This Week’s Product Pick

Cognex Corporation (Natick, MA) unboxed the new wireless version of its next-generation DataMan 8000 handheld industrial ID scanner. A new wireless communication module and base station with “Cognex Connect” provides end-users with long working range (100 meters) and compatibility with Ethernet, USB, and RS-232 cables. Significantly, all DataMan 8000 models employ modular design to allow any reader to be switched in the field between corded communications, Industrial Ethernet, and wireless. In addition, advanced code reading technology handles virtually any symbology, regardless of size, quality, printing method, or surface. Finally, DataMan 8000 offers liquid lens variable focus technology, which allows end-users to read small two-dimensional direct part marks (DPM) as well as long linear one-dimensional barcodes with one single reader. “This addition to our DataMan 8000 Series make it truly the most flexible and advanced handheld reader out there,” declared Carl Gerst, VP and Business Unit Manager of ID Products at Cognex.

Cognex DataMan 8000 Goes Wireless

COMPANY BUSINESS

Stingray Convertible Rolls Out

Panasonic System Networks (Secaucus, NJ) has unveiled its Stingray Envo POS workstation, built with modular architecture for extreme versatility, ready customization, and easy maintenance, according to the vendor. With 15-inch backlight LED touchscreen, Envo comes in traditional upright configuration or reduced “low-profile format,” with Vesa mount allowing for wall or pole installations. All these possible variations allow Envo to fulfill end-user needs across any setting--retail, hospitality, grocery, and convenience--Panasonic emphasized. Dimensions for the traditional configuration measure 14.3 in. (W) x 15.2 in. (D) x 16.3 in. (H) and weight of 22.7 lbs.

Technical highlights include Intel P4500 dual-core CPU at 1.86 GHz or Intel i5-520M CPU at 2.4 GHz, 2-GB RAM, 2.5-inch SATA HDD, the full complement of ports (10 USB, 3 COM, Serial, and Parallel), and open architecture to run “virtually any software.” Users may choose from an array of customer-facing screens: 2x20 VFD, 12-inch integrated LCD, and 15-inch semi-integrated LCD. Key components such as the power supply or hard drive can be replaced with minimum effort, as in previous versions of Stingray, and an I/O panel on top of the workstation facilitates cable management and peripheral troubleshooting.

“Envo was designed to offer more versatility and choice than any other workstation on the market,” indicated Rick Elliot, Director of Food Services, Panasonic System Networks Company of America. “It’s also a smart choice, in tough economic times, to choose a brand known for decades for high-quality products that are both durable and reliable.” In keeping with the environmental implications of its name, in the case of Envo, Panasonic addressed Energy Star certification for reduced power consumption of 50% and so-called “eco-responsible” manufacturing practices, as well as the flexibility of smaller physical footprint for end-users.

Modular Stingray “Envo” POS Workstation by Panasonic

Busy Seating at Maitre’D

Posera-HDX (Toronto), supplier of Maitre’D POS software, has kicked off the New Year in busy fashion, having closed on two purchases that promise to widen its footprint in the industry. The first new business, the Restaurant Division of 2020 IT Solution Corp. (Saskatoon, SK, Canada), provides digital menu boards, video security, workforce scheduling, and back-office management. Its flagship product, dubbed “HyperScheduler,” employs the hosted, subscription model to support staff scheduling and sales forecasting for quick-service and table-side restaurants. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We will now be able to provide solutions to our clients allowing them to increase the quality of customer service and reduce their wait times, all while managing their part-time workforce with potentially high turnover rates,” remarked Paul Howell, CEO of Posera-HDX, which supports over 20,000 restaurants worldwide. “Ensuring food safety for consumers while minimizing waste and spoilage is mandatory for any restaurant’s success. Accordingly, our clients have expressed the need to manage their workforce and food costs to very granular levels within very tight daytime segments, which we can accomplish with 2020’s state-of-the-art technology.”

