Wokingham, United Kingdom. Wincor Nixdorf is changing the face of retailing with multiple service solutions including self-service checkouts, new hand-held scanning devices and cash recycling units. Together, they speed up transaction times and reduce overheads in all retail environments.
Putting the needs of customers first has led to a revolution in retail. Self-service solutions come in a wide variety of formats from compact ‘Scan & Bag’ units to the larger belted versions, providing customers with a wide range of flexibility and service choice. Trolley shoppers are able to read electronic shelf barcodes with hand-held units, bypassing the traditional checkouts and going directly to independent payment towers to make either cash or card payments. This avoids the need to remove the goods from the trolley entirely and speeds up the whole process.
Alan Townsend, Director, Retail, recently hosted customers at Wincor World in Germany, the company’s annual showcase. According to Alan, ‘Banks went through a similar shift to cash ATMs a few years ago and self-service options at the checkout will revolutionise retailing by reducing long queues at peak periods.’
One of the highest cost considerations in-store is cash-handling. Wincor Nixdorf is developing checkouts that have integrated cash recycling for coins and bank notes, with sealed cassettes that offer total peace of mind as cash can be transported securely. These major changes affect overheads by drastically reducing the time devoted to cash processing both at the front of the store and in the back office. Simplifying the checkout means minimal staff training and reduced errors. Staff can be redeployed in more customer-focused, sales-oriented roles.
For Wincor Nixdorf, the newest checkout concept under development is a service point with online access so staff can drive consultative, e-commerce sales for large or complex items with home delivery.
A systems failure causing checkouts to be offline is unthinkable so Wincor Nixdorf is introducing solid state memory to replace disc drives. This robust technology has colour-coded modular replacement parts easily handled by store staff.
Alan concludes, ‘Starting in 2006, we expect stores to operate a mix of manned and self-service checkouts, with the balance dictated by customer choice and store demographics.’
Related URL: http://www.wincor-nixdorf.com/internet/uk/Main.html
|
