Our Product Pick

Pioneer POS (City of Industry, CA) has shipped its 7" Asterix DASH Tablet PC. Weighing 1.5 lbs., Asterix DASH has Intel Atom Dual-Core CPU at 1.8 GHz, 2-GB RAM, 64-GB eMMC, and Windows 8.1. Sealed against spills and dust to IP-54, and withstanding 4 ft./1.2 m drops to concrete, Asterix DASH carries projected capacitive touchscreen, Bluetooth 2.1, and 802.11b/g/n. A full range of options are offered: webcams (front and rear), MSR and EMV, 1D/2D barcode imager, RFID/NFC, and WWAN/LTE. "With Windows 8.1 pre-loaded, application developers will take less time to migrate or develop a mobile application," stated Pioneer POS. "As a result, the DASH allows a quicker 'go-to-market' product release, and a larger return on investment." The company also offers its 10" Asterix DASH.

7" Asterix DASH

COMPANY BUSINESS

A Path to SaaS, Says BlueStar

An interesting take from BlueStar (Hebron, KY), which has engaged one of its financial channel partners to allow resellers to get upfront payment instead of the traditional Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) monthly payment model. This unnamed entity will pay both BlueStar and the VAR upon confirmation of delivery, then collect monthly payments from the end-user. Dubbed "Hybrid SaaS," the process applies to any solution bundle purchased through BlueStar, including its popular "In-a-Box" series for vertical markets. BlueStar said it will offer quick quotes online and same-day turnaround for credit applications.

"We know that SaaS models can be a financial challenge to traditional business models, while transitioning can be complicated and confusing," explained Jason Firment, BlueStar's POS Vertical Director. "This exclusive new program will help our VAR partners start the transition to offering SaaS-based solutions to end-users without completely overhauling their existing business model. Resellers can now compete in monthly payment deals while still compensating their reps in the traditional manner."

One early prospect for the distributor's Hybrid SaaS: the TX1 Tablet POS from HP. This bundle includes the HP Pro Tablet running Windows 8.1, tablet stand with magnetic-stripe reader (MSR), standard-duty cash drawer, and receipt printer. As part of In-a-Box, BlueStar pre-loads the tablet with pcAmerica's Restaurant Pro Express or Cash Register Express. "Hybrid SaaS will help our reseller partners boost orders, improve margins, and increase the overall value of their sales," suggested Dean Reverman, BlueStar's Global Marketing Manager. As another benefit, he cited "more frequent device or system refreshes," recommending three years in particular.

HP's TX1 First To Be Offered Under "Hybrid SaaS"

Next-Gen Checkout by Datalogic, NCR

A multi-year agreement between NCR (Duluth, GA) and Datalogic (Eugene, OR) promises to bring "next-gen" retail scanning to the checkout. Lying at the heart of this deal--the Jade X7 Automated Scanner, which Datalogic will supply for the NCR ScanPortal. By taking advantage of advanced digital imaging in six planes, patented illumination technology, and high-speed processing, Jade X7 removes the need for items to be properly positioned. As items move through the portal, barcodes may be read on any side, including the bottom. If barcodes cannot be read, Jade X7 identifies items via visual object recognition (ViPR) and JadeAssist Software.

Working with rapid belt speeds of up to 34 cm/second, or 67 ft./minute, Jade X7 features an open, modern-looking design. Above the conveyor, it stands 28 inches, with two towers. In addition to faster checkout, automated scanning allows the cashier to make eye contact and directly engage the customer, while concurrently bagging shopping items or even handling coupons, gift cards, or lottery sales, according to proponents. In commenting on this deal, Datalogic pointed to NCR's system integration capabilities, including operational process modeling, check-stand design, point-of-sale integration, and professional services.

Jade X7 Automated Scanner

Worth Your While

ProMat 2015
Material Handling Industry
March 23-26
Chicago

TransAct 15
Electronic Transactions Association
March 31 - April 2
San Francisco

Retail Realm Technology Conference
"Microsoft for the Retail Sector"
April 25-27
Las Vegas

WERC
Warehousing Education Research Council
May 3-6
Orlando

NRA Show 2015
National Restaurant Association
May 16-19
Chicago

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Honeywell Plays Tag

Honeywell Scanning & Mobility (Fort Mill, SC) has debuted two new barcode printers from Intermec: PD43 and PD43c. Aimed at light industrial use, with compact footprints, PD43 and PD43c are well-suited for shallow countertops and pull-out cabinets. With standard door, PD43 measures 8.3 in. (W) x 18.5 in. (D) x 9.8 in. (H), and weighs 18.5 lbs., while PD43c measures 8.3 in. (W) x 9.3 in. (D) x 8.1 in. (H) and weighs 11.2 lbs. Both offer flat-top door and support half- and one-inch ribbon cores, ink-in or ink-out. (PD43c has an optional external media holder.)

