Our Product Pick

POSBANK (Carson, CA and Plainview, NY) has shipped its new terminal for POS, designated ACT. It features 15.6" true-flat projected-capacitive touchscreen (TFT LCD, LED-Backlit) with 300 cd/m2 brightness and 1024x768 resolution. Running Android 12, it has choice of ARM Cortex A72, ARM Cortex A53, and Intel Celeron N6210, with RockChip 3399 CPU. As connectivity, it furnishes 5x USB and 2x Serial I/O ports built-in, as well as Powered USB via External I/O Box. It comes certified with Google Mobile Services (GMS) and fully integrated with MobiControl by SOTI (Mississauga, ON, Canada). It also will provide Android O/S upgrades through Over-the-Air (OTA) Services, according to POSBANK.

Android ACT POS by POSBANK

COMPANY BUSINESS

Toast: Side Order of Google

A new online ordering channel for foodservice brings integration of Google Search and Maps to Toast POS (Boston, MA). As dubbed "Order with Google," it joins two previous schemes, Toast Online Ordering and Toast Take-Out App, and employs the same menus, hours, and quote times as Toast Online Ordering. With one search, guests--estimated in the millions--can read reviews, see photos, place their order, and complete payment in Order with Google.

"As restaurants look to optimize their businesses across multiple channels and revenue streams, online ordering has become critical," expounded Aman Narang, Co-Founder and COO of Toast. "We are thrilled to collaborate with Google to help Toast customers maximize their online presence and take control of their ordering channels. As restaurants continue to grow their take-out and delivery business, this integration will increase Toast customers' visibility through Google Search and Maps--with ordering made easy."

"We're seeing a big trend where our guests want to order ahead through technology because of the simplicity, so we were excited to turn on the Toast Order with Google," contributed Michael Lin, President of Sunright Tea Studios (City of Industry, CA). "Tons of guests find us by searching 'Bubble tea shops near me.' All of the information they need is on one page and they can easily browse pictures and then seamlessly order."

An Integration of Toast POS and Google Search and Maps

A Visit by Walmart (and Salesforce)

A pair of big names, Walmart (Bentonville, AR) and Salesforce (San Francisco, CA), have teamed up to offer store fulfillment technologies and local delivery services for retailers. Under this agreement, two solutions from Walmart--its local fulfillment app, Store Assist, and its local delivery solution, GoLocal--will be available through the Salesforce AppExchange. Another platform, Salesforce's Commerce Cloud and Order Management, will facilitate omnichannel shopping.

A part of Walmart Commerce Technologies, Store Assist helps retailers to leverage their local stores as fulfillment centers by increasing picking accuracy, speed, and efficiency, according to Walmart. It furnishes seamless hand-off between employees and customers or third-party delivery drivers. With Walmart GoLocal, in addition, retailers of all sizes will have access to white-label, Delivery-as-a-Service (DaaS) technology.

"Through this partnership, retailers can leverage the same innovative and scalable technologies that power Walmart's pick-up and delivery experiences," declared Anshu Bhardwaj, SVP of Technology Strategy and Commercialization at Walmart Global Technology. "The same technology that powers Store Assist has enabled Walmart to fulfill over 830 million orders across over 4,700 Walmart stores. Together with Salesforce, retailers can scale their business and deliver the personalized, convenient experiences shoppers expect." (As point person for Salesforce: Rob Garf, VP and GM for Retail.)

A Local Pick-Up and Delivery Solution Offered to Retailers, Powered by Walmart and Salesforce

Worth Your While

ProMat
MHI (Materials)
March 20-23
Chicago, IL

Shoptalk
Shoptalk Commerce LLC
March 26-29
Las Vegas, NV

Transact
Electronic Transactions Association
April 24-26
Atlanta, GA

NRA Show
National Restaurant Association
May 20-23
Chicago, IL

RetailNOW
Retail Solutions Providers Association
July 30-August 1
Orlando, FL

FSTEC
Foodservice Tech/Winsight
September 13-15
Dallas, TX

MJBizCom
MJBizDaily
November 28-December 1
Las Vegas, NV

ALL IN THE FAMILY

In the Palm of Their Hands

An advanced biometric solution for payments, utilizing palm vein identification technology, has been unveiled by Fujitsu Frontech North America and Ingenico. It combines the PalmSecure reader by Fujitsu Frontech (Foothill Ranch, CA), biometric software from its subsidiary, Fulcrum Biometrics (San Antonio, TX), and the AXIUM Android-based payment terminal and platform by Ingenico (Paris, France and Alpharetta, GA). As benefits to end-users throughout retail, the three parties cite rapid, contactless, hygienic, and frictionless operation.

