Pan-Oston's Utopia Across America Tour: Route 1

Comment

Comment by Derek Howard on August 15, 2011 at 11:18am

On Monday the 8th of August we met with Nash Finch in Minneapolis. Their IT group came on board and discussed the technology on RV1. We had discussions on "smart safes" and how credit at your bank wile cash is still in your store can offer a big advantage to retailers who may not make cash deposits daily. We also demonstrated Utopia Self Checkout and Cash Handling solutions for the front end. These technologies using MEI's Bank Note Recycler can close the cash loop in your store so that the cash is exposed to as few opportunities for miscounts or theft as possible.

After leaving Minneapolis the two day trip to Amarillo, Texas. RV1 would be in attendance at Affiliated Food of Amarillo's food show on the 11th. We spent all day welcoming members and really covering the RV's offerings, which we like to say covers any retailers need in store fixtures except refrigeration. There were representatives from several surrounding states and a few faces that we have seen on board multiple times during the Utopia Across America Tours. All in all it was worth the drive to share experiences with the retailers at the show and to talk to folks who like to see what is on the horizon for the future of their stores.

Comment by Derek Howard on August 15, 2011 at 10:49am

Joe, both technologies are designed to help stores improve scamming accuracy by giving managers and owners away to observe cashier activity.
First let’s start with Scan Cam. It is simply an LED light that plugs into your scanner that flashes when a positive scan is made. This light along with security cameras or an observant manager will give visual confirmation of a scan in environments where the audible confirmation may be hard to recognize. In the case of recorded video a manager can review the activity of a suspect employee and be able to watch as items pass the scanner as well as see that the item did in fact register the item. This helps to detect “sweet hearting” where a video will show an item passing over the scanner, but the beep from the scanner can’t be heard and the retailer may not be able to see the item being added to the order. Scan Cam will “show” the item has been scanned by a simple flash. If the item passes without a flash the employee has either been careless or is “helping” the customer to leave with items without paying for them. It is a simple installation and works with most scanners and has very strong potential to save lost profits.
On to Lane Hawk, it is designed for under the basket detection. The cashier may or may not notice items under the basket when things are busy in the store. Or the possibility for “sweet hearting” with large high value items is possible under the basket as well. Lane Hawk uses photo recognition to show the cahier items that are under the basket and allow them to add or remove them from an order with the push of a button. When the cashier removes an item from the list the transaction is marked by Lane Hawk so the activity of cashiers can be reviewed and investigated to determine if cashier is performing their duties properly. This also serves as an active reminder to employees to physically look for items that may have been accidentally overlooked.
Both have been deployed by several retailers that have been on the RV’s and we see that they make good cashiers better and allow retailers to weed out employees that may be bad for business. We believe both will improve even the best stores by providing good tools to observe the activity that is taking place at the busiest part of any store, the check out.

Comment by Joseph Tarnowski on July 21, 2011 at 2:22pm

Hi Derek - You mentioned in your last comment that LaneHawk and Scan Cam can help improve scanning accuracy -- can you tell us how they do that?

Comment by Derek Howard on July 20, 2011 at 6:08pm

RV1 is once again in Chicago in the Highland Park area to see Sunset Foods. They are a company that wants to use the most customer oriented technology they can find. They told us that they currently use kiosks to make ordering easy in their very busy deli. They liked the way Happy Bell and Shop Hear offered a way to interact with customers in ways that help them to feel better served. They like the interaction of checking and bagging orders for customers and were happy with the front end experience because they take great pains to make it as positive as possible. Lane Hawk and Scan Cam were new to them and they were interested in the advantages of making their already food cashiers even better by improving accuracy scanning.

