehouses in Kansas City, MO, Richmond, CA, and Fredericksburg, VA. RiteMade offers plain, printed, and loss-prevention-enhanced bond, thermal, two-sided thermal, and carbonless roll products.

Buzz from Wasp is Revamped POS

“In response to demand from smaller retailers,” Wasp Barcode Technologies (Plano, TX) has updated its complete family of Wasp QuickStore POS solutions. Wasp QuickStore POS retail software now offers specialty retailers new opportunities for improved operations, customer service, and profitability, according to the company, while the new Wasp POS hardware system is USB-based and has been made compliant with OPOS standards.

Designed for specialty retailers with one store location, the software can grow to support multi-store locations. Enhancements to QuickStore POS software include improved inventory tracking and the ability to process payments through Payment Processing, Inc. (Newark, CA). In addition, the Pro and Enterprise Versions of the software now enable retailers to e-mail invoices, generate quotes, and provide discounts for specific customers.

Along with the POS software update, Wasp has introduced its new USB-based hardware system, which includes cash drawer, receipt printer, integrated keyboard with MSR, pole display, barcode scanner, and POS shoe. “We know there are many other POS software solutions that serve different markets or larger retailers,” said Grant Wickes, VP of Marketing for Wasp. “Because our POS hardware system is now OPOS compliant, VARs that install and maintain other POS software can be assured of getting a complete solution that works together and is backed by one supplier. This is a huge post-sale burden that the VAR doesn’t have to worry about, since Wasp provides the one point of service for the hardware platform.”

Wasp Barcode’s USB-Based POS Platform

Code Corner

Clear Sky Software (Charlotte, NC) has uncorked its new Beverage Inventory Control System (BICS), which has been redesigned and rebranded as Clear Sky Beverage. The new system is available immediately for the hospitality industry. Clear Sky Beverage combines two software programs—one running on the desktop PC and the other on the handheld barcode scanning device—to track and control beverage products and maintain a perpetual inventory system. Features include: electronic requisition capability, automatic re-order functionality, receipt processing against purchase orders with discrepancy identification, and reports by date range, vendor, and product mix. “Clear Sky Beverage is a more sophisticated and feature-rich product that is the answer to many of the requests from our customers,” said Jay Williams, Clear Sky’s Director of Marketing and Sales. “It will offer labor savings and cost reductions on a much more intense level. We are pleased to offer this new solution to the greater hospitality industry and look forward to working with our existing and new customers as they upgrade to Clear Sky Beverage.”

CERTIFICATION

Precidia Fuels C-Store Processing

Precidia Technologies (Ottawa) has certified its POSLynx220 payment router with National Bankcard Services (NSB), a leading provider of transaction-processing solutions for fuel/convenience store chains and national retailers. This allows payment transactions from Gilbarco fuel dispensers to be routed to the NBS host via broadband networks.

The POSLynx220 features two serial and two dial ports, one of which can be used to connect Gilbarco Gasboy or GSite fuel-dispensers to the broadband network, according to Precidia. Benefits of this solution for merchants include the cost savings of eliminating a dedicated dial line, as well as a “dramatic” reduction in transaction authorization times. Further, the POSLynx220 can be leveraged to deliver additional value to unmanned remote fueling sites, by using its multiple ports to link transactions to video surveillance systems, helping merchants to identify misuse of fuel cards.

“NBS is well positioned to demonstrate to merchants how the POSLynx220 can improve their operations by networking existing equipment,” stated Deepak Wanner, President of Precidia Technologies. “The POSLynx220 can be used in a wide range of c-store applications, from networking VeriFone Ruby terminals to monitoring fuel tanks, and our partners are key in bringing these solutions to the merchants that need them.”

[Editor’s Note: At press time, Precidia announced that it has concluded an agreement with Chase Paymentech to supply the iPOS as part of the processor’s managed VPN payment solution for fuel and convenience stores. The iPOS is a derivative of the popular iPocket232 adapter with customized payment software.]

Citizen’s Printers Pass Test for Aldelo

Citizen Systems America’s CT-S300, CT-S310, CT-S2000, and CMP-10 POS printers have been certified compatible with Aldelo Systems payment-processing technologies. Aldelo’s restaurant POS solutions are in service worldwide at over 30,000 locations. “This certification means that our customers can buy with confidence,” said Seth Avergon, Senior Director of Marketing for Citizen Systems America (Torrance, CA).

Certification from Aldelo Systems (Modesto, CA) verifies the hardware works with all Aldelo products. The process includes stress testing to ensure hardware performs well in “transaction-rich” environments, according to the two companies. After certification, Aldelo’s Technical Support department retains the hardware so that it can better assist customers, who in turn use the certified list to shop for their hardware.

“Getting orders to the kitchen, processing payments—almost all aspects of restaurant service are tied to the POS system,” Avergon added. “By selecting one of our POS printers, customers can be assured that they have chosen a product that is certified to work with their Aldelo technology and will deliver the service to keep their business running smoothly.”

Citizen Systems has also extended its special free trial printer program, which includes the CT-S2000, CT-S300, CT-S310, and CMP-10. To get your free printer, click here.

Seth Avergon, Citizen Systems America

Key Advertiser Links

Be sure to visit these vendors for the latest in channel products and offers for resellers.