With its second acquisition, Posera-HDX took final control of the payment switch company, Cash ‘N Go Ltd. (now renamed HDX Payment Processing) for $450,000. Cash ‘N Go, established in 1998, runs the Postillion payment gateway developed by S1 Corporation (Norcross, GA). “Cash ‘N Go’s robust and secure hosting environment and operational PCI PA-DSS certified processing solution will give Posera-HDX the ability to provide payment processing alternatives to our customers,” said Howell. “This will enhance existing client relationships where we currently provide point-of-sale, business control systems, business intelligence tools, and closed-loop consumer payment schemes. It gives Posera-HDX the necessary technology to drive further growth.”

Paul Howell, CEO, Posera-HDX

Worth Your While

NRF 101st Annual Convention & Expo
National Retail Federation
January 15-18
New York

INSPIRE 2012
Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA)
January 29-February 1
Herradura, Costa Rica

MODEX 2012
Material Handling Industry of America
February 6-9
Atlanta

2012 Annual ETA Meeting & Expo
Electronic Transactions Association
April 17-19
Las Vegas

NRA Show 2012
National Restaurant Association
May 5-8
Chicago

GS1 Connect Conference
GS1 US
June 4-7
Las Vegas

RetailNOW 2012
Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA)
July 29-August 1
Las Vegas

ALLIANCES

Stars High Over the Meadow

Star Micronics America (Edison, NJ) has received certification for its SM-S200 two-inch portable printer for the new RetailEdge Island Mobile POS software from High Meadow Business Solutions (Rutland, VT). Introduced in 2010, Star’s SM-S200 was designed specifically for table-side order taking or retail line busting. Weighing 10.5 oz. with battery and paper, employing direct thermal technology, it prints at 80 mm/second and 203-dpi resolution. Standard features include an LCD display, magnetic-stripe reader, Serial and Bluetooth, configurable auto power down mode, and battery life of six hours at five-minute printing intervals.

RetailEdge Island allows merchants to take their POS system on the road and continue to sell items, create orders, track customers, and process credit cards, according to its developer. When they return to the home office or store, RetailEdge Island automatically synchronizes all their data, opening opportunities for remote management as well as POS. In December, High Meadow Business Solutions bundled RetailEdge Island with the SmartBox SB8700 POS terminal from Bematech (New Hyde Park, NY). In addition, Bematech will supply its CR1603 cash drawers and TD3000 table displays.

“We are very excited to announce that the SM-S200 printer is now certified by RetailEdge Island software,” stated Christophe Naasz, Director of Marketing at Star Micronics. “The characteristics of the SM-S200 make it the perfect complement to RetailEdge Island, and together, effectively helps retailers to take their business mobile.” In September, the SM-S200 received similar approval for use in hospitality from Focus POS Systems (San Antonio, TX), along with Star’s TSP100ECO receipt printer.

SM-S200 Portable Printer by Star Micronics America

[Editor’s Note:  At press time, Bematech (New Hyde Park, NY) announced it will drop the designation “Logic Controls” from its title, thereby completing the transition begun three years ago with its purchase of the long-time POS hardware supplier to the channel. Bematech said it will continue to operate in its current structure with its four distributors: BlueStar, Metropolitan Sales, Ingram Micro Data Capture/POS, and ScanSource. Its Independent Software Vendor program will remain the same, along with the purchasing process and customer contacts.]

A Wider Pool for Reflection

National Computer Corporation (Greenville, SC) has tied its Reflection Point of Sale to the online and mobile ordering system for restaurants from MenuDrive (Carlisle, PA). With NCC Reflection Back Office, orders placed through the merchant-branded website are automatically retrieved and presented to the POS. Orders may be processed as pre-paid, or payment to be received upon pick-up or delivery.

“We’re very pleased that NCC chose MenuDrive as their preferred online ordering provider,” relayed Aaron Fang, Business Development Director at MenuDrive, which was founded in 2006 and numbers name-brand restaurant firms among its customer base. “NCC has established a high reputation in the POS market, and we’re really looking forward to helping them provide more value with our online and mobile ordering integration.” Somewhat quietly, NCC has 25 years of experience in the foodservice arena as developer and distributor, with more than 20,000 systems deployed in more than 30 countries.

