This Week’s Product Pick
Seiko Instruments USA, Thermal Printer Division (Torrance, CA), presented its new DPU-S455 low-cost, direct-thermal printer for mobile applications. The DPU-S455 produces four-inch-wide printed output at 90 mm/second and 203 dpi resolution. Weighing just over one pound and measuring 5.7 inches wide x 5.3 inches deep x 2.3 inches high, the DPU-S445 is small and lightweight. Mobile and wireless applications are supported by IrDA and optional Bluetooth, in addition to USB and Serial connectivity. The DPU-S445 is designed for fast, simple, no-fuss operation, according to the company. Two well-placed buttons control power and paper feed, and the Seiko Instruments EZ-OP clamshell-style tray enables quick paper replacement. Pricing starts at $300 per unit. “The DPU-S445 is a welcome addition to our line-up of mobile thermal printers,” said Kaz Onishi, VP and GM, Seiko Instruments USA. “The new printer offers customers exceptional value in a challenging business climate, and is a great fit for budget-conscious users in Latin America and other emerging markets.”
Seiko’s DPU-S445 Mobile Printer
COMPANY BUSINESS Logic Controls Sold to Bematech Logic Controls (New Hyde Park, NY), the longtime POS supplier and channel player headed by Jackson and Muriel Lum, has been sold to Bematech, the large Brazilian POS firm with designs on the U.S. The acquisition price consists of an $11 million down payment upon signing and an additional $11 million payment after 12 months if Logic Controls achieves set performance targets, according to information presented on the Website of Bematech, which is publicly traded. Founded in 1982, Logic Controls posted revenue of approximately $10 million in 2007. “I am pleased to announce that Logic Controls is now a subsidiary of Bematech, the largest POS company in Brazil,” confirmed Jackson Lum. “I will continue to serve as the CEO of the company, which will mean that Logic Controls will continue to be managed in the same manner as before and will continue to provide its market and partners with products of the highest quality.” On its Website, Bematech noted that the acquisition will bring it innovative hardware technology, including over 20 patents, as well as know-how on strategic supplier chains in Asia, especially in China. In addition, Bematech now offers the full range of technology solutions for the hospitality industry, both through Logic Controls’ POS and kitchen display products and Bematech’s recent purchase of a pair of food-service ISVs, Snack Control and Mister Chef. In the U.S., Bematech’s efforts are led out of Cincinnati by Matt Chamberlin, Director, USA Operations.
Honeywell Downsizes Skaneateles Facility Honeywell Imaging & Mobility has announced workforce reductions in its manufacturing facility in Skaneateles Falls, NY, as the Auto ID supplier shifts all remaining manufacturing functions to China, where 40% of the unit’s products are already made. Plans call for the reductions to take place over the next 12 months and to affect 290 of the site’s 580 employees. Departments such as Engineering, R&D, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Support will stay in the Skaneateles Falls facility, where Hand Held Products was based before it was bought by Honeywell. “This is a very difficult decision, but one that better positions us to grow and compete in the global marketplace,” said Kevin Jost, VP, Global Strategy for Honeywell Security. Jost added that the decision had nothing to do with the recent acquisition by Honeywell or the state of the economy. Rather, he pointed to “macro forces,” telling the Central New York Business Journal, “The manufacturing power base for electronics is in Asia.”
