Our Product Pick

Code Corporation (Murray, UT) has debuted its Dark Gray CR2700 Barcode Scanner. A version of the company's popular CR2700, it employs Level 2 CodeShield plastic casing for disinfectant proofing, versus the highly specialized Level 3 CodeShield used in healthcare (which comes in white and light gray casing for the CR2700). With Level 2 CodeShield, the Dark Gray CR2700 suits the needs of more industries--including retail, manufacturing, and warehouse/distribution--by standing up to commonly used cleaners without fading, cracking, or showing signs of degradation. As expected, it provides the same functionality, speed, and accuracy of the original CR2700. "In this time of renewed focus on employee and customer health, organizations are looking for ways to improve safety without compromising functionality or efficiency," relayed Kent Hansen, CEO of Code Corporation.

Code's Dark Gray CR2700 Scanner

COMPANY BUSINESS

POSBANK Performs "MAZIC"

POSBANK USA (Plainview, NY) has unveiled its new terminal for POS, styled "MAZIC." Available in three models, with choice of processors (ranging from Intel Celeron J3455 and Intel Celeron 3965U to Intel Core i3-7100U and Intel Core i5-7200U), and 4-GB/16-GB Memory, MAZIC runs Windows 10 IoT Enterprise. As touchscreen sizes, in projected-capacitive TFT LCD, LED Backlight, there's MAZIC G-1500 (15", 1024x768, 4:3), MAZIC GW-1560 (15.6", 1366x768, Wide 16:9), and MAZIC GW-2150 (21.5", 1920x1080, Wide 16:9). A full complement of ports for peripherals includes USB x 8, Serial x 2, Cash Drawer x 1, and LAN x 1.

In correspondence with RRN, representatives of POSBANK pointed to five major features of MAZIC. Of greatest excitement is the Swappable System Box, which contains electronics, snaps to the back of the terminal, and thereby facilitates upgrade and maintenance. Next, the dual-hinge construction, with arm of aluminum, allows the screen to be positioned comfortably for users and enables MAZIC to be shipped and stored in flat format. A third feature, its fanless design, and "internal heat pipe," eliminates system noise and performance degradation in common harsh operating conditions, notes POSBANK.

In the information provided to RRN, POSBANK also promoted increased ruggedness, with the touchscreen tested to 30,000 hours MTBF, and internal parts selected on the basis of 50,000 hours MTBF. Also, an External I/O Box enables the system to be expanded. Options include VFD (20x2) or secondary display (9.7" or 13.3"), camera, biometric fingerprint reader, Dallas i-button, MSR/EMV, and Wi-Fi WLAN. In dark black matte finish, the MAZIC weighs 13.4 lbs./6.1 kg. As expected, installation includes countertop, wall mount, or kiosk configurations.

POSBANK Unveils Its MAZIC POS Terminal

Star Takes the Cure8

Star Micronics America (Somerset, NJ) has announced it will market its products via Cure8, an e-commerce website for cannabis dispensaries. As part of GeekTek (Los Angeles, CA), Cure8 endorses approximately 100 curated products in 20 different product categories. Under this relationship, Star will supply its printer models mC-Print3 and TSP143III, its cash drawers, and consumables such as thermal receipt paper rolls.

In cube-shaped dimensions of 5.2 in. (W) x 5.5 in. (D) x 4.9 in. (H), the mC-Print3 thermal receipt printer has maximum paper width of 3 in./80 mm and maximum print speed of 9.8 in./250 mm per second at 203 dpi. In dimensions of 5.6 in. (W) x 8 in. (D) x 5.2 in. (H), the TSP143III thermal receipt printer has similar maximum paper width of 3 in./80 mm and maximum print speed of 9.8 in./250 mm per second at 203 dpi. A full suite of connectivity includes USB, Lightning, Bluetooth, Ethernet, Wi-Fi WLAN, and Star's CloudPRNT/WebPRNT. On Cure8, Star offers cash drawers: Value (CD3), Choice (CD4), and Max (SMD3).

"Technology is critical to cannabis businesses, especially in terms of operations, compliance, security, and customer experience," confirmed Eric Schlissel, CEO and Founder of GeekTek. "We offer Star products to our customers because they are high-quality and reliable solutions that are trusted by retailers everywhere." In order to make the shopping process easier for merchants, Cure8 will create standardized product bundles for the cannabis industry, including seed-to-sale and POS.