In making their announcement, the two parties cited research from the National Restaurant Association showing that consumers have strong interest in restaurant online services. Fully 48% of adults have used the Internet to visit restaurant websites, according to the NRA, and 18% have placed orders in this manner. In addition, 22% said they would choose to receive cell-phone notices if their favorite restaurant offered it.

NCC Ties Reflection POS to MenuDrive Online Ordering

Join the Party at No Charge

Subscribe Today! Email:

Do you need to reach the POS & Auto ID resellers who really drive business—in the most targeted editorial environment, and on the most cost-effective basis?

E-mail Michael Kachmar for advertising information,
or call 973-270-3284

Did you miss one of our issues and suddenly realize your competitors know more than you do?

Hurry ! Use the links below to catch up :

Week of December 26

Week of December 12

Week of December 5

ALL IN THE FAMILY

An Upscale Mooring for Free POS

Harbortouch (Hampton, NJ) has launched its POS Elite platform, with an eye towards capturing higher-end markets in retail and hospitality. Grown from United Bank Card, Harbortouch was early out of the gate with its offer of free POS terminals for merchants enrolled in its payment processing services. All hardware, installation, and warranty comes with this innovative package, which shares similarities with leasing arrangements, since an approved merchant account and monthly service agreement must be maintained for participation.

“Our ground-breaking free POS program just got better, with this new platform providing an ideal solution for businesses with more sophisticated needs,” declared Jared Isaacman, CEO of Harbortouch. “We’ve given the system a whole new look by integrating the CPU and monitor into one with a brushed aluminum finish for a more upscale appearance, but that’s just the beginning. What’s inside is even more powerful.”

With enhanced processing, storage, and touchscreen display, POS Elite will come loaded with five eponymous, industry-specific software packages--Hospitality, Retail, Delivery, Spirits, and C-Store. To further extend this bundle, Harbortouch plans to add more functionality in the next few months. This will include an integrated reservation management system, an Apple iPad interface, and online management portal through the firm’s Lighthouse system architecture.

Harbortouch POS Elite Terminal

Mini-ITX, Mucho Choices

VIA Technologies, Inc. has punched out its VB7009 embedded Mini-ITX board, with dimensions of 6.7 in. x 6.7 in (17 cm x 17 cm), engineered with POS and self-service configurations in mind. This new board offers a wide variety of CPU choices, ranging from fanless 1.0-GHz VIA C7 to the more powerful options of either 1.6-GHz VIA C7-D or 1.2-GHz dual-core VIA Nano X2. Paired with the VIA VX900 unified all-in-one media system processor, the VIA VB7009 furnishes up to 4 GB of DDR3 system memory and accommodates the most demanding high-definition (HD) video formats at full resolution of up to 1080p, according to its manufacturer.

Rear I/O includes one VGA port, four USB 2.0 ports, one COM port, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, one PS/2 keyboard-mouse port, and three audio jacks. Onboard pin headers provide support for an additional four USB 2.0 ports, three COM ports, an LPC connector, SMBus connector, PS/2 keyboard-mouse port, audio jacks, and LVDS (Low-Voltage Differential Signaling). As expected, the VIA VB7009 is fully compatible with Microsoft and Linux OS.

“The range of customer needs for interactive embedded devices is rapidly expanding,” observed Epan Wu, Head of the Embedded Platform Division for VIA Technologies, Inc. “The VIA VB7009 provides our flexible and cost-effective solution that can be configured to satisfy the broad range of customer requirements.” Based in Taiwan, VIA has its U.S. offices in Fremont, CA.

