This Week’s Product Pick
Datamax (Orlando) debuted its M-4308 Mark II compact industrial printer. The M-4308 offers 300 dots per inch (dpi) for applications that require more refined print quality. The printer also provides all the features and benefits available in the recently released M-4210 Mark II, which include faster print speed and smaller size than competing printers, according to the manufacturer. A modular design platform for M-Class printers makes it easy to service and replace key components, as well as to upgrade options in the field. Datamax offers its two-year or two-million-linear- inch mechanical warranty on the M-Class Mark II Series, which features solid-die-cast metal construction and large graphics displays. Datamax’s IntelliSEAQ technology helps optimize print quality, increase uptime, and extend the life of the printhead. In addition, the DMXNet Manager offers the ability to status, configure, and support the M-Class Mark II printers remotely across the network. “The high-resolution print capability of the new M-4308 Mark II printers provide yet another compelling option for users,” noted Cindy Guiles, Product Manager at Datamax. “The printer’s 300-dpi capability is ideal for the medical and healthcare communities where labels that incorporate logos or bitmap images are often required.”
Datamax's M-4308
MARKET WATCH RRN Executive Interview Series Mark Olson, APG, Talks “Value” APG Cash Drawer (Minneapolis) celebrated its 30th Anniversary in May, so we thought we’d catch up with Mark Olson, President, to offer our congratulations and get his views on the state of the POS peripheral industry and overall health of the Channel. APG is one of the leading providers in its segment, and Mark is also very active in the Retail Solutions Providers Association. -How are you celebrating APG’s 30th Anniversary? -Please describe your background and history with APG. -What is the most significant change you have seen in the POS Channel over this time period? -How has the role of technology vendors such as APG changed over this time? -How has offshore competition impacted POS technology vendors such as APG? -Clearly, the POS Channel continues to undergo dramatic change, due to vendor consolidation, the participation of broadline technology vendors, and Internet-based sales. How do you see this evolution impacting your business? -In your opinion, what ‘value’ can Value-Added Resellers provide in this age of plug-and-play POS technology? -What one piece of advice would you give to POS VARs?
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Worth Your While
“Business
Opportunities for
Retail Technology”
This Web Seminar Presented by
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HITEC
Hospitality Financial and
Technology Professionals
June 16-19
Austin, TX
Retail Market Seminar
Ingram Micro Data Capture/POS Division
July 9
Atlanta
RetailNOW
Retail Solutions Providers Association
July 12-17
Las Vegas
VARTECH 2008
BlueStar
September 15-17
Orlando
ENVIRONMENTS/PLATFORMS Cisco: A New Era for Business Mobility Cisco (San Jose, CA) has unleashed Cisco Motion, its new service-oriented network architecture seeking to integrate mobile devices, applications, security, and disparate networks into one unified platform. The cornerstone of Cisco Motion is the Cisco 3300 Series Mobility Services Engine (MSE). This application-based platform offers an open application programming interface (API) for consolidating and supporting an array of mobility services across wireless and wired networks, according to the company. Cisco is releasing four initial software offerings for the MSE. Cisco Context-Aware Software captures contextual information from a full range of sensors, mobile devices, and RFID tags over the Cisco Unified Wireless Network. The Cisco Adaptive Wireless Intrusion Prevention System integrates wireless threat detection, mitigation, vulnerability scanning, and performance monitoring into the wireless network. Cisco Secure Client Manager centralizes the security and management of provisioning various mobile devices via the Cisco Secure Services Client 802.1X solution over wired, Wi-Fi, cellular, and other wireless networks. Finally, Cisco Mobile Intelligent Roaming facilitates seamless handoff of dual-mode mobile devices between Wi-Fi and cellular networks based on availability, real-time network information, and user location. Not surprisingly, numerous application and solution partners have integrated or plan to integrate with the MSE. This partner ecosystem includes Nokia and Oracle, technology partners such as AeroScout, Agito Networks, and Airetrak, as well as industry-specific application partners such as OATSystems (manufacturing), IntelliDOT (healthcare), and Johnson Controls (building efficiency). “Our customers track work-in-progress and finished products using RFID over large-scale networks,” explained Venkat Krishnamurthy, CTO at OATSystems (Waltham, MA). “Cisco’s Context-Aware Mobility Solution with its open API running on the Mobility Services Engine will help us integrate more tightly with our customers’ networks and needs, and evolve our approaches for providing enterprise-wide RFID solutions.”