Star Places Products for Cannabis on E-Commerce Cure8

Worth Your While

2021

Shoptalk
Shoptalk Commerce, LLC
March 21-24
Las Vegas, NV

ProMat
Modern Materials Handling (MHI)
April 12-15
Chicago, IL

NRA Show
National Restaurant Association
May 22-25
Chicago, IL

NRF Show
National Retail Federation
June 6-8
New York, NY

RetailNOW
Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA)
July 25-28
Nashville, TN

Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo
Clarion Events
August 22-24
Anaheim, CA

Money 20/20
Ascential
October 24-27
Las Vegas, NV

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Dascom Dials DL-310

Dascom Americas (Verona, VA) has unwrapped its new desktop thermal label printer, shipped as the Model DL-310. With maximum print width of 4 in./102 mm, and 16-MB SDRAM and 8-MB Flash, with drivers for Windows (32/64 Bit), the DL-310 has maximum print speed of 4 in./102 mm per second at 300 dpi. With vertical opening, it measures 9 in. (W) x 11.4 in. (D) x 6.9 in. (H) and weighs 6.6 lbs./3 kg. A ribbon of 984 ft./300 m and media with 5 in./127 mm Outside Diameter are accepted.

As connectivity, there's standard USB, with optional Serial, Parallel, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi WLAN. As sensors, there's standard Black Mark, Paper Detection, Label Gap, Ribbon, and Mechanical (with optional Paper Taken). "A wide range of sensors makes it possible to use black labels, gap labels, continuous labels, or thermal paper, depending upon the user's specific needs," elaborated Lance Clark, National Sales Manager for Dascom Americas.

"Its open architecture allows easy operation and simplicity to change the paper roll or ribbon," continued Clark. "Customers will also have the ability to easily switch between some of the most popular printer emulations, including ZPL, EPL, and TSC." A standard paper tear cutter can be upgraded to an automatic label cutter, he added. At Dascom, the DL-310 completes the thermal family with the DL-210 and DL-820.

Model DL-310 Desktop Label Printer by Dascom

Google "Taps" Socket Mobile

Socket Mobile (Newark, CA) has received Google Wallet Certification for its SocketScan S550 Contactless Membership Card Reader/Writer. With Google Pay "Smart Tap," mobile passes are stored in the Google Pay Wallet, along with payment and transit cards. These passes use NFC technology to facilitate secure, contactless transactions. When deployed with the merchant application developed using Socket's Software Development Kit (SDK), the SocketScan S550 automatically selects the merchant's mobile pass from the consumer's Google Wallet.

In diameter of approximately 3 in., and top height of 2.4 in., the SocketScan S550 supports Android, iOS, and Windows. It combines the latest 13.56-MHz NFC with wireless Bluetooth 5/BLE. It complies with standards for NFC, Smart Cards, and RFID (including EPC Gen 2 UHF). An embedded battery provides up to 16 hours of operation, with user feedback via audio tones and LEDs. FYI: An HID (keyboard emulation) profile is offered for native app support, in addition to the SDKs.

"The S550 delivers an engaging, contactless, and frictionless experience for your customers and guests using mobile passes," proclaimed Vince Coli, Staff Director, Technical Product Marketing, at Socket Mobile. "The Capture SDK provides our developers with the tools to use the magic of the Google Wallet ecosystem. We're delighted to be at the forefront of these new mobile pass capabilities and their ability to improve customer experiences." As use-cases cited: membership/loyalty cards, event tickets, coupons/offers, and check-in/checkout.

Socket Mobile's SocketScan S550 Contactless Card Reader/Writer Receives Google Wallet Certification

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ALLIANCES

A Big Fish in P2PE

Bluefin (Atlanta, GA), provider of security for payment processors, gateways, and ISVs, via its Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE), has validated several new devices, payment applications, and one new Key Injection Facility (KIF). As devices, this includes: Ingenico Lane 5000 and 7000; Ingenico Link 2500; PAX Q20; PAX IM30, IM300, IM500, and IM700; PAX Aries6 and AR6; PAX S920 and SP20; and Verifone V400c and V400c Plus. As applications, it includes the Ingenico Retail Base Application (RBA) 1.2, the Ingenico Unified Payment Platform (UPP) 2.0, and the Verifone XPI 20. It also includes Datecs's KIF in Sofia, Bulgaria.

"As the leader in payment and data security, Bluefin is always working to support the most current devices and secure applications for P2PE," declared Brent Johnson, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Bluefin. "With these new additions, Bluefin supports the most diverse group of PTS (PIN Transaction Security) devices, applications, and components of any solution provider for P2PE. Maintaining this variety and choice is of the utmost importance to Bluefin, our merchants, and our partners that utilize our integrated and stand-alone P2PE."