VB7009 Mini-ITX Embedded Board by VIA

Code Corner

Opterus, Inc. (Toronto) released Store Ops-Center (SOC) Version 3.2 incorporating new Capacity Planning functionality as well as enhancements to existing modules. Opterus SOC is an intuitive, SaaS-based platform designed specifically for retail enterprise communications. It may be used to measure and increase operational compliance, disseminate corporate policy, manage day-to-day objectives and tasks, and handle issues between corporate office and store locations. With SOC Capacity Planning, retailers can specify how much task work, in hours, each store is expected to accommodate. Once that is established, staff responsible for creating, approving, or viewing work can see the effect of each specific task, or all tasks, on available workload for the stores. With this insight, retailers can then plan more properly. “We are committed to listening to what our customers want in order to provide them with the store communication and task management solution that best fits their needs,” pointed out Rick Peters, Chief Product Officer at Opterus. “The ability to balance the workload and have visibility into store-level capacity was very important to our customers and should be of the same importance for all retailers."

ENVIRONMENTS & PLATFORMS

The Skinny on RFID Tags

Avery Dennison RFID (Flowery Branch, GA) has unwrapped the AD-110m5, its new near-field RFID inlay measuring just 0.91 in. x 0.20 in. (23 mm x 5 mm) for item-level tracking applications. This new tag utilizes the Monza 5 microchip from Impinj (Seattle), which allowed for the reduced design while maintaining high read/write rates and reliability. Monza 5, many RRN.Com readers may know, represents an optimized item-level UHF Gen 2 tag for apparel, electronics, cosmetics, and jewelry. With the Impinj relationship, Avery Dennison now offers samples of the AD-110m5, with production quantities to come later in Q1.

“The AD-110m5 represents the complete package for many item-level applications,” noted George Dyche, Avery Dennison RFID Product Manager. “Not only is it one of the industry’s slimmest, its total surface area is one-third that of comparable tags while delivering similar performance. And, the AD-110m5 is also generally not fazed by many materials that typically interfere with RF signals, especially liquids. Combining those characteristics with the AD-110m5’s durable construction makes this inlay ideal for embedding right at the point of product manufacture.”

“We expect Avery Dennison’s new AD-110m5 inlay to enable many new RFID applications thanks to its ability to deliver unusually high sensitivity in a very small package,” said Scot Stelter, Senior Director of Product Marketing for Impinj. “In tests with our near-field antennas and Speedway Revolution readers, we measured superior read performance on a variety of materials, which we attribute to the combination of Avery Dennison’s advanced antenna design capability and the industry-leading read sensitivity of the Monza 5 chip.” In October, incidentally, Impinj announced its distribution agreement for Brazil with RFID technology provider, Synergy, based out of Sao Paulo.

Avery Dennison’s AD-110m5 RFID Substrate

Rocking the Bandwidth Cradle

CradlePoint (Boise, ID) and Verizon Wireless (Basking Ridge, NJ) have teamed up to protect retailers from network failure in high-bandwidth installations, of increasing concern in today’s POS and cloud-computing environments. Most recently, CradlePoint’s ARC Series of modems has been certified compliant with the LTE (“Long Term Evolution”) broadband standard for Verizon’s 4G network, offering back-up and extension of such service. The ARC Series will now go to market for stores, restaurants, and branch offices through authorized CradlePoint distributors and partners.

“Today’s distributed enterprises, particularly in the retail sector, are increasingly dependent on remote and cloud-based applications to enhance the customer experience and lower operational costs,” stated George Mulhern, CEO of CradlePoint. “When the primary network connection goes down and failover occurs, retailers are discovering that their legacy DSL and dial-up connections are unable to efficiently access their bandwidth-intensive cloud applications. The last thing retailers want to tell customers is: ‘Sorry, the system is down. We can’t take your credit card right now.’”

“CradlePoint is one of our leading partners in providing robust, dual-mode business solutions that enable customers to take advantage of Verizon’s 4G LTE network,” added Eric Sorensen, Executive Director of Machine-to-Machine Solutions for Verizon Wireless. “These dynamic solutions provide automatic failover to either 3G or 4G LTE as well as future-proofing for those businesses where 4G LTE will soon be available.” The LTE standard, RRN.Com readers may remember, was written by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, an international consortium of telecommunication bodies, in order to promote the most efficient bandwidth usage.

