Our Product Pick

Koamtac (Princeton, NJ) has stocked new HF/UHF modules for its barcode scanner sled, Model KDC470. Offered in 0.5-watt and 1.0-watt, UHF furnishes tag reading for short, mid-range, and long-range asset tracking and inventory management. As markets, HF addresses various ticketing and identification environments. In overall size and weight of 4.1 in. (L) x 2.6 in. (W) x 0.75 in. (D) and 4.2 oz.--when outfitted with the slim modules of HF/UHF--the KDC470 has Bluetooth 2.1+EDR/Bluetooth BLE 4.1, HID/SPP/MFi, and Serial/USB. It features 8-MB ROM, 1130-mAh Li-Ion battery, and support for Apple iOS and Android O/S. "Our new RFID readers will complete data collection needs of smartphone and tablet users," stressed Hanjin Lee, President and CEO of Koamtac.

RFID Reader by Koamtac

COMPANY BUSINESS

A Trifecta at Posiflex

A virtual executive headquarters, entitled the North American Corporate Office, or NACO, has been established by Posiflex Technology. It will leverage the resources of the company's three powerful entities: Posiflex Business Machines (in POS), Kiosk Information Systems (in Self-Service), and Portwell (in Embedded Computing). As readers may recall, Posiflex purchased Kiosk Information Systems (Louisville, CO) for $105 million in August 2016, and Portwell (New Taipei City, Taiwan) for $181 million in July 2017.

A channel division of NACO will be guided by familiar industry figure Doyle Ledford. In addition to his current role as VP of Sales and Marketing for Posiflex Business Machines, Ledford now serves as Director of Channels of NACO. "His extensive knowledge and success building channel sales and partners will be an integral part of NACO's overall growth strategy," testified Posiflex.

Also named to executive roles: Allen Lee, CEO of Portwell, as Managing Director of NACO, and Tom Weaver, former CEO of Kiosk Information Systems, as Chief Strategy Officer of NACO. According to Owen Chen, CEO of Posiflex Technology, "The vision in this very specific acquisition strategy was to bring three best-in-class companies together to provide the most complete and sophisticated computing solutions from on-line to off-line (O2O) applications in this high-growth era of Service IoT." A new force, with obvious synergies, NACO.

Doyle Ledford, VP of Sales and Marketing of Posiflex Business Machines and Director of Channels of the New Posiflex Technology North American Corporate Office

A New Vessel for Harbortouch

Harbortouch, part of Shift4 Payments, has unwrapped its new package of POS, called "Checkout." Addressing retail SMB, Checkout continues the "POS-as-a-Service" philosophy by Harbortouch, under which it bundles software, hardware, installation, and training at monthly fee with no upfront cost. It employs its popular touchscreen-based Elite POS Terminal.

"While our existing retail software is excellent for large-scale retail operations, it can be intimidating for owners of small-to-medium-sized retail businesses," explained Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payments (Allentown, PA). "Checkout is the perfect solution for independent and small chain retail stores, providing advanced functionality in an easy-to-use package. It really hits the sweet spot for most retail businesses."

As functionality, in addition to sales and payments, Checkout has inventory management, customer marketing, employee scheduling, and back-office reporting. Already, Harbortouch has shown considerable success with its software/hardware bundles for quick-service and full-service restaurants, bars and clubs, spas and salons, and larger retailers. "A massive new market" is represented by the retail SMB for Harbortouch, stated Isaacman.

Harbortouch Debuts "Checkout" for SMB Retail

Worth Your While

RetailNOW
Retail Solutions Providers Association
August 5-8
Nashville, TN

VARTECH
BlueStar
September 17-18
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

LabelExpo Americas
Tarsus Group
September 25-27
Chicago, IL

NACS
National Association of Convenience Stores
October 7-10
Las Vegas, NV

Pack Expo
Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute
October 14-17
Chicago, IL

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Unitech Crafts MS652

Unitech America (Cypress, CA) has shipped its new two-dimensional wearable ring scanner, designated MS652. In basic dimensions of 2.8 in. (L) x 2 in. (W) x 0.8 in. (D), the MS652 employs red LED light source (660 nm) and image sensor CMOS (640x400), via Zebra's SE2707 scan engine. As communications, Bluetooth BLE 4.2 furnishes workers with mobility of 33 ft./10 m, and along with BT to NFC, links smartphones and tablets running Apple iOS, Android O/S, or Microsoft Windows.