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ALL IN THE FAMILY
Avalanche 4.6 Hits the Channel
Wavelink Corporation (Midvale, UT) has released Wavelink Avalanche Mobility Center 4.6, which increases support for mobile hardware and firmware from multiple vendors and adds support for SQL Server databases and Linux operating systems. Avalanche MC enables users to view, analyze, and manage wireless devices and infrastructure across the enterprise from a central console. The new release embraces products from Cisco, Motorola EMB, and Proxim, and also features improved visibility throughout the product as well as customizable reports, according to the developer.
“With the acquisitions taking place in the mobile device management market, end-users are being hurt by proprietary solutions that limit their choice in hardware,” observed Lamar Van Wagenen, Wavelink President and COO. “Wavelink recognizes that many companies have a variety of devices on their network, and we continually look to improve our products to provide greater functionality and infrastructure support to our customers. We offer the only product that supports mobile devices and infrastructure from a large variety of vendors and networks, as well as printers, RFID readers, and other wireless devices.”
Wavelink has also established Wavelink Certified Professional Services, which will offer end-users standard and custom packages for installation, configuration, and training on company products such as Avalanche Mobility Center and Speakeasy. Wavelink’s “certified consultants” will include “experts in AIDC, networking, and applications, who undergo specialized training.” Wavelink’s partners and sales force, it was noted, will continue to sell hardware and software.
POS Hat Trick for Sharp
Sharp Electronics (Mahwah, NJ) has announced three new POS products that address all facets of the solution: hardware, software, and services. These include the company’s new UP-800 POS system for retail and hospitality, Version 8.4 of its SDW Software, and its Sharp Intelligent Data Enterprise (S.I.D.E.) service for Web-based management of POS data.
The S.I.D.E. service, managed by Sharp, brings sales data from the company’s premier embedded POS systems (Models UP-700, UP-800 and UP-3500) onto the Web-based portal. All sales information is retrieved from the registers daily and uploaded to the three-dimensional data warehouse, where it can be reviewed, exported, and manipulated to suit business owner’s needs. The application also provides the Business Dashboard with Key Performance Indicators. Sharp’s UP-C100 store controller handles all communication between the registers and the data warehouse. According to Greg Tucker, Product Planning Manager, POS Sales, for Sharp Imaging and Information Co., “The S.I.D.E. service is an excellent opportunity for our dealers to provide their customers with a solution that is ideal for a wide range of applications, especially multi-store companies.” [Editor’s Note: Did I hear someone say ‘Application Service Provider?’]
Sharp’s new UP-800 expands on the functionality of its UP-700 POS system. It includes the familiar Sharp keyboard, an improved touchscreen, and so-called “space-saving” cash drawer to maximize counter space. Features include enhanced inventory and managerial controls, payment processing for credit cards, gift cards, and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EFT), and interfaces for security camera systems, customer displays, contactless payment devices, and bar control systems.
Finally, Sharp released Version 8.4 of its “front-of-house/back-of-house” SDW software for its ECR and POS systems. SDW is based on the industry-standard Sybase Data Architecture and runs as your standard Windows-based application. Restaurants can use SDW for polling, reporting, and programming, as well as to import and export reports to popular spreadsheet applications.