CradlePoint Network Modem for 4G

Key Advertiser Links

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

POS & Auto ID Distribution
BlueStar
ScanSource
Wasp Barcode Technologies

POS & Peripherals
FEC/Acrelec
Posiflex
POS-X
Touch Dynamic

POS Systems - Hospitality
PAR

Barcode & Transaction Printers
Datamax-O'Neil
Zebra Technologies

Cash Drawers
MMF POS

Data Collection Terminals
CipherLab
Datalogic Mobile
Janam Technologies

Data Collection Software
Wavelink

Integrated Payment Solutions
Datacap Systems
Merchant Warehouse
WorldPay US

Keyboards
Cherry, ZF Electronics Corp.

Mobile Marketing & Loyalty
Sundrop Mobile

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
Citizen Systems America
Epson America
Star Micronics

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

One Way to Stop Shrink

Kiosk Information Systems (Louisville, CO), one of the long-lived builders of self-service technologies, will use the upcoming National Retail Federation Show in New York to preview StoreBOT, its automated retail dispenser for small, expensive, high-shrink products such as games, electronics, perfume, and cosmetics. StoreBOT reduces theft at both the employee and shopper levels by dispensing inventory from its locked enclosure upon payment. Employee password, biometrics, and camera are used to identify store associates responsible for loading the machine, with automated stock count reports keeping track of things.

Carrying 200 to 600 product slots, this modular platform may be deployed as part of department store shelving or as stand-alone kiosk. In addition to shrink prevention, it doubles as an intelligent inventory count tool through barcode scanning of unsold items. If desired, it may even trigger re-order reports based on minimum stock levels to prevent missed sales opportunities.

“Our design and application development teams worked closely with initial clients to create tangible ROI with this custom platform,” reported Rick Malone, CEO of Kiosk Information Systems. “Ultimately, automated retail is about simultaneously eliminating multiple tiers of theft while maximizing sales, and the unique feature set of the StoreBOT platform hits both marks dead-on. We see endless possibilities in automated retail, and will continue to develop flexible configurations to accommodate various product categories and sales environments.”

StoreBOT by Kiosk Information Systems

Tablet POS Hardly “Unknwn”

Through its purchase of Global Bay Mobile Technologies in November, VeriFone (San Jose, CA), the payment processing mothership, has instantly emerged as one of the major forces in the implementation of Apple’s iPad in retail. Indeed, each and every week brings more interesting deployments for the consumer tablet. For LeBron James’ new “Unknwn” sportswear store in Southern Florida’s Aventura Mall, VeriFone’s partner, iPad Enclosures (Sandy, UT), has specified 45 wall-mounted iPads, encased in the company’s Evolve tablet frames, one for each sneaker product. These self-service stations provide pricing, description, and clothing combinations for their individual product. An integrator for mobile device management software from Wavelink Corporation and scanners from Socket Mobile, iPad Enclosures will exhibit with VeriFone at the upcoming National Retail Federation Show in New York.

VeriFone also announced that its renamed GlobalBay iPad Retailing solution has been adopted by GUESS, Inc., the prominent designer and distributor of apparel and accessories. A dozen stores in the U.S. have rolled out this scheme, reportedly, with plans to expand widely in 2012. In this configuration, GUESS has iPads mounted on rolling stands that function as self-service kiosks. Online connectivity allows for real-time interface to web-based assets and e-commerce transactions when required.

“VeriFone’s GlobalBay iPad Retailing provides GUESS with the flexibility to easily configure, customize, and deploy multiple customer engagement capabilities and staff training on the fly,” volunteered Michael Relich, EVP and CIO of GUESS. “Consumers can access our online resources in the store and sales associates can roll the iPads into the dressing room to visually display options and accessories to make shopping more fulfilling and enjoyable.” Outside the store, GUESS has taken the VeriFone GlobalBay iPad package to events, including the recent Jingle Ball at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and six-week road show in Asia that leveraged customer loyalty enrollment in Chinese with local sizing explanations and related product imagery.