POS & Auto ID Distribution
BlueStar
Ingram Micro

POS & Peripherals
Bematech
Logic Controls

Data Collection Terminals
CipherLab
Datalogic Mobile
Honeywell Imaging and Mobility
Janam Technologies

ECRs / Touchscreens / Printers
Parts and Supplies
CRS.Inc

Receipt Printers
Bixolon
Citizen Systems America
Star Micronics

Retail Software
Microsoft Dynamics

Screen Protection
3M Optical Products

Thermal Print Technology
Seiko Instruments USA

Touchscreens
FireBox Displays

PARTNER PROGRAMS

“Service Made Simple” by Honeywell

Honeywell Imaging and Mobility (Skaneateles Falls, NY) has introduced its “Service Made Simple” repair service program for its handheld image scanners and Dolphin mobile computers. Service Made Simple will be offered in both three- and five-year programs, based on the product’s standard warranty duration. Honeywell’s resellers will bundle the service package with hardware, and “benefit from giving their end-users an established, known cost of ownership,” according to Jacki Cole, Product Manager, Global Services, at Honeywell Imaging and Mobility.

A key benefit of Service Made Simple is its comprehensive coverage, according to the company. Under the program, devices will be repaired by qualified Honeywell technicians for any problems due to normal wear-and-tear or accidental breakage, including parts and labor. In addition, Honeywell guarantees three-day service turnaround and overnight return shipping to customers. Value-added maintenance is also an integrated component of the program, guaranteeing that all devices sent for service will automatically receive any pending engineering changes, such as firmware upgrades, at no cost.

“Service Made Simple combines the key features that help reduce a customer’s overall cost of ownership, offered in a single package that’s ready to begin on day one of deployment,” stated Rick Franklin, VP of Services, Honeywell Imaging and Mobility. “This gives customers the confidence that they’ve invested in a reliable, high-quality service platform for getting a device fixed and back in the field quickly.”

ARTS Tackles SOA for Retail

The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), a division of the National Retail Federation (Washington, DC), has released its Retail Transaction Interface, the first service-oriented architecture (SOA) service interface schema and technical specification for the retail industry. The newest ARTS standard was developed by an ARTS work team chaired by IBM that included many of the world’s leading retailers and vendors.

By making existing POS transaction functions available as SOA services, according to ARTS, RTI will enable the business logic behind these services to be easily reused for other customer and associate touch-points such as self-checkout, fuel at grocery stores, kiosks, shop on the Web, store within a store, portable shopper, mobile line buster, and other complementary store solutions. “The standard extends ARTS’ XML effort,” explained Richard Mader, Executive Director of ARTS. “Your readers should be clear that we are not entering coding service itself.”

“Shoppers are demanding new and innovative ways to conduct transactions and at the same time expect consistency in their interactions with a retailer,” said Tim Hood, Chief Solution Architect for SAP Trading Industries and Vice Chair of the ARTS XML Technical Committee. “The new RTI standard provides a cost-effective way for retailers to leverage their POS business logic, providing a superior customer service that will differentiate the retailer in the current, highly competitive retail environment.”

Channel Factoid

Almost 60% of enterprises with existing WLAN deployments are providing access to more than half of their workforce. This represents a 20% increase over last year and highlights the growing adoption of Wi-Fi usage across various employee position levels and job responsibilities. Overall, more than 50% of surveyed respondents said they have either fully or partially deployed an enterprise WLAN, with an additional 31% trialing or planning to deploy WLANs by 2010. As reported by Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Business.

Reseller Rewind

If you missed either of the two recent “Retail’s in the Bag” presentations sponsored by Retail Reseller News and Microsoft Dynamics RMS, don’t despair. Microsoft has given you another chance to benefit from these deep-dives into POS.

-For Microsoft Dynamics “Retail’s in the Bag: Retail Industry Trends That Impact Your Future Profitability,” click here.

-For Microsoft Dynamics “Retail’s in the Bag: Grow Your Customer Base and Consulting Revenue,” click here.

ACQUISITIONS

FullTilt Boogie at QAD

QAD Inc. (Santa Barbara, CA), which provides software and services for global manufacturers, has entered into a definitive agreement to buy the assets of FullTilt Solutions (Wayne, PA) for an undisclosed sum. FullTilt’s products include Perfect Product Suite, an enterprise product information management (PIM) solution based on SOA that addresses the growing need for product-centric master data management (MDM) for business-to-business electronic commerce.

PIM and MDM solutions help companies create a “single view” of a product across their enterprise and throughout the supply chain by separately managing all data, processes, and trading relationships, both internal and external, related to that product. QAD will continue to deliver services and support to existing users of FullTilt’s products, and Robert Moyer, Co-Founder and President, will lead the new PIM Product Unit within QAD.

“We are very pleased to welcome Bob Moyer and his team to QAD,” announced Pamela Lopker, Founder and President of QAD. “We believe that FullTilt’s products represent the state of the art in the PIM and MDM market, and the addition of Perfect Product Suite to our portfolio will allow QAD to deliver a complete solution to customers in this important area. We see these capabilities as critical in furthering our vision of the “Perfect Lean Market.’”

First Data Sees Gold in Stored Value

First Data Corp. (Denver) has reached an agreement to purchase InComm (Atlanta), an industry-leading marketer, distributor, and technology innovator of stored-value gift and prepaid products. With over $300 million in 2007 net revenues and almost $8 billion in retail sales transactions processed in 2007, InComm is one of the largest US providers of gift cards, prepaid wireless products, reloadable debit cards, digital content downloads, and bill payment solutions. Specific terms and conditions of the agreement were not disclosed.

“The combination of First Data and InComm propels us into having an holistic prepaid product suite that includes banking products, payroll solutions, closed and open loop gift cards, and now expanded distribution,” said Ed Labry, President of First Data Corp.’s USA Division. “We look forward to leveraging InComm’s expertise and robust retail network to offer end-to-end prepaid solutions to our retail customers around the world.”

Brooks Smith, current President and CEO of InComm, will become the leader of First Data’s Global Prepaid Services Division when the transaction closes. In his remarks, Smith emphasized the importance of the SMB market to future plans.