Not only cash desk: how the IT infrastructure of modern stores is arranged

Image: Franco Folini , Flickr

Going to the store for groceries or clothing for any city dweller is a routine, in which there is nothing particularly interesting. But in fact, any modern store is a true technological enterprise, which uses a large amount of unique software and hardware.
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In our today's material, we will describe in more detail how the IT infrastructure is organized in retail, and we will show devices that work unnoticed, but save customers time, and help stores to earn more.

Cash computer

In the terminology of retail integrators is called a POS-terminal, in fact, it is a specialized computer. Interestingly, many PC brands familiar to users of PCs like Apple, Asus or Dell do not make equipment for retail; in manufacturing computers for cash registers, companies such as Toshiba are strong - they have recently merged with the retail business of IBM, Fujitsu and Wincor Nixdorf and NCR .

Cash computers are quite different from those used, for example, in offices. The first thing to talk about is the processors - the vast majority of cash registers do not use AMD processors, which is quite unusual for PC users. Almost all the vendors in their products use Intel processors.

Also, COM ports that have lost popularity in consumer electronics quite successfully continue to live in POS equipment for stores - they use check printers, bar code scanners, payment terminals with bank cards and scales. Practice shows that the connection of equipment via COM is very reliable - this is very important in the case of a cash register, because if something goes wrong with it, sales will stop.

In addition, the component base is also different - in order to meet the modern requirements of the retail market, the cash register computer should not work quite like a home PC. First, the cycle of work of iron must be large, for many stores it is perfectly normal to use POS equipment for 3-5 years. For the convenience of customers, manufacturers throughout this period provide technical support and repair facilities for even those products that are not officially released. The same Fujitsu after removal of equipment from production ensures the availability of spare parts for another 7 years.

Also, suppliers of retail equipment pay great attention to the maintainability of their products. For example, some Toshiba cash registers can be completely disassembled and assembled without a screwdriver.



In addition, some cash desks of different vendors are equipped with fault reporting systems - all this greatly facilitates and speeds up the servicing of business-critical infrastructure.

Additional cash equipment

In addition, in fact, a computer, for the full operation of the cash register, a number of additional devices are connected to it.

Barcode Scanners

These devices are divided into two large classes - laser scanners and imagers. The former scan the data using a laser beam reflected from the barcode, the latter use CCD arrays . Professional scanners that are used in stores, are deeply worked out both at the level of hardware and software. As a result, these devices can recognize bar codes with high accuracy and independently correct errors in data. The efficiency here is several times higher than in the case of popular smartphone applications for recognition - such programs can recognize the same code in different ways, which is unacceptable in a real store.

Checkout scales

In conjunction with cash registers, specialized scales are increasingly being used. They replace self-service weights, which are installed in the sales area, for example, next to a product that is sold by weight (vegetables, fruits). When weighing themselves, customers make many mistakes, so the store is easier to entrust this job to a cashier who performs it faster and more professionally.

Checkpoint scales are used to transfer data to the cash software. These are not as simple devices as it may seem at first glance, even their calibration is carried out taking into account many factors - for example, geographical coordinates and units of measure used in a particular region.

Customer display

As a rule, the customer’s special display is also installed on the cashier, which displays information about the products being punched. Many retailers are gradually moving away from the use of standard displays to the use of special video monitors.

Monitors used at the checkout are very different from the "consumer" electronics. The store can work around the clock, seven days a week, and the screen will never turn off - the equipment must withstand operation in such a hard mode. TVs or monitors of home computers cannot work without stopping for many hours without burning out the pixels and causing other problems.

Shop equipment

The infrastructure of the store is concentrated not only around cash registers - various devices to help customers are installed in the sales area.

Self-service scales

Above, we have already mentioned self-service scales. They can be PC-based — in this case, a special computer based on an Intel processor running Linux or Windows OS is built in them (example: DIBAL CS1100W scales), system scales also exist — they work on the OS developed by the supplier ( DIBAL S540F ).

