NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Getting the bugs out may mean tinkering with a software application, especially at the convenience-store industry's annual technology conference. But for one supplier, getting the bugs out means killing the microbes that have started to thrive along with the growing popularity of biofuels.
From bugs to lottery standards, enterprise systems to fuel optimization, trade-show floor suppliers brought much to attendees at this year's NACStech show held last week in Nashville, Tenn.
What follows are notes from booth-side [image-nocss] chats at the annual conference's trade-show floor:
Bugs in the fuel? Bob Burns and Jim Hansen of Total Fuel Quality, Rotterdam Junction, N.Y., said that as biodisel and ethanol-blended fuels have moved into favor, retailers now have to deal with tiny microbes that thrive off of the organic elements in the product. We used to sell lead in gasoline, Burns pointed out. The lead would kill the microbes. But today, that's not the case, and their company provides the chemicals need to remedy the problem.Lottery standards. Temple, Texas-based PDI has been working on standards with state officials to help synchronize data collection with lottery systems. The company is also developing a workforce module to its enterprise application, allowing for pre-employment testing and administrative processes. The company is also happy with the growth of its enterprise solution. Since the official introduction of the system last year, more than 100 companies have adopted it.More enterprising talk. RedPrarie, Alpharetta, Ga., officials said the company's end-to-end vision that goes from manufacturing to consumer is driving the firm forward. Warehouse, inventory and fuel management are now components in its portfolio of products. Kevin Saum with RedPrairie said their concept of taking best in breed applications and offering a single, complete solution will provide the industry with a strong technology option. As other software firms transition customers to upgraded applications, he said an opportunity has opened up for firms like RedPrairie. On a side note, he said the BlueCube name will fade. Since its acquisition by RedPrairie last year, executives have decided to make the former BlueCube a division of the larger RedPrairie brand.Hooking up safes. Speaking of tying things together, Ed Grondahl, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Tidel Engineering, Carrollton, Texas, said the latest update to one of their new lines of safes is a local area network (LAN) tie, allowing for more than one point-of-sale (POS) to communicate shift and cash refill-and-deposit information to the safe.Growth of loyalty. When a European retailer the size of Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart signs onto your loyalty program, the ripple effect can be enormous. Jack Finney, vice president of marketing for Plano, Texas-based Retalix, said a French firm, Carrefour, a significant retailer overseas, selected the Retalix loyalty solution without being tied to the company's POS. He said Retalix's growing breadth of customers and supply chain solutions has helped increase the company's value.Starting with the data. Loss-prevention firm Gulfcoast Software Solutions, Clearwater, Fla., is taking a data-focused approach to reducing loss. Louis Pace, vice president of sales and marketing, said the data of no sales or shift changes signals alerts that tie into digital images of what actually happened.Keeping it cool. The folks at Emerson Climate Technologies, Kennesaw, Ga., were showing technologies tied to refrigeration and other environmental controls within the c-store space.Wet-stock monitoring. For companies focused on inventory in the store, Stephen Bessette, Beaudreau Electronic Inc., North Stonington, Conn., said his company's system gauges wet-stock inventory, maintenance, energy consumption and security and compliance. Hooking up the pieces. Rick Sales of Abierto Networks Inc., Exeter, N.H., said that he's been very busy, especially with companies upgrading POS systems.An estimated 1,400 retailers and suppliers attended the three-day conference, a number in line with past years, according to Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the Alexandria, Va.-based NACS.
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