Sharp’s New UP-800 POS Terminal
Code
Corner
Kronos (Chelmsford, MA) has cooked up Kronos for Dining to help restaurants deliver superior guest service and drive same-store sales by effectively managing their workforce. In addition to recruiting and retaining the best possible staff, Kronos for Dining helps restaurants forecast and schedule to meet customer demand, track time and attendance, and ensure compliance with labor-related laws, according to the company. In the area of recruitment, Kronos for Dining provides behavioral and environmental fit assessments for prospective employees and automates candidate sourcing, screening, interviewing, hiring, and “onboarding.” The solution helps alleviate declining operational margins through reduced hiring expenses, more effective staff scheduling, and elimination of payroll errors and buddy punching. It mitigates non-compliance risks for laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and Family and Medical Leave Act by automating attendance procedures and enforcing policies uniformly across an organization. “The dining industry faces many challenges, most important of which is providing fast and friendly guest service while keeping labor costs and compliance in check,” said Kara Baker, Director of Hospitality Marketing at Kronos. “Kronos for Dining is the ideal software and services bundled offering for both full- and limited-service restaurants who want to hire the best people and maximize their performance.”
COMPANY BUSINESS
Plug Pulled on Chase Paymentech
JPMorgan Chase and First Data will end their joint venture, Chase Paymentech Solutions, by the end of this year, each having concluded that the payments and merchant-acquiring businesses were core to their strategies and each owner’s share of the venture should be operated independently by their respective companies. And what a business it is: in 2007, Chase Paymentech processed approximately 19.7 billion payment transactions, with more than $719 billion in bank card and debit volume.
After the separation, JPMorgan Chase will provide global payment solutions for allocated merchants by retaining 51% of the joint venture’s assets, including most of its employees and its Canadian and European operations. The bank will rebrand its payments and merchant-acquiring business as Chase Paymentech and will retain the Dallas headquarters.
First Data will continue to provide transaction processing and data commerce solutions for allocated merchants through its current technology platforms. First Data will assume management of the full-service ISO and Agent Bank unit of the joint venture and will integrate 49% of its assets and some number of employees into its existing merchant-acquiring business.
“During this transition, we will ensure that our customers continue to receive the high-quality support they expect from us,” asserted Mike Duffy, President and CEO of Chase Paymentech. “Our focus will continue to be on the delivery of the most secure and reliable global payments via our state-of-the-art, multi-channel, proprietary payment platform.”
Alpha Bay Acquires Avorcor’s SOA
Alpha Bay (Salt Lake City, UT), the retail systems software and services provider, has completed the technology acquisition of Avorcor (Sterling, VA), which offers service-oriented architecture (SOA) designed to optimize the supply chain process for retailers through Web-based services. Alpha Bay will add the new capability to its Adaptive Integrated Retail System, AIRS. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“The acquisition of Avorcor’s technology marks an important step for Alpha Bay,” declared Jack Blount, CEO and Chairman. “We believe that the seamless integration of this proven SOA-based technology within the AIRS suite will enable us to broaden our product offerings from point-of-sale, perpetual inventory, merchandising, and business intelligence to include warehouse management and procurement.”
Added J.P. Morgenthal, CEO of Avorcor, “In short, this technology allows users to rapidly deliver ‘business activity monitoring’ resulting in the direct improvement of their supply chain. We are excited to be a small part of Alpha Bay’s dynamic and robust solution.”
Key
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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
PC-PoS Inc./DigiPoS
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
ALLIANCES
Stingray Loaded with Xpient Software
Panasonic Information Systems (Rolling Meadows, IL) has teamed with up Xpient Solutions (Charlotte, NC) to offer resellers an integrated POS solution. The partnership allows both companies and their resellers to offer Xpient’s suite of solutions on Panasonic’s hardware platforms, including the new Stingray workstation, which features an open-architecture application platform and modular hardware design.
“Our newly formed relationship with Xpient enhances both companies’ ability to deliver advanced POS solutions for the quick-service and hospitality industries that will result in significant new sales opportunities and continued growth in the POS market,” predicted Doyle Ledford, Director, Panasonic Information Systems. “By combining Panasonic’s core expertise in POS hardware and Xpient’s leading POS software solutions, we can collectively provide a large cross-section of POS users with extreme functionality and versatility.”