A number of ergonomic design elements are emphasized, including reduced weight of 3.4 oz., rotation of scanner to accommodate right- or left-handed workers, and two-finger mount for stability. A rechargeable 800-mAh LI-Ion battery has operating time of 13 hours. In case of network loss, an auto data storage mode draws on 7.5-MB Flash.

As ruggedness, the MS652 has an IP-42 rating and 5-ft./1.5-m drop resistance. Easy scanner configuration, access to data, and firmware upgrade is achieved via built-in USB. An MSRP of $900, with one-year warranty, has been quoted for Unitech America's MS652. As markets, there's retail, logistics, field-service, and hospitality.

Unitech's 2D MS652 Ring Scanner

Cherry Cleans Up

Cherry Americas (Pleasant Prairie, WI) has unveiled the newest member of its keyboard family, the EZClean KC 1000. A wipeable, whisper-quiet, full-sized keyboard--at 18.2 in. (L) x 6.9 in. (W) x 0.75 in. (D), with 104 keys (4 "hot")--the EZClean KC 1000 has been designed to meet the needs of demanding healthcare and food-service industries, among others, according to Cherry Americas. A smooth silicone cover allows for easy cleaning without compromise of comfort in typing.

Compatible with both PC and Mac, the EZClean KC 1000 employs plug-and-play USB. It has been tested to withstand at least 10 million confirmations per key, with one-year warranty for the cover and two-year warranty for the keyboard. As MSRP, Cherry cited $45 for the EZClean KC 1000 (with cover). Replacement covers are $34 MSRP.

"Our main goal is to meet the ever-growing needs of our business partners--no matter the industry that they are in," remarked Chad Vendette, Director of Marketing at Cherry Americas. "Cherry's new EZClean KC 1000 is the long-awaited keyboard that is here to strengthen the bridge between the sealed and unsealed keyboard categories. We are very excited to see our years of R&D blossoming in such an unique and target-specific offering."

Cherry's EZClean KC 1000 Wipeable Keyboard

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ALLIANCES

Datacap Engages the Clutch

An interesting move into third-party value-added services for payment middleware provider, Datacap Systems (Chalfont, PA). As an initial offering, Datacap (renowned for its "NETePay") has retained the customer relationship management (CRM) solution from Clutch (Ambler, PA). Established in 2012, Clutch furnishes services for gift, loyalty, stored value, mobile, e-mail, and direct mail. It reportedly reaches 120 million consumers of 900 brands.

"We're thrilled to announce the news of our gift and loyalty integration with Datacap," relayed Andy O'Dell, Chief Strategy Officer at Clutch. "We know that loyalty members spend 20% more than non-members, so the ability to manage enrollment in a secure and responsible manner while increasing revenue is a huge advantage for businesses of all kinds." On its website, Clutch also shows partnerships with processors Cayan (Boston, MA) and Shift4 Payments (Allentown, PA).

"Integration to the Clutch platform represents a significant value-add for Datacap's partners in POS," suggested Justin Zeigler, Director of Product Strategy at Datacap Systems. "Our providers in POS can now present additional value to their merchant clients by offering loyalty, gift, and marketing services to help business owners better engage their customer base." A full rollout of the new value-added services platform--promising recurring revenue--by Datacap Systems is expected in Q3 or Q4 of 2018, RRN.Com was told.

A Value-Add Services Platform at Datacap Includes Clutch CRM

TSC: Either U.S. "OR" Canada

TSC America (Brea, CA) has called upon OR Computer Solutions to provide warranty repair services under Remote Merchandise Authorization (RMA) in Canada. It reduces cost and turnaround times for shipping the company's printers to the U.S. "We look forward to helping TSC grow its presence in the market in Canada," expressed Oren Shemesh, VP of OR Computer Solutions (Markham, ON, Canada).