An iPad Per Sneaker for LeBron James’ Florida Store

Channel Factoid

U.S. smart-phone adoption is expected to surge to 175 million devices by 2015, according to the Yankee Group, but even in this booming market, many mobile OS vendors face uphill battles. Not surprisingly, iOS and Android will dominate. Over 80% of consumers intend to buy an iPhone or Android-powered device over the next six months. Further, iOS is the only contender set to win share over that time frame. By contrast, RIM and Microsoft are struggling to sell new smart-phones--even to their current customer bases. At present, 20% of U.S. consumers own RIM BlackBerry, but only 12% intending to buy new smart-phones in the next six months will purchase another BlackBerry device. Similarly, 14% of consumers own Windows Mobile-based devices, but only 9% of those intending to buy in the next six months say they will go with Windows Mobile. Meanwhile, Symbian and HP WebOS aren’t even in the race. Fewer than 2% of consumers expect to purchase Nokia or Palm during the next six months. “Opportunities within the smart-phone market abound, but we’ve reached the critical point where graves could be dug for several OS vendors,” cautioned Katie Lewis, Associate Analyst at Yankee Group.

HELLO GOODBYE

Channel Muscle at Getac

Getac, Inc. (Irvine, CA) has recharged its commitment to the channel with the hiring of Scott Shainman as Director of Channels for North America. Shainman brings deep experience in partner relationship building to the manufacturer of rugged computers. In his previous position as Director of Worldwide Channels and Strategic Alliances at General Dynamics Itronix, he was named one of the 2011 Channel Chiefs by CRN Magazine. Before that, he held titles such as Regional Channel Manager at Avnet and Channel Business Manager at Intermec.

“The key to a healthy channel is a well-rounded mix of partners in a secure structure that reduces conflict, increases co-marketing activities, and focuses on manufacturer-based lead generation,” espoused Shainman. “Success requires a thorough understanding of the channel’s needs, which means having a program that addresses the requirements of a small, state-based reseller as well as that of a global systems integrator. The end goal is to have a channel where partners can drive revenue, increase profit margins, and offer value-added services in untapped markets, all of which is centered around Getac’s world-class computing devices.”

“We are thrilled to have Scott Shainman join our management team,” shared John Lamb, Director of Marketing for Getac. “The expansion of our channel partners is an important component of our overall growth strategy and Scott’s extensive experience in channel development and management will help Getac continue to build our momentum.” Part and parcel, Shainman will be charged with the ongoing development and enhancement of Getac’s Direct Access Partner Program, established in 2009.

Scott Shainman, Director of Channels, North America, Getac

New VP Adds Link to Supply Chain

Progress Software Corporation (Bedford, MA), which addresses business process engineering, has named Henry Hicks as its Industry VP for Supply Chain. A long-time advocate “for the optimization of the virtual supply chain,” in the words of his new employer, Hicks will drive market strategy and product development for the company’s global Supply Chain Practice, helping customers to gain “real-time foresight into disruptions and offering them the ability to conquer supply chain complexity and meet service level agreements.” As such, he will draw upon the company’s self-described foundation in event-driven visibility and real-time response, open data access and integration, and application development and deployment--for both on-premises and SaaS/cloud formations.

Recently, Hicks was VP of Worldwide Services Sales and Marketing for Lenovo Computers, responsible for long-term growth strategies and overall sales performance of the division. Prior to Lenovo, he served as VP at Capgemini Consulting and led the West Supply Chain Practice, where he advised clients on how to streamline their supply chains. He also has held key roles with Deloitte, Dell, Frito Lay, and UPS.

“Business leaders need real visibility to mitigate risks and take quick, decisive actions, and the supply chain presents an enormous opportunity to realize these benefits,” commented Jay Bhatt, CEO/President of Progress Software. “Hicks’ expertise and leadership will help Progress customers deploy supply chain technologies that enable them to become more operationally responsive and build market share.” Bhatt assumed his position in December following high-level executive employment at Autodesk.

Henry Hicks, Industry VP, Supply Chain, Progress Software