Xpient offers POS, back office, and enterprise management software solutions for the quick-service, family-dining, and fast-casual segments of the foodservice industry. These include the IRIS POS and IRIS eKitchen Display System. Xpient boasts an installed base of 20,000 restaurants representing over 60,000 terminals, including many well-known brands. The company is headed by Christopher Sebes, President, CEO, and former restaurant owner.
ScriptRx and Citizen Write Healthcare Prescription
Citizen Systems America (Torrance, CA) has had its CT-S4000 thermal printer incorporated into the emergency room touchscreen workstations from ScriptRx (West Palm Beach, FL), one of the leaders in electronic prescription writing and discharge instruction. “We have found that doctors have very little patience for disruptions in their work,” said Dr. Timothy Coffield, CEO of ScriptRx. “The printers are the heart of our system and they were breaking down far too frequently. We went looking for an answer and found it at Citizen.”
ScriptRx offers emergency room physicians a fast and secure way to provide patients with the printed information they need. The intuitive touchscreen contains 35 categories organized around the most common ailments encountered in the “walk-in” ambulatory care setting. The doctor chooses the proper diagnosis and the system provides a list of medications currently used in treatment, as well as suggested discharge instructions. The patient leaves with a copy of the prescription to take to the pharmacist.
Citizen’s CT-S4000 offers high-speed printing with selectable paper widths of up to 112 millimeters, making it suitable for printing the large amounts of data required for patient prescriptions. Its Direct Memory Access (DMA) allows text and graphics to download and print faster and its ability to handle large-capacity paper rolls means fewer roll changes. The durable, two-color thermal printer also features easy, drop-in paper loading.
Citizen Systems has also extended its special free trial printer program, which includes its most popular models. To get your free printer, click here.
Channel Factoid
Two out of every three online shoppers fail to pay for items they put in their shopping carts. Almost half (43%) didn’t pay for items in their shopping carts because shipping charges were too high. 36% of purchasers didn’t pay for items because they felt the total cost of the purchase was more expensive than anticipated. 27% of shoppers didn’t seal the deal because they wanted to comparison shop, while 16% balked because they could not contact customer support to answer questions. ComScore conducted this survey on “checkout abandonment,” which was sponsored, naturally enough, by PayPal.
Reseller Rewind
If you missed either of the two recent “Retail’s in the Bag” presentations sponsored by RetailResellerNews.Com 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.
HELLO GOODBYE
Loucas Joins Bixolon as Director of Sales
Bixolon America (Carson, CA) has hired Bill Loucas as Director of Sales for North America. In this new position, Loucas will concentrate on market development and channel management. He will work with the company’s current distributors to develop new strategies for growth and will target healthcare, government, and retail as markets of opportunity.
Loucas has an impressive track record of success in the POS distribution industry, having managed VARs, distributors, and large OEM accounts for over 20 years. Most recently, he was National Distribution Sales Manager for PrehKeyTec.
“We are delighted to have Bill Loucas on the Bixolon team,” said Sam Son, Bixolon’s GM. “Our products are proving to be preferred as POS printers due to their high reliability and aggressive pricing. Bill will increase market share for our current distributors while developing and expanding new markets and customers.”
Bill Loucas, Bixolon America
PrehKeyTec Hires Shergi as National Distribution Sales Manager
PrehKeyTec (Lake Zurich, IL) has named Catherine Shergi as National Distribution Sales Manager, with responsibility for developing and executing business plans for growth through channel partners. Shergi brings more than 15 years of sales and marketing experience in POS peripherals—from distribution to dealer to end-user. Previously, she served as Sales Manager for MMF Cash Drawer.
“We’re looking forward to Catherine being an integral part of the PrehKeyTec team,” commented Stephen Bergeron, President of PrehKeyTec. “Her knowledge of the POS marketplace and distribution channel will help further develop our position and commitment in North America, and her skills and expertise will help continue our channel expansion.”
Catherine Shergi, PrehKeyTec
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