Mobile in-store reassessment: how technology helps retailers optimize spending

We talk a lot about the technological component of modern stores and write about the software used in retail and hardware - from the device of cash registers to unusual functions of scales . Today we will consider another important element of the retail infrastructure - mobile printers for printing price tags and labels. And in order for our story to be not theoretical, but as practical as possible, we will study this technology using the example of TSC's developments.

What is the revaluation of goods, and why is it difficult?

Revaluation of goods, especially if it is massive, always disrupts the normal course of the store. Disadvantages arise both for customers who find it difficult to figure out what price is currently relevant, and for employees on whose shoulders the task of replacing dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of price tags falls. If the store constantly holds various promotions and introduces seasonal discounts, this stress becomes permanent.
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However, the revaluation of goods in the store can be done in various ways, two of which are just aimed at reducing the inconvenience that arises:

• manual revaluation of goods;
• mobile revaluation of goods;
• use of technology electronic price tags.

The third method in our country, as we wrote in the blog , has just begun to attract the attention of retailers. The most important obstacle to the development of electronic price tags is the cost of introducing this technology. For example, the equipment of a large store for 20 thousand price tags at the moment will cost about $ 400 thousand.

Therefore, most retailers reassess in the old-fashioned way - manually, printing price tags on laser printers and then cutting them out, or using type-setting markirators (etiquette-pistols).

The classic scheme of replacing price tags looks like this - store employees receive a list of goods for revaluation, print out and cut out price tags, then look for the corresponding goods on the shelves and replace the price tags. Understandably, this process leads to many errors.

Here it is time to talk about the third method of conducting a revaluation of goods - mobile revaluation. It reduces the number of errors resulting from the human factor, and the introduction of technology will cost the store much cheaper than equipping with electronic price tags.

Mobile revaluation: how things work

Automate the process of revaluation of goods helps special software and hardware systems, which include specialized software (for example, the "Pilot" is its own development - software complex "OmniLink" ), terminals for data collection and processing, as well as mobile thermal printers .

With these tools, the revaluation process is greatly simplified. When a price update arrives or an employee sees that the value of the goods in the accounting program has changed and does not match the actual price tag, he comes to the right shelves and starts the scanning process. The software automatically finds a discrepancy in prices and sends a command to print a new price tag. And in order to make it convenient for the employee to work with the device, the mobile printer is placed on the shoulder or on the belt (using a belt or clip-on clip).

As an example, consider the TSC Alpha-3R mobile printer. It can print price tags up to 3 inches wide on a label or thermal tape, has an IP54 protection class (in a case), withstands falls from a height of up to 1.5 meters and is able to work up to 12 hours without recharging.



The benefit of automating the revaluation of goods on the face: using a mobile printer, one store employee in 6-10 minutes is able to re-evaluate 100 units of goods. For comparison: in the case of a manual revaluation, the same amount of goods will take at least 20–30 minutes. In some cases, the total time savings can reach up to 80%.

As a result, the store can reduce the staff, and existing employees use more efficiently. They do not need to spend time on non-core tasks like cutting out price tags from paper - a mobile printer prints price tags of a given size both on a thermal card (for example, to be placed on a shelf in a price holder) and on self-adhesive labels for marking a product or its tag.

Thus, the influence of the "human factor" is seriously reduced, and the accuracy of the revaluation increases. After all, the software determines which price tags should be replaced in case of discrepancies, after which the TSD again automatically sends the command to the printer to print a new label. The employee can only scan the barcodes of the goods and monitor the correctness of further labeling.

Another plus is that getting started with mobile printers does not require much training, because such systems are quite simple.

Exceptions to the rules

With all the advantages of mobile revaluation, this solution is not suitable for every business. For example, the introduction of technology may be too costly for convenience stores or small chains with one or two outlets.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that when introducing mobile revaluation technology, in most cases, you will have to finish the software and hardware complex and run it directly in practice. Although for most retailers this is more of a plus than a minus, because such improvements make it possible to take into account all the features of the business.



Another important point: before the introduction of mobile revaluation technology, it is necessary to carry out serious preparatory work, for example, to develop label templates for printing. Some manufacturers have already resolved this issue. For example, TSC, along with printers, supplies the BarTender UltraLite TSC Edition label design program.

How to choose printers

If the retailer, after analyzing the business processes of the store, chose the mobile revaluation, it is time to go directly to the mobile printer selection stage. Here, what characteristics usually pay attention:

• Print speed - as a rule, the maximum print speed of mobile printers does not exceed 4-5 inches per second;
  
  
• During battery life , it should allow at least one full working shift to work;
  
  
• The protected case providing resistance to falls at least from height of one and a half meters;
  
  
• Dimensions and weight of the device : ranges from 200 grams for the most compact models to more than 1 kilogram for the “four-inch” models;
  
  
• Ways to transfer data . Sometimes retailers acquire the most expensive equipment, "to be." In practice, this leads to the fact that the advanced functions of IT solutions are not used. In the case of mobile printers, for example, the function of connecting via Wi-Fi may be unclaimed. If the store does not have a wireless infrastructure, then the joint work of the TSD and the printer is usually organized via Bluetooth. The cost of Bluetooth printers is always lower. You can, of course, mention the wired connection, which is even more budgetary, but leave it outside the narrative framework - after all, the mobile solution should be mobile, and not limited to wires.
  