“This is an extremely hard time for our employees, our business, and the greater community,” Jost acknowledged. “We are going to do everything we can to make this transition as smooth as possible for those affected.” LoJack Finds the Supply Chain Supply Chain Integrity (Rockwall, TX), which provides risk management and loss prevention throughout the supply chain, has raised $2.5 million from multiple investors in its second round of funding. Interestingly, as part of the round, LoJack Corporation has increased its investment in SCI, and now owns 60% of the company. Yes, that’s the same LoJack who locates hijacked cars. Founded in 2004, SCI claims to be the only company that provides an integrated solution for supply chain protection—from information sharing and analysis, to investigative intelligence, to covert monitoring and recovery. It is building an “extensive, diverse community of members, from private industry to law enforcement, who for the first time have a platform to share information and combat supply chain threats.” SCI’s customers include some the leading manufacturing, logistics, and retail corporations in the world. “With its increased stake in SCI, LoJack is enabling us to evolve beyond security and cargo theft applications and into integrated supply chain protection solutions that address enterprise risk associated with supply chain threats, which we believe is the future of our industry,” Robert Furtado, CEO, stated. “SCI is fortunate to be able to leverage LoJack’s recognized brand, recovery expertise, and law enforcement relationships, which are important differentiators and unequaled in the marketplace.” [Editor’s Note: According to the recent survey by Chubb Group Insurance Companies, “broken links” in the supply chain represent one of the top three threats to business operations today.] |
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Worth Your While
RFID World 2008
CMP Technology
September 8-10
Las Vegas
VARTECH 2008
BlueStar
September 15-17
Orlando
EPC Connection
EPCglobal North America
October 14-16
Chicago
Self-Service Expo
KioskCom
October 15-16
New York
Impact Now
ScanSource
November 10-11
Orlando
PARTNER PROGRAMS BlueStar Seeds Business Development at RSPA BlueStar (Florence, KY) took the opportunity at its cocktail reception at the recent RSPA Show in Las Vegas to address some long-standing needs for professional marketing on the part of its resellers. “Our global business development and marketing teams were present to assist our partners in registering for our Fusion program, which enables our Value-Added Resellers to custom design ‘drip marketing’ campaigns to grow their business in their respective verticals and metro-markets throughout the Americas,” reported Mark Fraker, BlueStar’s VP of Marketing. At the reception, BlueStar gave away a total of $50,000 in BlueStar Fusion business-development solutions, including its $25,000 BlueStar 12-month business-development revitalization package to Ziggy Jankowski of ABS Point of Sale and its $15,000 Fusion business-development marketing services package to Steve Ludlum of Mpact Inc. In addition, three solutions bundles were awarded, HP/Epson to Grace Ann Meyn of Automated Retail Systems, Toshiba/TEC to Mike Whalen of Trinity Business, and Elo/Star to Tom Gobber of NBE Solutions. “Mpact is very excited about winning the $15,000 Fusion business-development package at the RSPA Show,” said President Steve Ludlum. “This will help us put together and initiate our first major effort at marketing. We’ve been in the industry for 15 years, and have only run a Yellow Pages ad that whole time. We have essentially depended on word of mouth prior to this. We’ve been a BlueStar customer for several years and are looking at using BlueStar’s Fusion to push our proprietary casino product.” “The BlueStar Executive One-on-One Cocktail Reception held at RSPA’s Show this year was a great success,” confirmed Steve Cuntz, BlueStar’s President/CEO. “It allowed attending vendors to discuss business strategies face-to-face with Value-Added Resellers.”
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INTEGRATION
Heartland Eases Check Handling with ID Tagging
Heartland Payment Systems (Princeton, NJ) has integrated alphanumeric remittance ID tagging into its Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) solution, thus making it easier for businesses to efficiently handle check payments. The tagging ties the check payment to corresponding remittance document or file for streamlined accounting and occurs when checks are scanned for deposit using Heartland Express Funds. The user is provided with the option of assigning remittance, account or some other ID number to associate with the check throughout the deposit, funding, and returns process. The number can be keyed in or scanned. The user also has the option to place the number on the check for systematic transcription to avoid data entry in the deposit process.
“The remittance ID tagging feature not only adds a connection between the check and the remittance document for added search functionality, it also connects with the user’s accounting system for improved cross-referencing and simplified payment reconciliation,” explained Tony Capucille, Director of Check Services at Heartland Payment Systems, which delivers credit/debit/prepaid card processing, payroll, check management, and payment solutions and works with resellers.
“Tracking the remittance, invoice or other relevant payment information at the point of scanning ads another level of control to accounting departments,” noted Michael Shirman, Chief Technology Officer at Transmodus (Oxnard, CA), the on-demand, online check services processor that powers Heartland Express Funds and developed the ID tagging functionality. “Reconciliation processes are usually labor intensive, tedious, and prone to a high level of exceptions. The ability to capture a remittance tag at scanning brings a new level of efficiency.”
UTC’s Bundle of SMB
UTC Retail (Victor, NY) has unwrapped bundled solutions of software and hardware aimed at the SMB specialty retail market. The bundled solutions come with UTC Retail Merchant, the company’s multi-channel enterprise software solution for POS, warehouse, back office, e-commerce, and inventory management, with additional UTC retail functionality software modules offered as options.
Retailers can choose from six predefined POS bundles across three hardware platforms: the 1800 Series All-in-One touchscreen solution, the 2200 Series distributed solution, and the 2800 Series integrated solution. In addition, the back-office workstation bundle is available to handle administration functions such as e-mail, time and attendance, training, and other management duties. Bundles include an array of standard peripherals that are tested and ensured to work with each solution. There are also optional peripherals available for payment processing, inventory scanning, and label printing.
“The release of ‘bundled solutions’ gives the small and medium-sized specialty retailer a unique opportunity to buy software, hardware, and services under a single brand directly from a proven company with over 20 years of retail technology experience,” commented Sam Villanti, President/CEO of UTC Retail. “The retailer benefits from the ease of ordering and deployment of a pre-configured and pre-tested solution. The result is reduced implementation and support time and cost, allowing the retailer to focus on increasing top line sales.”