An all-metal enclosure, cast-aluminum print mechanism, and tool-free printhead and roller replacement help to minimize downtime and maintenance, while each PD43/43c includes an integrated web interface--just like the Honeywell/Intermec PM43/43c mid-range industrial printers--in order to simplify deployment. With four-inch width, PD43 and PD43c have print speed of 8 inch/203 mm per second at 203 dpi and 6 inch/152 mm per second at 300 dpi. As technical specs, they feature 128-MB Flash, 128-MB RAM, and optional 32-GB USB Thumb Drive.

Honeywell's PD43 and PD43c Light Industrial Label Printers

MMF: Small Is Big

MMF POS (Wheeling, IL) has unveiled its VAL-u Line Compact Cash Drawer. With dimensions of 9.6 inch x 12.5 inch (244 mm x 319 mm), VAL-u Line Compact "is one of the smallest fully functioning electronic cash drawers on the market," according to Scott O'Shea, VP of Sales and Marketing for MMF POS. As target categories of end-users, MMF POS includes retail, restaurants, hospitality, and grocery.

"This space-saving solution is great for customers who have limited counter space and for mobile or M-POS merchants," elaborated O'Shea. "It's also great when combined with our new locking Tablet Enclosure or Tablet Stand. Our Tablet Enclosures are robust and durable with features customers really appreciate, like the high-security lock and easy 360-degree rotation."

MMF's VAL-u Line Compact Cash Drawer

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ENVIRONMENTS/PLATFORMS

Elavon Gets Tricky

Another road to market? Elavon (Atlanta, GA) has joined the Verizon Partner Program, taking along Talech (Palo Alto, CA), one of the myriad upstarts in POS. This solution integrates Elavon's payment and loyalty solutions, Talech's software platform, and Verizon's 4G LTE network. It enables customers to take orders, manage inventory, access customer information, and view daily reports in real-time, according to the new partners. It also seeks to provide businesses with enhanced insights through big data analysis.

"This powerful combination makes the era of big data accessible and relevant for small business," exclaimed Guy Harris, President of Elavon North America. "By building in robust customer loyalty and security features more commonly found in high-end POS, this user-friendly solution enables SMBs to serve their customers better while providing business insights to help them compete more effectively." According to its website, Talech has attracted some traditional POS VARs.

"Through innovation and collaboration with Elavon, Verizon is enabling business customers to take advantage of a powerful Mobile POS solution that will deliver a positive and secure end-user experience," projected Adam Famularo, VP of Global Channels at Verizon. "Our Verizon Partner Program offers qualified resellers, agents, and solution providers a great platform for accelerating sales opportunities and revenue." Earlier participants with the Verizon Partner Program have included Intuit Go Payment and Square, in the case of POS.

Taking Talech's iPad POS to the Verizon Network

Agilysys: Analyze This

Agilysys (Alpharetta, GA) has launched the latest version of its business intelligence solution, Agilysys Analytics. Offered as a subscription service, with general availability, Agilysys Analytics consolidates data from InfoGenesis POS (as readers know, part of Agilysys), thereby providing managers with reporting, auditing, and predictive capacity. Features include web-based drag-and-drop user interface, mobile device support, and visual presentations of data in private or public reports, or if preferred, dashboard format.

A number of specific use cases were cited. In loss prevention, customers may determine which profit centers are experiencing the greatest losses and drill down to the specific products, dates, and servers associated with those losses. Utilizing server/cashier performance metrics, customers may measure upselling performance across properties, recognize strong team members, and identify opportunities for staff training. Finally, with table service analytics, customers may evaluate the effectiveness of menu engineering, restaurant design, cooking practices, traffic management, and food delivery.

"Every day, hospitality managers are making important decisions about how to improve guest service while increasing revenue," reflected Maris Berzins, Agilysys' VP of Product Engineering. "Agilysys Analytics provides managers with the critical data needed to gain detailed insight into business operations. As a result, customers can avoid potential business pitfalls, make more informed decisions, and create the lasting connections with guests that result in loyalty and repeat business."