The DIBAL scales, which the Pilot sets, have the useful function of informing personnel about the ending tape for printing price tags. If there are few labels left on the tape, a special LED turns on, and when it ends completely, a beep may sound. Also, the scales can be stored and displayed when printing on the label a large amount of additional information about the manufacturer and supplier of goods, shelf life, product composition, tax rate, advertising text (for example, a recipe) and much more.

Price Checkers

Increasingly, stores can come across special devices with the help of which the buyer can independently check the price of the goods, if he doubts in it - for this you need to bring the bar code to the reader. These devices can perform two tasks. First of all, they inform buyers to reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings, when at the checkout it turns out that the price is higher than what the client represented.

More complex checkers are information kiosks with a display , on which advertising can be displayed when the device is idle. More complex usage scenarios are also possible - for example, one of our customers, a large bookstore, arranged for an employee to use the info kiosk as a mini-computer to access internal IT systems. This saves time when something needs to be clarified right on the sales floor - to view the remnants of the goods, place orders for delivery, etc.

Self-service systems

In recent years, various self-service systems have been gaining popularity in our country, from the above-mentioned scales of the sales area to the self-service checkout terminals. There are various self-service options, for example, systems through which the customer himself scans the goods and pays for them himself, and hybrid, when the goods are scanned by a professional cashier and the buyer already pays for it.

Pilot became the first company in the Russian market to introduce a mobile scanning system - in one of the stores, customers receive a mobile computer with scan functions at the entrance, with which they scan the goods as they move around the sales area. Then, at the payment station, it is only necessary to pay for it yourself, which saves time and is a tool to increase customer loyalty.

At first glance, the introduction of self-service systems carries risks for the store - suddenly buyers will try to cheat, break through cheaper goods instead of expensive ones, etc. However, in practice it turns out that, depending on the specifics of the store, a substantial proportion of the losses may be due to intentional or unintentional actions of staff. Therefore, the popularity of Scan and Pay networks is growing, after the introduction of which the cashier only scans goods, but the buyer does not give him money, but pays on his own - such a system has proven itself, for example, in hypermarkets where the speed of customer service is important.

To implement a self-service system, it is necessary to carry out serious infrastructure work. The store will need a special server on which the data on purchases will be stored, it is necessary to integrate several IT systems from cash register software and loyalty programs to the goods tracking system, and to ensure the quality of the data, you will need a high-quality local network. Another important organizational point is that when introducing such tools, the cashier area of ​​the store also changes, and its redevelopment is necessary. In addition, you will need to make changes to the regulations of personnel actions in certain situations.

Specialized Information Systems

All the devices described above are running specialized systems. In Russia, the infrastructure of shops is traditionally divided into a back office, responsible for working with suppliers, goods, product labeling, and a front office — that is, software that generates a check, is responsible for loyalty actions, price mapping, etc.

The work of the frontal software directly affects the customer service - its task is to quickly and accurately calculate the buyer. This process consists of two stages - scanning and payment for goods. It is necessary to minimize the number of manual operations performed by the cashier; this will reduce the number of errors and speed up the service process, which is important for grocery stores or hypermarkets.

Therefore, the front systems are as automated as possible - for example, the Profi-T system developed by us processes the maximum information and gives the cashier prompts during the service (to offer to become a participant of the loyalty program, ask for a passport when selling alcohol, show information about triggered discounts and etc.). In fact, the cashier can only accept the money in case of payment in cash, the cashier does the rest.

Network infrastructure

In order for the entire zoo of various gadgets and software to work as a unified system at the level of both the store and the whole network, it is necessary to create a local network. Many stores build wireless Wi-Fi networks.

All of this infrastructure is also very different from office and home networks. Retail has increased requirements for the availability of network components and the reliability of their work. In addition, the store is an object that contains a large number of potential obstacles to the passage of a signal (racks, refrigeration equipment, etc.), therefore, powerful transmitters are used that “finish off” anywhere in the room.

Conclusion

Modern stores are high-tech enterprises that use specialized equipment and software to make the lives of customers easier and more convenient. Many imperceptible at first glance solutions can save a lot of time, nerves and effort, but their implementation requires significant investments, as well as the efforts of qualified IT specialists.