Code
Corner
Motorola Enterprise Mobility Business (Holtsville, NY) launched its Mobility Services Platform 3.2, which offers enhanced management capabilities to maximize enterprise mobile device uptime and utilization. MSP 3.2 provides seamless and secure management architecture to quickly and cost-effectively add new rugged mobile computers, enterprise digital assistants or barcode scanners on the network, according to the company. Network administrators can wirelessly provision mobile devices—as many as 100,000—from virtually any location, as well as update operating systems, firmware, applications, and security to meet the latest IT compliance policies. For enterprise devices that are lost or stolen, MSP 3.2 can lock down or wipe the device of key information. With MSP 3.2, administrators have access to a robust set of monitoring and analysis tools to improve enterprise mobile device reliability and performance, as well as proactive issue management capabilities. MSP 3.2 also collects meaningful enterprise device metrics, including available memory and storage, battery usage, power cycles, scans, and wireless network signal quality. In addition, IT managers can deliver customized messages to end-users, alert them to issues, and provide simple instructions to fix or update applications. “Motorola’s MSP 3.2 is enabling the next wave of enterprise mobility by protecting organizations’ IT investments by providing anytime, anywhere error-proof staging and provisioning,” asserted Boris Metlitsky, SVP of Product Development for Motorola EMB. “By dramatically reducing the time and expense typically associated with device management and delivering productivity increases, MSP 3.2 provides a nearly instant return on their investment.”
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Secure the Perimeter Against “Wardriving”
Better get familiar with “wardriving,” in which data thieves cruise parking lots with laptops looking for vulnerable or exposed wireless networks. Just this month, the U.S. Justice Department arrested and charged 11 people from the U.S. and overseas with hacking nine major retailers—including TJX, BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, and Barnes & Noble—and stealing and selling 40 million or so credit and debit card numbers. Such attacks are entirely passive in nature, generating no network traffic or other signs they are occurring, and are therefore undetectable by conventional wireless intrusion prevention systems.
One possible solution comes from Meru Networks (Sunnyvale, CA), which recently introduced RF Barrier, the first IEEE 802.11-based technology to offer wireless perimeter protection by blocking RF signals from the corporate network as they bleed through the building. Basically, RF Barrier consists of the Meru Networks wireless access point mounted along the inside perimeter of the building, and an advanced external antenna mounted outside the perimeter. The system inspects traffic in real time to determine which part belongs to the WLAN (and is therefore designated as sensitive) and uses the external antenna to block outbound traffic at the RF layer. Since RF Barrier uses directional antennas and so-called “selective enforcement technology,” it has no impact on signals within the building or from other networks, according to Meru, which develops and markets a suite of wireless infrastructure solutions.
RF Barrier protects clients with legacy security mechanisms, such as handhelds and scanners equipped with WEP or WPA/TKIP, as well as more advanced WPA2 and EAP-based networks, where it helps prevent the exposure of potentially exploitable information such as user identities. Further, it provides physical wireless security in remote branch offices where no IT personnel are present to detect or stop an attack from outside the site’s physical boundaries. It’s priced at $3,595 for a starter kit that includes four antennas, four access points, cables, and software licenses.
O’Neil Plays Small Ball
O’Neil Product Development (Irvine, CA) introduced its MicroFlash 2te rugged two-inch wireless portable thermal printer, which offers all the features of the company’s popular 4te four-inch product in a much smaller footprint. Designed to print receipts, proofs of delivery, and invoices in mobile applications, the 2te printer incorporates 32-bit RISC ARM 9 processing, handling up to 2,240 six-inch-long receipts on a single battery charge.
As with all its printers, O’Neil stressed reliability in the MicroFlash 2te. “The 2te performed flawlessly in conditions that it should never experience in real-life scenarios,” said Endre Vargha, GM, of the product’s testing. “The printer is a true powerhouse designed to be the smallest and most reliable two-inch printer available in the marketplace, and the ideal solution for any mobile application where size, ruggedness, and reliability are paramount.”
The 2te features automated power-saving sleep and wake-up modes. Users can quickly determine the printer’s Bluetooth, charging, and power status with the 2te’s external LEDs, and the external charging capability enhances ease-of-use in the field, according to the company. The 2te also includes an optional built-in magnetic-stripe card reader for processing of credit or debit cards.
MicroFlash 2te from O’Neil Product Development
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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
pcCashdrawer
PC-PoS Inc./DigiPoS
POS-X
Data Collection Terminals
CipherLab
Datalogic
Mobile
Honeywell
Imaging and Mobility
Janam
Technologies
ECRs / Touchscreens / Printers/
Parts and Supplies
CRS, Inc.