In addition to computing and office equipment, OR Computer Solutions supports POS/Auto ID. "With over 20 years of technical experience serving multiple industries, OR Computer Solutions is well-suited to handle TSC," postulated David Lundeen, VP of Marketing at TSC America. The RMA process for repairs in Canada will be the same as the U.S., noted TSC America.

Also, TSC America has received approval from Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). As "Certified for Windows," TSC label printer models--such as MH240, MX240P, TTP-2410MT, DA210, and DA220--now feature full compatibility with Windows Server 2016 and Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit). As such, drivers for Windows install automatically via USB. A certified driver may also be downloaded from Microsoft.

David Lundeen, VP of Marketing, TSC America

Code Corner

IntelliTrack (Sparks, MD), one of the prominent suppliers of inventory management software, has announced new integrations with three leading e-commerce platforms: Magento, Big Commerce, and Woo Commerce. A seamless, web-based system, IntelliTrack employs barcode technology to track inventory receipt, movement, and order fulfillment in real-time. As such, it prevents losses, shortage and surpluses; expedites order fulfillment; and increases customer satisfaction. "As we continue to see an increase in e-commerce sales, retailers can expect an influx of customers who value faster delivery times more than brand," advised Ronald Pawlowski, COO of IntelliTrack. "In order to win consumer loyalty, e-commerce retailers must ensure that items shown in stock online are not only actually in stock, but ready to be shipped as soon as an online order is placed. By integrating IntelliTrack with Magento, Big Commerce, and Woo Commerce, our customers will have immediate updates of inventory based on buyers' shopping carts."

IntelliTrack Inventory Software

INTEGRATION

Cybra Believes in MarkMagic 9.5

Cybra Corporation (Yonkers, NY) has released the latest version of its popular barcode software, MarkMagic 9.5. It adds support for color ink-jet label printers by Epson America (Long Beach, CA), several new thermal label printers by Toshiba TEC (Lake Forest, CA), and printers of plastic shipping bags by Autobag (Streetsboro, OH). Enhanced design capabilities include addition of shapes such as circles, ovals, and arcs, and new rounded and arrow/triangle line end styles, as well as new features in PDF such as editable text fields and embedded URLs.

"With the retail space becoming more and more complex, MarkMagic users are looking to us to make their jobs simpler," reported Sheldon Reich, Chief Solutions Architect with Cybra. "Naturally, e-commerce and omnichannel demands make things more complicated. So, to remain vital to our customers, MarkMagic helps them embrace e-commerce labeling and forms production by simplifying the process."

"For example, MarkMagic 9.5's Epson Colorworks support removes the burden of requiring pre-printed stock with color backgrounds," continued Reich, "and the new embedded URL feature is great for e-commerce landing pages and other variable data-driven promotions." Of interest to the channel, MarkMagic has been chosen as the Auto ID print engine of software packages from Manhattan Associates, VAI, Apparel Business Systems, and Honeywell. As such, it supports the iSeries from IBM, AIX, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Unix.

New Release Includes Support for Epson Colorworks

ParTech: Eyes Open

A new partner for ParTech: loss prevention leader, via video surveillance, Envysion (Louisville, CO). Introduced in 2006, Envysion, which offers its Managed Video Solution, now ties directly to PAR's Brink and PixelPoint POS Software. A leading channel player in POS, with its EverServ 550, 600, and 8000 Workstations, ParTech is the wholly owned subsidiary of PAR Technology Corporation (New Hartford, NY).

"We are enthused to add Envysion to our large ecosystem of partners," indicated Paul Rubin, Chief Strategy Officer at ParTech. "Envysion acts as the 'eyes' behind all business data--including point-of-sale, business intelligence, accounting, operations, environmental, and security--empowering restaurants and food distributors to verify their data and make sound decisions within the invaluable context of video. PAR's customers will greatly benefit from the added protection and seamless integration into existing workflows provided by Envysion."