In March 2014, Bluefin became the first software provider to achieve PCI-Validation (by the Payment Card Industry) for P2PE in North America. In October 2014, it introduced Decryptex, its PCI-Validated "Decryption-as-a-Service," or DaaS. It currently has 135 connected partners with over 100 devices/applications, and 14 KIFs in the Decryptex Network. It also has an online system for lifecycle monitoring of devices for processors, gateways, and ISVs: P2PE Manager.

A Series of New Validations for P2PE by Bluefin, Including the Popular S920 Payment Terminal by PAX Technologies

ParTech Gathers ISVs

Another partner brought into the ecosystem for Brink POS by ParTech: FreedomPay (Philadelphia, PA). Its platform, called "Next Level Commerce," offers another payments gateway choice for the cloud-based Brink POS offered by ParTech. "Our robust feature set, along with global reach, will significantly enhance the customer experience," suggested Jerry Lake, VP of Product Management at FreedomPay.

With the most recent version of Brink POS, restaurants employing FreedomPay can keep what they have--including payment devices--to avoid unnecessary expenses when making any changes driven by the market, emphasized the two parties. "By integrating with FreedomPay, Brink POS allows restaurants to choose based on their business needs, and has the potential to save them money," proclaimed Hieu Bui, VP of Product Management at ParTech. An omnichannel solution across in-store, on-line, and on-mobile, FreedomPay's platform furnishes the full suite of capabilities in payments, security, identity, and data analytics.

A division of PAR (New Hartford, NY), ParTech has recently enlisted numerous new partners for its Brink POS, including, in October: OpenEye (video loss prevention, in Liberty Lake, WI), Zuppler (food ordering, in Conshohocken, PA), and Tattle (customer experience improvement, or CXI, in New York, NY). In its Q3, ended September 30, 2020, ParTech showed annual recurring revenue of $22.9 million for Brink POS, an increase of $5 million, or 29% year-over-year from Q3 2019. It reported 761 new store activations for Brink POS in Q3 2020.

FreedomPay Among the ISVs Joining Ecosystem of Brink POS

Code Corner

Revel (Atlanta, GA) has launched its new delivery management solution for restaurants and retailers, dubbed Delivery XT. Integrating directly with Revel's POS, of course, and powered by software from Captain AI (London, UK), Delivery XT allows operators to more efficiently manage take-out orders, have control of their data, and bypass third-party delivery service fees. It includes functionality for driver tracking, order grouping, delivery time estimates, and order confirmation and status updates. Additional features, such as automated route optimization, will be added. "Since delivery enhancements were already on our roadmap, we've fast-tracked these developments in response to the market need," explained Chris Lybeer, Chief Strategy Officer at Revel Systems. "Delivery XT improves the customer experience through each step of the purchasing process, ensuring constant communication and clear expectations from the start."

Revel Launches Delivery XT

ENVIRONMENTS/PLATFORMS

Ivanti Rounds Up Zebras

Ivanti Wavelink, the supply chain business unit of Ivanti (Salt Lake City, UT), has extended several new management capabilities for the thermal barcode printers from Zebra Technologies Corporation (Lincolnshire, IL). As functionality, this includes: printer discovery, configuration, and centralized management; advanced reporting; and direct communication via console. It supports users of Zebra's LinkOS via Ivanti Wavelink Avalanche.

"We are pleased to be supporting Zebra through the new features and capabilities now available through Ivanti Avalanche," contributed Joe Wilson, VP of Global Sales at Ivanti Wavelink. "Ivanti Wavelink Avalanche is a proven solution that delivers powerful management, scalability, and security features to supply chain and warehouses around the world. It is the ideal solution for preventing cost overruns and reducing outages in the supply chain with its ability to provide robust management for the warehouse's entire Zebra infrastructure."

"Printing is very important within the supply chain today, yet it is a solution that is often forgotten and not well managed, which can drive up costs when troubleshooting, or if printer supply levels are off-target and need to be addressed quickly," related Brandon Black, VP and GM of Ivanti Wavelink. "For the first time, through the enhancements that are now available with Ivanti Wavelink Avalanche, we are providing organizations with the ability to manage and discover their printers alongside other rugged devices, including Android-powered mobile picking and inventory management solutions." FYI: In October, Ivanti Wavelink rolled out its Strategic Alliances Program for ISVs and OEMs.