Receipt
Printers
Citizen Systems America
Star Micronics
Retail Software
InfoTouch
Logivision
Screen Protection
3M
Optical Products
Thermal Printers
Seiko Instruments USA
Touchscreens
FireBox Displays
ALLIANCES
NCR Gets Movie Thrills
NCR (Dayton, OH) will supply Blockbuster with DVD vending kiosks in a pilot program that could be the first step of a national rollout of thousands of units. The initial deployment of 50 Blockbuster-branded kiosks should begin in Q3 of 2008 with all units expected to be installed by year’s end. The pilot vending kiosks will initially offer DVD rentals, but the machines will allow for future applications, including digital downloads, and other services, such as sales of DVDs and video games. The companies have not announced the markets or site locations for the first units.
“This alliance with Blockbuster is an exciting step for NCR as we pursue our mission of becoming the leader in the market for entertainment self-service solutions,” declared Bill Nuti, NCR Chairman and CEO. “Looking beyond this initial deployment, our mutual goal is to have 10,000 kiosks installed within 18 months. We are energized and thrilled to be such an integral part of Blockbuster’s strategy for providing customers with greater choice and convenience.”
Earlier this summer, NCR signed an exclusive licensing agreement with e-Play, LLC (Columbus, OH), adding so-called “bare disc” technology to its NCR Xpress Entertainment portfolio. This innovative technology presents added revenue opportunities for retailers, according to NCR, through kiosks than can each inventory up to 4,200 discs in a few square feet, freeing valuable shelf and floor space while helping control shrink. NCR has also scooped up two ISVs in this arena, Touch Automation and Ambient Partners.
Charge It Anywhere on Intermec’s CN3
Charge Anywhere (South Plainfield, NJ) has partnered with Intermec to offer its mobile payment solution, Charge Anywhere POS, on Intermec’s CN3 rugged mobile computer. The new initiative allows merchants to process secure credit card payments to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) and Visa’s Payment Application Best Practices (PABP) in any environment, according to the two parties. In addition, the touchscreen capability of the CN3, along with the functionality of the Charge Anywhere software and Transaction Manager online application, will make it possible for merchants to capture signatures on the device, then review and print them later online, completely eliminating the need to physically store receipts.
“This solution will enable businesses to significantly streamline and improve operations,” asserted John Kemp, Senior Director, Marketing Systems and Solutions at Intermec (Everett, WA). It can be extended through use of Intermec’s PW50 Mobile Workboard Printer, which integrates magnetic-stripe and smart-card reading, along with Bluetooth connectivity, DEX port, and power management.
“We are excited to launch our latest technology breakthrough with the Intermec CN3 and Charge Anywhere’s mobile POS software,” added Paul Sabella, President/CEO at Charge Anywhere, which offers business partners POS solutions and electronic payment services, with POS efforts tied to QuickBooks, smart phones, and e-commerce environments.
Channel Factoid
In 2007, the global market for self-checkout solutions reached $358 million, with unit shipments approaching 20,000. That’s about $18,000 per unit. Going forward, shipments of self-checkout should grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8% through 2012, with unit shipments expected to top 48,000 and the global market reaching $812 million. In order to penetrate markets and tiers beyond grocery and mass merchants, the technology must come down in price, offer smaller footprints (similar to kiosks), improve their user interfaces, and include advanced input/output components such as stationary scanners with built-in EAS deactivators. From “Self-Checkout: Generation Next” by Venture Development Corporation.
HELLO GOODBYE
Cornick Heads Printer Division at Avery Dennison
Avery Dennison’s Retail Information Services Group has named Robert Cornick as VP and GM of the Printer Systems Division. Cornick replaces James Martin, who is retiring after 40 years at PSD. Cornick joined Avery Dennison in 2006 as VP and GM of the RFID Division. Prior to joining Avery Dennison, he held executive positions at Zebra Technologies and Videojet Systems International.
“Bob’s background and demonstrated leadership capabilities make him uniquely qualified to lead this important global division of the Retail Information Services Group,” said Group VP Terry Hemmelgam. “In his new role, Bob will build upon PSD’s solid foundation and take the organization to new levels of worldwide growth, market penetration, and product innovation.”
“Under Jim Martin’s capable leadership, the experienced team here has built a successful business with a strong value proposition to the retail supply chain,” stated Cornick. “The Monarch and Avery Dennison brand products, designed and manufactured by PSD, have a tremendous customer following. I look forward to building upon PSD’s strong base.”
The company is now looking for Cornick’s successor in RFID. In the interim, that effort will report to Dean Scarborough, President/CEO at Avery Dennison (Pasadena, CA).
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