As the first step, merchants scan their customer's palm with the combined payment station, which incorporates the Fujitsu PalmSecure-F Near-Infrared Pro Sensor. This image is encrypted, tokenized, and linked to the customer's payment file in Ingenico's AXIUM secure cloud environment. In contrast to biometric fingerprint reading and/or facial recognition, it is not possible for hackers to simulate internal palm vein structures to make fraudulent transactions, noted Fujitsu Frontech.

"We are seeing a lot of interest from merchants in this solution," shared Michel Leger, Senior EVP, Global Solutions Development, for Ingenico. "Palm vein identification gives them new opportunities to authenticate and identify their customers in the most possible seamless way, personalize their offers, and create unrivaled experiences in-store. This partnership is set to transform and revolutionize payments."

Fujitsu Frontech and Ingenico Partner for Payments With Palm Vein Identification Biometrics

DT Goes Deep

An enhancement in the rugged mobile computer family by DT Research (San Jose, CA), now with optional long-range (60 ft). 1D/2D barcode scanning and optional long-range (30 ft.) UHF RFID in the Models DT362GL and DT382GL. With indoor/outdoor capacitive touchscreen (LED-Backlit), the 6" DT362GL and 8" DT382GL run Windows 10/11 IoT Enterprise. As computing, they carry an Intel Pentium Silver Quad-Core CPU at 1.1 GHz (up to 2.7 GHz), 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB Flash. Also, built-in Common Access Card (CAC) Slot for ISO 7816 Smart Cards.

In slim format (about 1"/25 mm), and light weight (1.1 lbs./485 g and 2.4 lbs./1.1 kg, respectively) both models offer hot-swappable battery pack (3300 mAh), 8 MP back camera, 4.2/LE Bluetooth, 802.11 Wi-Fi, GPS, and USB Type-C. As ruggedness, they meet an IP-65 rating for water and dust and MIL-STD-810G for shock and vibration. A full range of accessories are stocked, including trigger grip for the UHF RFID.

"Studies have shown it can take up to five minutes to capture all the information necessary to verify an asset in a warehouse or in the field, and errors in data entry cost about $300 on average to correct," observed Rob Droppa, GM of Government Solutions at DT Research. "But by using our purpose-built, Windows-powered mobile devices to scan barcodes and read RFID tags at long ranges, it's possible to capture the information of multiple assets within seconds and significantly improve the accuracy of the data captured." A channel player, DT supplies tablets and digital signage as well as its mobile computers.

Models 6" DT362GL and 8" DT382GL Rugged Mobile Computers Offer Long-Range Scanner

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Week of January 30

Week of January 16

2022 Review of Highlights

ALLIANCES

Chowly Chows Down

An acquisition of Koala (Brooklyn, NY) brings enriched digital ordering capacity to the third-party delivery marketplace by Chowly (Chicago, IL). Integrated with the POS, via Chowly, this new capacity carries benefits such as top-tier conversion rates, enterprise-grade stability, advanced customization and data analytics, and machine learning engine (for recommendations for maximum basket size, for instance), according to the two parties. A combined business will have over 16,000 restaurant locations on the platform, with over 350,000 orders per day in the U.S.

"Merging these two businesses together represents a major leap forward in the mission of both organizations as we help restaurants navigate today's complicated digital world," enthused Sterling Douglass, Co-Founder and CEO of Chowly. "Koala's open platform meshes perfectly with Chowly's, while also giving restaurants a simpler experience for their off-premise strategies. We plan on bringing Koala's best-in-class enterprise-grade offering to the SMB (Small-to-Midsized Business) restaurant space and blend our partner ecosystems while continuing to support their success in the enterprise restaurant space."