Earlier, in April, PAR extended its new transaction processing solution, dubbed "PAR Pay." Offered as SaaS, PAR Pay supports popular devices such as Models iSC 250, iSC 480, and IPP 350 by Ingenico (Alpharetta, GA) and Models Mx925/915 and Vx805/520 by Verifone (San Jose, CA). It features tokenization, point-to-point encryption (P2PE), EMV, NFC, and PCI-DSS and PA-DSS Version 3.2. "PAR Pay is tightly integrated with all PAR POS Software and is fully supported by our service teams, and we are confident our customers will see significant value," asserted Rubin.

Envysion Brings Loss Prevention to ParTech POS

Key Advertiser Links

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

POS & Peripherals
Aures
Bematech
Electronic Payments
Harbortouch
Hewlett-Packard
Pioneer POS
POSBANK USA
Posiflex

Barcode & Transaction Printers
Brother Mobile
CognitiveTPG
Godex Americas

Cash Drawers
APG Cash Drawer
MMF POS

Data Collection
CipherLab
Code Corporation
Janam Technologies

Integrated Payment Solutions
Datacap Systems
Cayan
iPayment
Sterling Payment

Keyboards & Mobile POS
TG3 Electronics

Mounts for POS
SpacePole

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
CognitiveTPG
Epson America
Star Micronics

Thermal Printers
Seiko Instruments USA

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

A Flip Side of ShopKeep

ShopKeep (New York, NY), upstart purveyor of POS, has embraced Android O/S. Its new register app will initially be fielded in the Clover POS terminals by First Data. Now in the market on Clover Mini, it will move to the larger Clover Station in Q3 2018. As readers will recall, First Data established its Integrated Solutions Group for ISVs in early 2017.

Up to now, ShopKeep deployed its register app exclusively on Apple's iOS. In addition to providing small business owners with a wider range of hardware options, the addition of Android O/S will help reduce start-up costs for entrepreneurs, according to the two parties. A charge of $499 has been cited for an associated all-in-one hardware solution.

"Extending ShopKeep to Android-based hardware platforms ensures that both our customers and partners have access to the full range of device options available in the market," proclaimed Michael DeSimone, CEO of ShopKeep. "We are delighted to deploy our solution on the Clover platform as a first step in expanding the availability of ShopKeep in the market, and plan to extend our reach into several hardware platforms through the back half of 2018." At present, ShopKeep serves more than 25,000 customers in bar, quick-service restaurant, and retail environments.

ShopKeep Adds Android Register App

Serving Caviar at Square

As no surprise to anyone--considering its momentum in service businesses and independent retailers--here comes Square for Restaurants. In addition to ordering and payments, it offers menu and table management, staff scheduling, and, significantly, seamless delivery and pick-up through its proprietary company, aptly named "Caviar." Here, delivery and pick-up orders appear directly within the POS. As such, it speeds up operations, reduces incorrect orders, eliminates the need for extra tablets, and provides an omnichannel overview, according to Square (San Francisco, CA).

"Square for Restaurants offers everything you need to run a restaurant at full speed--with none of the distractions or pain points you don't want," expounded Alyssa Henry, Seller Lead for Square. "Now, we can serve larger restaurant customers, as well as grow with those who have been using Square." As pricing for Square for Restaurants: $60 per month, and $40 per month for each added terminal.

"Caviar's experience working with thousands of top restaurants across the country gave us the unique insight we needed to build a one-stop point-of-sale with on-demand delivery integration," declared Gokul Rajaram, Caviar Lead for Square. "We're extremely pleased to bring Caviar and Square together and to let our restaurant partners grow their business through delivery in an even more effortless way." Over 100 restaurants have already deployed Square for Restaurants, such as Bar Agricole in San Francisco, CA, Boke Bowl in Portland, OR, The Populist in Denver, CO, Greca in New York, NY, and Rooster Soup Company in Philadelphia, PA.

