NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Retailers attending NACStech 2006 last week saw a number of new developments from well-known equipment manufacturers and software suppliers, as well as new products and services from relatively new firms.
One of the newest categories of service appearing at NACStech revolved around communications. New competition and business models surrounding broadband and the creation of so-called wide-area networks or WANs has opened up a new world for many retailersboth large and small, said Amanda Ceccioni, vice president of marketing, Cybera [image-nocss] Inc., Nashville, Tenn. Cybera is a certified supplier for a new broadband package that Houston-based Shell is offering to its jobbers and dealers. Ceccioni said the economics for broadband are coming to retail chains of all sizes.
Jobbers also appear interested in providing their dealer base with a growing number of available technologies. Don Fuller, general manager for C-StoreCONNECT, a division of Marshall, Minn.-based Walters-Dimmick Petroleum, said his company is developing technology packages for its dealer base and potentially for others. Another jobber, Ljubomir Medenica of R.H. Smith Distributing Co. Inc., Grandview, Wash., is talking of a similar venture.
More and more developments are occurring with managed networks and suppliers of pieces of the communication puzzle. Names like New Edge Networks, Vancouver, Wash; Abierto, Exeter, N.H.; and Transaction Network Services, Reston, Va., are becoming recognizable entrants into the c-store channel.
Advances in communication are helping retailers look at applications that need broadband capability, inclusive of loyalty programs and digital security systems. Michael Upp, vice president of marketing and business development for West Des Moines, Iowa-based Westec Interactive, said the acquisition of a software development firm helped the company to develop a Web-based portal that ties its digital video recorders to point-of-sale (POS) transactions and motion detectors. The result is the ability to log onto a site and ask for the video footage of every time a cashier rang up a no sale the previous night or every time the back door opened from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. a week and a half ago.
Other significant developments came from Austin, Texas-based Dresser Wayne. The gasoline-pump manufacturer introduced three new modules on the heels of acquiring Austin, Texas-based PerformanceRetail Inc. The acquisition, according to Mike Carlson, president of Dresser Wayne, North America, broadens our portfolio of products.
Dean Cruse, vice president of marketing for PRI, said the acquisition closes the loop on the family of products that Wayne showcased at NACStech. These products included:
iX Media, a 10.4-inch color display integrated into the register to allow full-motion video. Atlanta-based Home Depot had the new models at their new Nashville-area c-store prototypes dubbed Fuel.iSense remote management system, which can handle diagnostics and troubleshooting.iDPOS in-dispenser POS that provides another layer of security against register downtime. The setup gives the dispenser independent POS capabilities.All of the new applications run on a Windows-based setup that the company calls the iX Technology Platform. The PRI technology will allow for analysis of data flowing through the dispenser applications as well as the store POS. We're changing what you thought a dispenser was, said Dan Harrell, senior director of marketing and product management for Dresser Wayne. [Our products] are an extension of your business.
Collaborations and partnerships seemed to be the recurring theme of the conference held May 22-24 in Nashville, Tenn. Along this line, Coppell, Texas-based Brink's Inc. and Posen, Ill.-based Corporate Safe Specialists (CSS) announced that the CSS CompuSafe 3000 Series of safes, which run off PC-based operating systems, will be available with Brink's security service.
Cash-intensive businesses need security, but they're also looking for ways to increase the efficiency and control of their cash-handling processes, said Glenn Mason, vice president of CompuSafe Service for Brink's.
Brink's hardware is now coupled with CSS's Advanced Cash Control System (ACCS). Color touch-screen images prompt customers. The system also features an open architecture that allows for integration at the POS with backoffice solutions and other in-store management devices such as cell phones and PDAs.
The ACCS verifies what is in the safe and securely delivers that data when and where it is needed. The six-language translation of the device makes this a global cash-management solution. The software provides event monitoring, end-of-day reports and video monitoring.
Other developments on the trade-show floor included:
Foodservice ordering and payment options at the pump from Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Greensboro, N.C.Rollback programs that automatically trigger discount pricing at the pump tied to loyalty or rewards programs from AutoGas Systems Inc., Abilene, Texas.Double-sided printers, allowing for the printing of coupons on the back of thermal print paper from NCR Corp., Duluth, Ga.An integration kit for on-site devices linking to a network service from Transaction Network Services, Reston, Va.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.