A trio of current executives will lead this effort at Koala, including Walter Beller-Morales, Chief Technology Officer; Melanie Norton, Chief Product Officer; and Brett Spiegel, Chief Operating Officer. Koala's Chief Executive Officer Nat Trienens will remain temporarily to help shepherd the integration of the two companies. Established in 2015, Chowly ties to 150 third-party delivery services--including Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Google--and to more than 50 major providers of POS.

Chowly Extends Its Third-Party Restaurant Delivery Marketplace With Purchase of Koala

MagTek "Grabs" Lobby Market

A self-checkout mini-market for hotel lobbies has been unwrapped by MagTek (Seal Beach, CA) and GrabScanGo (Cerritos, CA). Addressing understaffing issues for hotels, as well as the growing receptiveness of guests to unattended self-service shopping, GrabScanGo designs and installs the self-service markets, sources the products, and manages the checkout. As its payments collaborator, GrabScanGo has chosen the DynaFlex Kiosk by MagTek.

As Secure Card Reader Authenticator (SCRA), MagTek's DynaFlex Kiosk accepts MSR, EMV Chip, and EMV/NFC Contactless. With the MagneSafe Security Architecture, it delivers encryption, tokenization, and authentication. A compact form factor of approximately 4"/100 mm (W) x 3.5"/90 mm (L) x 2"/50 mm (D) facilitates integration.

"A crucial reason we selected the DynaFlex Kiosk was because it was very easy to integrate into our Android-based self-checkout solution," expressed Wilfred Martis, Co-Founder of GrabScanGo. "We determined that the DynaFlex Kiosk reader, coupled with Magensa Payment Protection Gateway, would allow us to deliver the most secure solution in the fastest amount of time. It was also very important in hotels that the solution be secure and look elegant."

GrabScanGo Chooses the DynaFlex Kiosk by MagTek for Unattended Markets

Code Corner

A next generation of inventory management software based on RFID has been presented by Checkpoint Systems (Thorofare, NJ), dubbed ItemOptix for Retail. A fellow ItemOptix Mobile App features an intuitive User Interface (UI), with integration facilitated via Rest API's (Application Programming Interfaces). In total, ItemOptix helps retailers improve their stock accuracy, handle goods faster, and accelerate stock movement, according to Checkpoint Systems. "We are providing a solution that improves efficiency for retailers across the board," suggested David Ivins, Channel Partner Director at Checkpoint Systems, now part of CCL Industries. "With a highly intuitive app at its core, inventory management has never been easier, and in being a SaaS-based product, RFID inventory data can be seamlessly integrated."

Checkpoint Systems Presents ItemOptix

Channel Chatter

-VersiTech (Portland, OR), provider of restaurant POS, buys Ordyx POS (Deerfield Beach, FL), provider of mobile POS.

-Tabit Technologies, provider of restaurant POS, opens its new 5,500-sq.-ft. U.S. Headquarters in Miami, FL.

-Optima (Winnipeg, MB, Canada) adds two distributors for its POS: M-S Cash Drawer (Pasadena, CA) and Hillside Electronics Corporation (Worthington, MA).

Optima APOS-4 Terminal

ENVIRONMENTS/PLATFORMS

PCI-SSC Spins Web

An update for the PCI Secure Software Standard, entitled Version 1.2, has been published by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI-SSC). As widely known, the PCI Secure Software Standard is one of two standards that are part of the overall PCI Software Security Framework (SSF). It certifies that payment software is "designed, developed, and maintained" in protection of payment transactions.

As its highlight, Version 1.2 introduces the Web Software Module. As its name summarizes, the Web Software Module covers four critical areas: (1) documenting and tracking the use of open-source and third-party software components and API's (Application Programming Interfaces); (2) controlling access to such payment software web API's and other critical assets; (3) mitigating common web attacks; and (4) protecting communications between web-based payment software components.

"Introduction of the new Web Software Module as part of the Secure Software Standard V1.2 marks the end of our initial efforts to launch the Software Security Framework," reported Andrew Jamieson, VP of Solution Standards at the PCI Security Standards Council (Wakefield, MA). "The next phase of SSF development will focus on providing additional guidance, enhancing existing requirements, and addressing new and evolving payment technologies, threats, and attack techniques." (FYI: See postings in the PCI-SSC Document Library.)