Agilysys Analytics Becomes Available

Code Corner

BarCloud (San Jose, CA) has integrated its inventory management and asset-tracking system with popular e-mail services. Via this bridge, based in part on the Zapier web automation platform, linking to e-mail takes minutes and needs to be performed once. Users save time by no longer needing to repetitively search for data in BarCloud and then leaving the system to manually enter the data into e-mails. With the added ability to automatically send e-mails based on asset activity, such as "receive," "checkout," or "move" transactions, teams may receive critical reminders throughout the day. Further, teams may now manage stock inventory more efficiently with alert functionality performed through integrated e-mail services such as Gmail and Microsoft Outlook. As an example, when sales orders have been entered into the BarCloud database and stock inventory levels have hit their specified minimum or maximum threshold, an e-mail containing such an update is dynamically populated and automatically sent. "Our customers have spoken. A large portion of them are using BarCloud and Gmail every day, so we enabled them to easily coordinate actions between the web apps and ultimately be more productive," commented Greg Wachowiak, SVP of Engineering at ASAP Systems, which developed BarCloud.

NUTS & BOLTS

Hazardous Going for Juniper

Juniper Systems (Logan, UT) has released its Archer 2 rugged handheld computer for hazardous environments, aptly named Archer 2 Hazloc. This device has been certified Class I, II, and III, Division 2, designed to perform safely in locations where flammable gases, vapors, or dust may be found (as the result of accidental events or defective equipment functioning). As expected, target industries include oil and gas, petrochemical, public works, and utilities.

Weighing 1.3 lbs., with physical dimensions of 3.6 in. (W) x 7.25 in. (L) x 1.5 in. (D), Archer 2 carries ARM Cortex CPU at 1 GHz, 512-MB RAM, 8-GB Flash, and Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5. As unique benefits, Juniper cited its 4.3-inch projected capacitive touchscreen with "IllumiView" display, 10,600-mAh Li-Ion battery with 20 hours of run time, and enhanced GPS/GNSS (Geo Models). With barcode scanner and RFID as data collection, and Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi as communications, Archer 2 carries ratings of IP-68 and MIL-STD810G.

"Archer 2 Hazloc meets the safety regulations as required for Class I, II, and III hazardous locations, while providing the features that make the job easier for workers," relayed Remington Rainey, Industrial Market Manager at Juniper Systems. "People love the extra battery power and super-crisp imagery; it's a powerful, compact handheld that does the job effortlessly." In going to market, Juniper Systems targets ISVs.

Archer 2 Hazloc From Juniper Systems

An Alien Invasion

At long last, resellers need awareness of RFID. In one significant development, Alien Technology (Morgan Hill, CA) has completed its largest roll-out of new products in Higgs-4 EPC Gen 2 UHF. As the first, Alien's ALN-9714 "Bio" RFID inlay fulfills pharmaceutical applications, with suitability for glass vials or sample containers. "Bio" features small form factor of 15 mm x 17 mm/0.59 inch x 0.67 inch. It offers read/write distances compatible with use in pharmaceutical production facilities as well as for handheld readers in logistics and the supply chain.

The second entry, Alien's ALN-9741 "Doc" RFID inlay addresses paper products such as documents and file folders. Measuring 95 mm x 8 mm/3.74 inch x 0.32 inch, "Doc" has been dielectrically matched to paper, cardboard, and similar printed stock. Its thin inlay outline reduces the risk of shadowing or detuning from close placement of tags, allowing for tight packing.

Third, Alien's ALN-9730-E "Squiglette-E" is the narrower version of its high-performance, general-purpose Higgs-4 "Squiggle." As its name shows, this "E"-Version features special tuning for European frequencies. "Squiglette-E" has already been fielded in retail/apparel, enterprise-wide asset management, and warehouse/distribution. Also of note, Alien has fashioned narrow and rotated versions of its previously offered ALN-9720 "Hi-Scan" RFID inlay, which is particularly effective for use with handhelds or other low-power readers, according to Alien.

Alien Technology's ALN-9714 "Bio" Tag

Key Advertiser Links

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

POS & Peripherals
Bematech
Harbortouch
Hewlett-Packard
Partner Tech
Pioneer POS
POS BANK USA
Posiflex
PowaPOS
TEAMSable

Barcode & Transaction Printers
Brother Mobile
CognitiveTPG
SATO America

Cash Drawers
MMF POS

Data Collection
CipherLab
Code Corporation
Datalogic
Trimble MCS

Integrated Payment Solutions
Cayan
Datacap Systems
Discover

Keyboards & Mobile POS
Cherry, ZF Electronics Corp

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
CognitiveTPG
Epson America
Star Micronics

Thermal Printers
Seiko Instruments USA

Touchscreens & Monitors
Elo TouchSystems

INSTALLATIONS

A Bigger Slice for Revention

Revention (Houston, TX) has powered custom digital online ordering for Hungry Howie's Pizza, with 600 locations across 21 states in the U.S. Using any web-enabled device, whether desktop, tablet, or mobile, customers access the same easy-to-use platform with intuitive menu selection, according to the two parties. An administrative portal provides store- and corporate-level configurations and utilities, as well as extensive reporting. (As its online ordering platform, Revention offers "Hunger Rush.")