Ivanti Wavelink Avalanche Extends Zebra's Printers

Payroc Digs Bluestone

Another acquisition for Payroc, in the form of ISO Bluestone Payments (Peachtree City, GA). Established in 2006 by Linda Rossetti, Bluestone provides payment programs to merchants through referral relationships in niche markets. As hardware partners, it lists First Data (i.e., FD150 and Clover) and Verifone (i.e., VX520). Addressing retail, restaurants, and field service, Payroc furnishes its payment gateway, loyalty programs, e-commerce, and POS. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

"I'm thrilled to bring Bluestone into the family of Payroc," expressed Joe Natoli, EVP of Mergers & Acquisitions with Payroc (Des Plaines, IL). "I have known Linda for over 25 years and always had a great deal of respect for her. Linda has a great understanding of how our industry works, and in previous roles, she was instrumental in ensuring we had the latest products and services the payments ecosystem had to offer."

"Our philosophies towards customer success are aligned and evident throughout our past experience of accomplishments," commented Rossetti. "Bluestone is and always has been a merchant advocate first and foremost. I'm excited to be able to increase our customer offerings with Payroc's technology stack and international reach, which will provide the opportunity to drive future growth for both our companies."

In her career in payments prior to Bluestone, Rossetti served as Co-Founder and VP of Sales at Elavon/Nova (1991 to 1994), Founder and President of Bancard Resources (1994 to 1997), and President of Third-Party Relationships and SVP of Strategic Initiatives at Global Payments (1997 to 2006). She will remain as President of Bluestone and take on an expanded role as EVP of Strategic Initiatives at Payroc. FYI: In September, in an effort to enhanced its integrated payment offering for ISVs, Payroc purchased Blackline Partners (Hoffman Estates, IL), and its cloud-based Application Programming Interface (API), entitled eConduit.

Linda Rossetti, President of Bluestone, and EVP of Strategic Initiatives at Payroc, Following Acquisition

Key Advertiser Links

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

POS & Peripherals
Aures
CRS, Inc.
Electronic Payments
Epson America
Harbortouch
HP
Ingenico
Pioneer Solution
POSBANK USA
Posiflex
ShopPOSPortal

Barcode & Transaction Printers
Bixolon America
Brother Mobile
Godex Americas

Cash Drawers
APG Cash Drawer

Data Collection
CipherLab
Code Corporation
Janam Technologies
Unitech America

Integrated Payment Solutions
Datacap Systems
Electronic Payments
Ingenico
International Bancard
North American Bancard
PAX Technology
Sound Payments

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
Citizen Systems America
Star Micronics

Stands, Mounts, Cradles
Gamber-Johnson

Software
Fast Order Now
Touch Window

INSTALLATIONS

Drilling for (CBD) Oil

Another customer for the reseller partnership between Loop Insights (Vancouver, BC, Canada) and Vend (Durango, CO). It brings an advanced marketing platform, with Artificial Intelligence (AI), by Loop Insights with the cloud and iOS-based POS by Vend to retailer of Cannabidiol Oil, Your CBD Store. Following successful pilot, Your CBD Store, based in Palmetto, FL, will roll out the solution to its 550 locations in the U.S.

"Our current 'Insights' pricing model is $50 per month per till, with an average of four tills per retail location," indicated Ron Anson, CEO at Loop Insights. "If we were to successfully onboard all 25,000 customers of Vend, we would be looking at potential monthly recurring revenue of over $5,000,000. When you layer in our automated marketing service, 'Engage,' and wallet pass loyalty application, these numbers quickly multiply by 5x to 10x."

Also, Loop Insights has completed its integration, via Application Programming Interface (API), with the e-commerce platform of Shopify (Ottawa, ON, Canada). An omnichannel solution across web sales and brick-and-mortar, including real-time insights and enhanced customer engagement by Loop Insights, will now be offered to 500,000 merchants employing Shopify. In August, Loop Insights and Vend announced their first joint customer, Wild Bird Centers of America.

Your CBD Store Deploys Loop Insights and Vend POS

Square: Someone's in the Kitchen

Square (San Francisco, CA) has added a new Kitchen Display System (KDS) to its family in POS. Supporting an iPad, this software handles order tickets from the restaurant's POS, Square Online, or DoorDash, Postmates, WooCommerce, etc. A full-service KDS, it accommodates single station or multiple station settings, allows customization of ticket layouts and text size, and delivers reporting on staff performance.

"Customers are ordering in more ways than ever before," noted Albert Borrerro, Owner of the Sandbar Sports Grill in Cutler Bay, FL. "Between increased delivery orders, in-store pick-ups, and now the gradual return of indoor dining, our kitchen staff was getting overwhelmed by managing order flow. Square KDS has helped us to improve order efficiency, speed, and most importantly, reduce sunk costs due to remakes or refunds."