PCI Security Standards Council Debuts New Guidelines for Web-Based Payment Software

ShipperHQ Sails With SDK

A leading developer of shipping management software, ShipperHQ (Austin, TX), has released its new Software Development Kit (SDK). Assessing all factors in the shopping and shipping choice--e.g., carrier, labeling, delivery time--ShipperHQ allows merchants to exploit shipping as another competitive advantage. As expected, it ties to today's popular providers of E-Commerce, Point-of-Sale (POS), Order Management System (OMS), and ERP/CRM (Enterprise Resource Planning/Customer Relationship Management). It enlists partners.

"In 2023 the importance of collaboration, partnership, and flexibility have never been stronger. We need to work together to improve technology at pace for our customers," indicated Jo Baker, Founder and CEO of ShipperHQ. "This is in-line with our mission to be the premier agnostic shipping solution in the e-commerce ecosystem, providing our clients with the most seamless and efficient shipping experience at checkout and beyond."

"ShipperHQ enables us to offer a fully automated click-to-ship experience both on and offline, a necessary component for enhancing our e-commerce platform, logistics services, and delighting our customers," cited one customer, Jordan Gottlieb, Director of Software Engineering at brewery supplier Yakima Chief Hops (Yakima, WA). Available to all enterprise-plan-level customers of ShipperHQ, the new SDK provides access to necessary resources such as references, guides, examples, and sample code on the ShipperHQ Developer Platform. It was showcased at the recent logistics show, Manifest Vegas 2023.

ShipperHQ Releases Its New Software Development Kit (SDK)

Key Advertiser Links

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

POS & Peripherals
Aldelo
Electronic Payments
Elo
Epson America
Firich USA
HiStone
HP
Ingenico
Pioneer Solution
POSBANK USA
Posiflex
POS Nation
Sam4s/Shin Heung Precision
Star Micronics
Sunmi
Toshiba

Barcode Printers
Bixolon America
Brother Mobile
GoDEX Americas
Woosim Systems

Cash Drawers/Cash Handling
apg/APG Cash Drawer

Data Collection
Janam Technologies
MobileDemand
Star Micronics
Unitech America

Integrated Payment Solutions
Datacap Systems
Electronic Payments
Ingenico
North American Bancard
Payment Logistics

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
Brother Mobile
Epson America
Star Micronics
Woosim Systems

Stands, Mounts, Cradles
Star Micronics

INSTALLATIONS

Qu Plays Chicken

A roll-out of the unified commerce platform by Qu (Bethesda, MD) will commence at fast-casual chicken chain, Huey Magoo's. An integrated ordering, delivery, and kitchen platform, it will support dine-in, take out, delivery through third-party services, drive-thru, and curbside pick-up. Based in Orlando, FL, Huey Magoo's currently has 40 restaurants in seven states, and over 225 franchises sold in 12 states. So far, it has focused on the Southern U.S., with plans to double locations in 2023.

"We were looking for a cloud-based platform that could not only grow with us but one that had a local cloud component to ensure stability and consistent, real-time sales data from our ordering channels," recounted Mike Sutter, COO of Huey Magoo's. "We're particularly impressed with Qu's mobile reporting and voice-enabled app, Notify, which greatly benefits our franchisees and store managers with instant, easy access to their sales data."

"One of the biggest benefits our managers are already enjoying is the ability to train new users in five minutes or less," continued Sutter. "It's a comfortable and easy-to-use system due to the swipe-friendly interface. In being similar to using their mobile phone, the younger generation picks it up in no time." As employee scheduling software for this new deployment, there's provider 7Shifts (Saskatoon, SK, Canada).

A Roll-Out of Qu POS for Huey Magoo's

The Shoe Fits Aptos

A push into unified commerce by footwear and accessories retailer Cole Haan has drawn upon Aptos (Alpharetta, GA). With its headquarters in Greenland, NH, Cole Haan is sold in more than 90 direct retail stores within the U.S. and Canada, in over 300 international store locations, on its website, and through retail partners such as department stores. As an initial stage in this effort, Cole Haan will implement Aptos One POS.