  
• The ability to emulate is necessary if the retailer does not want to be tied to a single manufacturer of mobile printers. For example, TSC printers provide automatic recognition and emulation of such popular label printer control languages ​​as ZPL, ZPL2, EPL, EPL2 already out of the box. If desired, you can customize their work even from under the Zebra driver.
  
  
• The presence of competent support of the vendor and basic certifications is also an additional advantage. It is convenient when you can download drivers, convenient management utilities, SDK for different platforms with instructions and examples of implementation, and, if necessary, contact the representative of the vendor in the public domain on the official website of the manufacturer.
  
  
• Manufacturer's warranty period . With the introduction of the revaluation process with the help of mobile printers, these devices become an important and integral part of the retail network, and failure can lead to problems associated with stopping or at least slowing down important processes. To minimize the consequences of such cases, many retailers prefer to have more than one revaluation kit at each outlet, because it allows two and at the same time three employees to take part in the process at once. Accordingly, the revaluation rate increases several times. In any case, it is important to be able to quickly repair the equipment, if such a need nevertheless arose. Therefore, be sure to pay attention to the manufacturer's warranty. For most, it is 1 year, however there are those who are confident in the quality of their product and provide a longer period.

In addition, our specialists also recommend not to ignore the following points directly related to the upcoming work with a mobile printer:

• Maximum print volume . Usually this parameter does not exceed 2000-2500 price tags per day (as a rule, “averagely” we are talking about the price tags of the popular 58 * 40mm format). In the event that it is necessary to print more, it is logical to think about buying several devices at once to redistribute the load.
  
  
• The maximum outer diameter of the roll . This parameter determines the capacity of the tray for consumables and the frequency of their replacement by the operator - usually lies in the range from 30mm for compact models (with print widths up to 2 ") to almost 70mm for older models with print widths up to 4". For the purpose of revaluation, models with print widths from 2 to 3 inches are almost always considered, since four-inch printers are rather heavy and large in size.
  
  
• Internal diameter of the roll . Not the most critical parameter for consumables, but by reducing its size, you can, in fact, increase the length of the winding labels or thermal paper. However, if we are talking about labels, then printing houses are usually limited to 19-25mm, while the thermal paper can be wound on a 12mm sleeve.
  
  
• The minimum and maximum print width . In retail, the most demanded models of printers that support media with a width of 2 and 3 inches. Some customers think for the future and understand that today their shops need to print labels up to two inches wide, and tomorrow you may need to place more information on them, and then a wider media will be in demand.
  
  
• Convenience of the mechanism of adjustment of width of the roll installed in the printer . In some models, such adjustment is implemented conveniently, but in some not. It may be that for each size it is necessary to additionally purchase optional inserts of the desired width, and somewhere the manufacturer provides only a fixed width of the paper roll. For example, in the TSC Alpha-3R already mentioned by us, the adjustment is carried out in the range from 25 to 80 mm by rotating the regulator using a regular coin - this is convenient. When using one size it may not be so important, but imagine if there are several sizes.
  
  
• "Omnivorous" printer in relation to the types of consumables . Not all printers support printing simultaneously on continuous media (thermal paper / cardboard) and on labels with a gap. Although suppliers often claim the presence of such functionality. The fact is that some of these printers were originally created as check-ins, so printing on media other than continuous was not provided.

Implementation: what can go wrong

In spite of the obvious advantages of using mobile printers for solving problems of radio manufacturers, their implementation can also pose difficulties. For clarity - case from the practice of "Pilot".

The network of children's goods stores at the beginning of testing TSC printers encountered a problem: when sending files to print, specific DOS fonts were used, and the printer printed characters, not text. Our specialists, involved in the analysis of the situation, discovered a problematic font that was not originally in the printer system (which is logical, since it was not “native” for it).

Next, the correct font was selected and using the convenient utility “flooded” into the printer's memory. Additionally, the encoding was changed in the device settings, and as a result, the network was able to efficiently use printers by switching to them from a more expensive solution, which saved a budget. At the same time, the customer did not need to change anything in his accounting system - neither the templates used, nor the fonts, nor the ZPL commands sent to the printer due to his perfectly implemented emulation.

Mobile printers: technology perspectives

The main deterrent to the penetration of mobile printer technology has always been a high price - the gadget, printer and control software supplied with the necessary licenses cost about $ 3000. The recoupment of projects for the introduction of these devices was at least two or three years, which did not suit domestic retailers.

However, the cost of equipment gradually decreased, with the result that there is currently equipment that pays off, on average, for six months. As a result of the implementation, the efficiency of the process of printing price tags always increases, which should potentially lead to an increase in profits and increased customer loyalty.

Whether this potential will be realized in each specific case depends on how to use the advantages that have emerged as a result of automation. For example, such as the almost complete elimination of errors in the price tags on a product, a two or threefold reduction in the time and labor costs of staff for reassessment, the prompt reflection of stocks and promo programs in product prices.

Friends, we understand that this publication does not cover all the technical details of the revaluation of goods using mobile printers. Therefore, if you have any questions, ask them in the comments - we will try to answer. In addition, it will help us to identify your interest and on the basis of it to prepare one of the future posts.

In the meantime, we invite you to take part in the free webinar "Product accounting in the store and in the warehouse without problems: 10 secrets from the" Pilot " , which our specialists will hold on June 28 at 11:00. To do this, leave a request on the site . As part of the webinar, you will learn how to automate the reassessment of goods in the store, save on this process and correctly select the appropriate mobile printers for business tasks.