"Over the past five years, we have focused on expanding the technology solutions in our stores," reported Dan McKay, Director of IT at Hungry Howie's. "The combination of the Revention POS system and the new online ordering platform has streamlined Hungry Howie's ability to develop new, strategic marketing campaigns and to measure those campaigns using customer response and redemption rates. We are very excited about some of the upcoming features that our customers will see in the near future."

Revention Builds Online Ordering Platform for Hungry Howie's Pizza

Tom + Chee (+ PAR)

ParTech (New Hartford, NY), a Division of PAR Technology Corporation, will supply its complete POS solution for Tom + Chee, the grilled cheese and tomato soup franchise expanding from its base in the Central U.S. A combination of PAR Brink POS software and PAR EverServ POS hardware has been rolled out in all 19 stores; by the end of this year, another 31 stores will be opened and outfitted with the POS. PAR purchased Brink Software in September 2014, readers will recall.

"The most elegant part of PAR Brink POS is that the solution is highly integrated and not a single system that has a number of sub-systems slammed together," observed Dave Krikorian, President of Tom + Chee. "The cloud-based software architecture is designed for easy deployment and the real-time nature of the user experience--from administration to online ordering--makes it easier to run our business. It's just smart."

With Brink POS, Tom + Chee has online/mobile ordering, built-in loyalty module, and kitchen video. The software provides real-time enterprise reporting of sales, labor, and kitchen performance, with standard off-line mode to protect against service interruption of the cloud. A food tent on a public square in Cincinnati, Ohio, originally, Tom + Chee went on to receive an investment deal on ABC's "Shark Tank."

Comfort Food Franchise Selects PAR POS

Channel Factoid

Apparently, retailers in North America are past the stage of debating the importance of the customer experience (or "CX") and are now trying to master its management. To whit, the vast majority of retailers (80%) surveyed in "The Retailer's Imperative: A Strategic Approach to Customer Experience," from SDL, are increasing their budgets in this area, and one in three plans significant increase of more than 10%. Among respondents, not one plans to reduce their commitment. Nearly half of retailers "strongly agree" with the statement "our customer experience is our brand," and this balloons to over 80% if those who simply "agree" are included. When asked about ways they can differentiate themselves and attract new customers, strategies included: product offering (54%), pricing (45%), social outreach, 45%, and omni-channel retailing, 22%. In terms of needs, fully 97% identify integration of CX technology as "important" or "essential" to their growth. Yet only 40% describe their relevant systems as "integrated" and "cross-functional." (Only 2% have no plans for integrating their technologies.) Not surprisingly, mobility has been one of the most dominant priorities for retailers over the past two years. As a result, more than half now say they have strong understanding of the mobile user experience; however, only one-third believe they can differentiate themselves using mobility. "Mastery of the customer experience is a challenge with many facets. Retailers are overwhelmed by the complexity of data, technology, and understanding of the customer journey," contributed Paige O'Neill, Chief Marketing Officer at SDL. "Our latest research indicates that North American retailers are acutely aware of their technological shortfall."

HELLO GOODBYE

Touch Dynamic Whistles Dixie

Touch Dynamic (Irvington, NJ) has enlisted Rob Cooper as its Southeast Regional Sales Manager. Based in Lexington, South Carolina, Cooper joins Touch Dynamic from Code Corporation, where he served for the past three years as Channel Account Manager. While at Code, Cooper exceeded his revenue goals, earning the President's Club Award for 2013.

"As a sales professional with over fifteen years of experience in outside sales and, most recently, in Automatic Identification and Data Capture, I look forward to bringing the skill set and knowledge that I have gained to this great team," pledged Cooper. "I am confident that with Touch Dynamic's extensive and state-of-the-art product line, I will have a great opportunity to provide existing, as well as new, business partners with customized solutions to help grow their businesses." In particular, the company's growing network of regional and national resellers was referenced.

Rob Cooper, Southeast Regional Sales Manager, Touch Dynamic

Earning His Stripes

Barcodes, Inc. (Chicago, IL) one of the leading Auto ID VARs, has promoted Jon Myalls to VP of Sales for the U.S. Myalls joined Barcodes, Inc. as Director of Sales in June 2013. Before that, he worked for CDW as Senior Sales Manager for Higher Education.

"Jon is a tremendous sales leader," asserted Dan Nettesheim, CEO of Barcodes, Inc. "With his leadership we expanded our sales team by 50% over the past year and experienced tremendous growth. This promotion reflects Jon's contribution to our business results as well as the leadership he will continue to provide to our sales efforts in North America."

Jon Myalls, VP of Sales for U.S., Barcodes, Inc.