"In recent years, what constitutes a great retail experience has changed dramatically," emphasized Ron Edwards, COO of Cole Haan. "Our investment in Aptos One reflects our commitment to keeping pace with consumers' evolving expectations. Aptos One gives Cole Haan enterprise-grade point-of-sale capabilities that are delivered mobile-first and cloud-native, with highly resilient offline capabilities that give you the confidence of omnichannel transacting anytime, anywhere."

Also at Aptos, its subsidiary, Revionics, has launched its new Revionics Promotions Planning and Optimization. As features, it has: (1) advanced AI; (2) end-to-end collaborative workflows; (3) new promotional avenues; (4) enhanced personalization; and (5) more accurate forecasting. "Retailers today cannot afford to take a siloed approach to promotions," counseled Scott Zucker, GM at Revionics. "With our intelligent promo platform, retailers can adopt a more unified approach to pricing while delivering promotions that are highly profitable, customer-aware, and designed for the realities of omnichannel buying."

A Deployment of Aptos for Cole Haan

Channel Factoid

What's Cooking for Restaurateurs

Embrace of New Automation
Technology (by Sector)

-Fast Casual: 45%
-Multi-Location: 78%
-Fine Dining: 38%
-Upscale Casual: 43%

Embrace of New Automation
Technology (by Category)

-Cafe/Bakery: 33%
-Bar/Pub: 42%
-Hotels/Hospitality: 40%

Embrace of New Inventory
Practices (by Sector)

-Fast Casual: 53%
-Multi-Location: 78%
-Fine Dining: 42%
-Upscale Casual: 57%

Embrace of New Inventory
Practices (by Category)

-Cafe/Bakery: 57%
-Bar/Pub: 50%
-Hotel/Hospitality: 20%

Source: "2022 Global State of the Hospitality Industry," by Lightspeed Commerce (Montreal, QC, Canada)

IT Key to Coping with Macro-Economics

A Message From the Editor

We look forward to continuing our mission, and welcome your suggestions and thoughts on improvements. Wishing you and your family health, happiness, and prosperity in 2023!

Michael Kachmar, Editor

HELLO GOODBYE

A Brace at PayTrace

A new pair of experienced technology executives have joined payment processor PayTrace (Spokane, WA): Lindsay Mowery as SVP of Sales and Federica Melis as VP of ISV Sales. Previously, Mowery served as GM of B2B (Business-to-Business) for Sterling Payment Technologies, followed by VP of Sales and Operations, B2B, for EVO Payments (which purchased Sterling in 2017). On her part, Melis has held high-level channel positions in areas of cybersecurity, virtualization, and IoT for companies such as Cymulate, Docebo, Proofpoint, Red Hat, and Citrix.

"PayTrace has done a phenomenal job of building strong partner and customer relationships as well as brand recognition in the payments space for B2B," commented Mowery. "We will continue to grow our existing partner portfolios by offering competitive technology solutions, improvement to our product offerings, and continuing to expand our distribution in key ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) communities." As readers may recall, PayTrace was purchased by North American Bancard (Troy, MI) in March 2022. In its last fiscal year, it reported processing revenue of just under $50 billion.

Lindsay Mowery, SVP of Sales, PayTrace

A Marcom Maven at TSC

A promotion for James Cirigliano at TSC Printronix Auto ID (Brea, CA), now appointed as VP of Marketing and Communications. For the past 11 years, Cirigliano has served as VP of Marketing for consumables provider, Diversified Labeling Solutions, which was acquired by TSC in 2019. In pursuit of cross-marketing opportunities at TSC, he will keep his position as VP of Marketing for Diversified Labeling Solutions.

"We are very pleased to have James take on this role," declared Kevin Aie, Chief Executive Officer, Americas, at TSC Printronix Auto ID. "His experience building brand awareness and customer loyalty, as well as his printing and AIDC industry experience, will help us build a strong foundation for future growth."

"TSC has had an impressive history and is now one of the top brands in the thermal printer world," relayed Cirigliano. "I'm thrilled to join Kevin Aie's leadership team, as I already feel like part of the family. I look forward to helping clarify and share the great story TSC has to tell, as well as integrating communications for the hardware and supply components of the business." In other news, TSC Printronix Auto ID has added another authorized distribution partner: Distribution Management (St. Charles, MO).

James Cirigliano, VP of Marketing and Communications, TSC Printronix Auto ID