Here Comes Square for Restaurants

Channel Factoid

Retail: Help Wanted

-Employment in stores increased by 28,800 jobs seasonally adjusted in May over April and by 100,000 jobs unadjusted year-over-year. (Excluded are automotive dealers, gasoline stations, and restaurants.)

-May's numbers followed an upwardly revised combined increase of 19,300 jobs for March and April. The three-month moving average in May showed an increase of 19,000 jobs.

-Almost every segment of retail showed gains, with the most robust increases concentrated in three areas: general merchandise stores, which were up 13,400; clothing and clothing accessory stores, up 6,500; and building and garden supplies, up 6,000.

-Losses in employment were concentrated in two sectors of retail: health and personal care stores, down 800 jobs; and non-stores, which includes online, down 1,100 jobs.

-"An unemployment rate of 3.8%, at its lowest since April 2000, shows that many industries, including retail, are hiring and creating jobs," observed Jack Kleinhenz, Chief Economist at the National Retail Federation. "We expect this rate to continue to decline as the fiscal stimulus and tax cuts are further absorbed in the economy."

Source: National Retail Federation

HELLO GOODBYE

Craig Cashes In (With APG)

APG Cash Drawer (Minneapolis, MN) has enlisted Craig Kaliebe as its Business Development Manager for North America. He joins APG from metal fabrication firm, Matenaer Corporation, where he served as Sales, Marketing, and Business Development Manager (2015 to 2018). His resume includes OEM Sales Manager/New Business Development at CognitiveTPG (2014 to 2015), Regional Sales Manager at C&K Components (2012 to 2014), Marketing Manager/Sales Director at ZF Switches & Sensors (2007 to 2012), and Territory/Key Account Manager for Cherry Electrical Products (2000 to 2007).

"Craig has many years of solution selling experience that supports our strategic direction as the global leader of cash management solutions," enthused Nigel Ball, VP of Sales for North America at APG. "He demonstrates an open, positive selling style, and can initiate and build long-term relationships with both customers and industry partners. His understanding of brand, strategic selling and being a strong cultural fit will be a significant asset to our organization."

"Since my days at Cherry, I've always admired APG Cash Drawer, their products and creative approach, and I'm thrilled to be able to join this outstanding organization and team up with Nigel Ball again," commented Kaliebe. "I enjoy working with customers, understanding their challenges, and helping them to deliver mutually beneficial solutions." Joining APG in March, Nigel Ball worked at both CognitiveTPG as VP of Sales and Marketing (2013 to 2018) and Cherry Electrical Products as VP of Sales and Marketing (2005 to 2009).

Craig Kaliebe, Business Development Manager, North America, APG Cash Drawer

Matt on Display (at Pioneer)

Pioneer Solution (City of Industry, CA) has engaged Matt Walsh as its Director, POS Sales - Western Region. Before Pioneer, he served as Regional Sales Manager for QuickLogic (2017 to 2018), and Director of Sales - West for InFocus (2013 to 2016). Earlier, he was Regional Sales Manager for Elo (2013 to 2015) and North American Sales Manager for Planar Systems (2003 to 2013).

"My role for over 15 years in this industry has been to work directly with each end-user to ensure that they are getting exactly what they need from a product and solution perspective," contributed Walsh. "Like Pioneer, I have never worked for a company in this industry that has sold directly to the end-user, and I know how critical it is to have the trust and respect of the reseller to get that introduction to their customer. Having the manufacturer involved with the reseller throughout the sales cycle can be extremely powerful for the reseller and lets their customer know their importance."

"All products of Pioneer are designed, built, shipped, and repaired in the U.S., giving us tighter quality control and flexibility," continued Walsh. "Pioneer's products have always been known as the most reliable in the industry, referred by the top industry ISVs and carried by the largest distributors of POS. In addition, Pioneer can quickly and cost-effectively customize our product for any customer need, including logo, bezel color, PC configuration, and O/S."

Matt Walsh, Director, POS Sales - Western Region, Pioneer Solution