"With restaurants facing shelter-in-place orders, uncertain reopening schedules, and razor-thin margins, it's more important than ever to stay organized and never miss a sale," concurred Bruce Bell, Head of Restaurant Products at Square. "Square KDS is built to help restaurants improve front and back of house communications, improve ticket times, and manage order flow from one central location, regardless of what the future holds." Its overall plan for POS, Square for Restaurants Plus, starts at $60 per seat/location, per month, and offers an unlimited number of KDS. Also, Square is offering free 30-day trials of the KDS.

Square's New Kitchen Display System

Channel Factoid

-A majority of retailers, 60%, say the pandemic of COVID-19 has accelerated their technology spending plans.

-Aspects of retail preferred by shoppers include: get in and out of stores quickly, 76%; retailers that offer easy returns, 76%; online retailers that also have brick-and-mortar locations, 65%.

-As the top reason shoppers leave stores without purchasing: out-of-stocks, 41%; long checkout lines, 32%; unable to find items, 31%.

-72% of shoppers have used mobile ordering, and 82% of those shoppers are highly likely to continue to do so.

-Millennials (88%) and Gen X (79%) were the primary users of mobile ordering, but nearly half of Boomers (47%) used it, too.

-Nearly half of shoppers, 47%, have used self-checkouts in the last six months, and 63% of shoppers agree self-checkouts improve the customer experience.

-While agreement is highest among Millennials at 73%, 66% of Gen X and 50% of Boomers agree shelf-checkouts improve the customer experience.

-Meanwhile, 86% of retail decision makers and 71% of store associates agree self-checkouts improve the customer experience.

-Two-thirds of shoppers, 67%, are concerned with surface sanitation or social exposure in stores, and 59% of shoppers prefer stores with contactless payments.

-With more than one-fifth of shoppers returning an item purchased online, 57% of store associates are feeling significantly challenged by these returns.

Source: "13th Annual Global Shopper Study," Conducted by Zebra Technologies Corporation (Lincolnshire, IL).

Pandemic Accelerates Technology Spending Plans

HELLO GOODBYE

A Top Billing for Poehler

Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions (Research Triangle Park, NC) has named Rance Poehler as President and CEO. He replaces Scott Maccabe, who retires from this position, while remaining in his role as President and CEO of Toshiba America Business Solutions. Poehler most recently served as Chief Revenue Officer and Global VP of Sales at Pivot3 (2019 to 2020) and Global VP of Cloud Client Computing Solutions at Dell (2016 to 2018). An earlier role at Panasonic (1992 to 2015) culminated as President of Panasonic System Communications.

"Rance Poehler is a highly accomplished business executive with a proven track record for scaling businesses that are in a unique position to transform the industries they serve," remarked Maccabe. "Rance brings the fortitude and execution process needed to transition the retail business to a full-fledged strategic partner for both customers and partners." Maccabe has run Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions since 2015.

"The retail industry is looking for new and innovative ways to adapt more quickly to customer needs while they optimize store operations and reduce the cost of delivering and managing their business," observed Poehler. "Toshiba has a strong worldwide retail position and is on the verge of disrupting the industry with their intelligent end-to-end solutions. I'm honored and excited about the opportunity to help this world-class retail commerce solutions business grow in ways that support our partner community, and helps our clients delight their customers while becoming even greater merchants."

Rance Poehler, President and CEO, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions

Sir Saas at ScanSource

ScanSource, Inc. (Greenville, SC) has engaged Steve Jones as its new Senior Executive VP and CFO. Previously, he served as Director of Corporate Financial Planning, then CFO, at Blackbaud (2016 to 2020). An earlier role at Lexmark (2002 to 2016) began as Senior Financial Analyst and culminated as Corporate Director of Financial Planning and Analysis. He also served as Assistant Controller at Honeywell (1998 to 2000). He reports directly to ScanSource Chairman and CEO, Mike Baur.

"We are excited to strengthen our executive leadership team, with the experience and skills needed to grow our SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) business and accelerate our next phase of growth," stated Baur. "Steve's experience in recurring revenue models, as well as transformation initiatives, fits exceedingly well with ScanSource's strategic plans." In his remarks, Baur also thanked, and wished the best for, ScanSource's former Senior Executive VP and CFO, Gerry Lyons.

"I am honored to join the ScanSource team and execute on the strategic vision," shared Jones. "ScanSource has tremendous potential for growth and value creation, given the smart and passionate people and strong relationships with customers and suppliers." In its Q1, ended September 30, 2020, ScanSource, Inc. showed net sales of $757.3 million, down 10% year-over-year, but more strongly, 19% quarter-over-quarter net sales growth (vs. $636.5 million for the previous Q4).

Steve Jones, Senior Executive VP and CFO, ScanSource, Inc.