Comment by Derek Howard on July 6, 2011 at 9:44am

There are some stores that use only one or two units. It is harder to calculate an ROI on a single unit but, the way that we often begin the thought process is to try to find an under-utilized front end employee that can take the responsibility on as an addition to their daily activities i.e. a customer service associate that may not be active the entire time they are at the customer service counter. So by adding to their responsibility their time is of more value.
The handheld "station" is a wireless device that allows you to monitor and interact with the self checkout while allowing an associate the freedom to move from lane to lane or around the front end so that they can still be useful as I described earlier. The unit itself measures about 6 inches high by about 3 inches wide and can be easily carried with the elastic strap on the back. It will perform any function of the traditional desk style attendant station except tendering an order. It can scan items, be used enter ages for items with age restrictions, watch transactions build to ensure accurate scanning, and notify the associate of either a needed intervention for the customer or of a hardware issue that needs attention. The handheld is capable of handling multiple lanes from a simple overview screen that lists the lanes showing a simple green (no issues), yellow (deferred issue like low cash or age verification), or red (immediate issue that has the checkout process stopped) status to indicate the activity at each lane. The handheld offers the attendant several ways to add to customer service from assisting with scanning large items to determining which customers need assistance without going back to a stationary location. This also helps to give the customer the impression that there is someone accessible to them if they need help. Also, to the less that honest customer who might think it is an easy way out of the store the interaction of the associate along with the ability to view the items as they are added to the transaction tightens the security aspect at the self checkout.
The way to use any of Utopia's features is to enhance your customers experience and customer service no matter how many you units may choose to use. We believe that is the way to be successful with self checkout.

Comment by Joseph Tarnowski on July 5, 2011 at 5:22pm

Derek - I think the single-unit offering is a great option for retailers limited on space -- or for those that are interested in self-checkout but don't want to make a full commitment to four units. Have you come across any grocers in your travels that are using less than four self-checkout units? Also, can you tell us a bit more about the wireless handheld stations? What are their specs?

Comment by Derek Howard on June 29, 2011 at 10:37pm

We made our way south of Chicago to the suburb of New Lenox.  We met there with representitives from Berkot's Foods and Central Grocers.  As they came aboard we took them through the RV to see the C-Series and C-Flex cabinet lines along with Corperate Safe's "smart safe".  As their attention turned to self-checkout they were surprised to find that we offer our solution in single units not only in groups of four.  Also, during the design of Utopia SCO the independent gorcer's needs were considered, so, feautres like optional weight scale verification, delayed mediation and wireless handheld attendant stations make Utopia a great fit for independents. They also see that the BNR equipped Utopia Cash Handling Lane offers till security and accuracy that will benifit any operation.  These grocers represent very attractive stores in the Chicago area and were a great pleasure to get to know.

Comment by Derek Howard on June 23, 2011 at 2:37pm

RV 1 ventured into the heart of Chicago to see the owners and operators at FairPlay Foods. The meeting covered the complete line of products from the checklanes that we've made for years to the newest innovation in the cash handling lane. The conversation was enjoyable and the insight offered from a long time operator in the Chicago market is valuable. As we travel the country sharing the challenges and successes they see in one of the largest cities in the country we are able to better serve independents all over the country on the Utopia Across America Tour.

Comment by Derek Howard on June 23, 2011 at 2:25pm

RV 1 has moved on to Indiana to the Chicago suburb on Merillville to meet with Strack and Van Til stores executive team. As the first grocer to use Utopia's BNR application in their Self checkout they are no strangers to it's benefits, but the cash handling application was a topic of discussion for a good portion of the time they were on board. They see that the BNR incorporated into ErgoLane is one of the fastest ways to move customers through the check out process. We discussed both time and accuracy savings in the front of the store as well as the time spend in the back office preparing and counting tills. The time was enjoyable talking to a retailer that has been so helpful in assiting Utopia to be as retailer friendly as possible.

Comment by Derek Howard on June 21, 2011 at 6:07pm

RV1 was in the beautiful lakeshore town of South Haven,Michigan to meet the owners of Village Markets.  As we have done throught the Utopia Across America Tour we learned that there are common challenges to operating in Michigan that are practicly the same as anywhere else in the country.  We talked at legenth about the benifit of cash handling and how the BNR is key to operation savings in the Cash Handling Lane.  As current self checkout users they offered some of the likes and even a few dislikes of using it in their stores.  Village Markets have been using frontend technologies for years and are independent that stand out as quick to adopt self checkout when many other grocers are just beginning to entertain it as a customer service option.

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