Search results

The application of electronic data processing at point of sale has been one of the most impact‐full events on the retail scene in the western world. Many retailers are still anxiously assessing the likely benefits — both soft and hard — while at the same time calculating the costs. Meanwhile they are watching with interest the progress of retail companies in America who, after initial setbacks and long delays, now seem to be experiencing positive advantages in POS developments. How much help have retailers had from the suppliers of POS equipment in guiding them through this dilemma? Not very much, asserts Gil Jones in this exclusive RDM feature. In particular he suggests that suppliers have not been sufficiently aware of the differing needs of retailers, and that there has been too little willingness to co‐operate with retailers in the development of systems on a co‐operative basis. But this feature is not to be taken simply as criticism; it is intended as constructive comment and even as a guide for suppliers in their future strategy. As Gil Jones writes — “The challenge … is immense, but the rewards are great.”

The first part of this article, published in our September/October issue, looked at the way credit card automation — and in particular the transaction telephone — had developed. It discussed whether or not transaction telephones might in future be linked to the retailer's point of sale equipment so that credit authorisation might be completely integrated with the POS. It also looked at the potentiality of transaction telephones being used in conjunction with electronic funds transfer. A number of other possible uses were also examined. This second part is concerned with market related aspects, and at the influences exerted by the larger credit card companies, developing their automation facilities at point of sale, upon the smaller credit card companies.

New European environmental legislation requiring producers to recycle electrical and electronics products at so‐called “end‐of‐life” is likely to introduce new areas of competition to the global market for information technology (IT) products. This paper presents the findings of a study investigating the use and disposal of IT equipment by 151 companies in the UK. Although 71 per cent of companies disposed of their equipment as waste, other “disposal” routes were found to be of greater significance, such as charitable donations, transfer to employees, and resale to second‐hand dealers. Therefore it is argued that the current legal definition of “waste” may be too restrictive to be applied to end‐of‐life IT equipment within the commercial sector. In addition, it is argued that the provision of product “end‐of‐life management” services to commercial customers (in compliance with legislation or otherwise) could help IT producers add value to their existing support services beyond the immediate production and consumption of new technologies. Where only 5 per cent of companies replaced IT products within two years, 76 per cent of respondents identified a need for such services. Specific details of the type of services that would be required have also been investigated and evaluated.

“Revolution” is a word much bandied about in retailing, often with rather more seeking after effect than accuracy. (Of course we never use it ourselves!). Particularly has it been applied to the emergence of point of sale data capture; has it in fact been as radical as originally anticipated? Recently criticisms have been made of the role of the equipment suppliers in this “failed” revolution. Allegations have been made that suppliers have given retailers too little help, that they failed to take account of the very different systems needs of a wide range of retailers, and that suppliers were expected by their American parent companies to offer products to a very different UK retail market. This article is by way of a response to those criticisms and an attempt to put the POS “revolution” in its proper perspective.

Dr. Gil Jones has been carrying out a research programme into the ways data can be captured, transmitted and used to provide retailers with improved management information. The full results of the research are to be published by the National Computing Centre later this year in a Report entitled “Data Capture in the Retail Environment”. In this two part article, Dr. Jones summarises his findings, identifying the technical options open to the retailer for preparation of management information, the costs involved and the likely benefits more sophisticated solutions can bring. Part I covers the effect the recent economic climate has had on management information strategy, the differing data requirements of various types of retail organisations, and the main options open to retailers for data capture and data processing. In Part II, Dr. Jones will go on to examine the costs of the various systems available and will look at the factors which must be considered in the economic justification of the necessary investment.

Most retail managements at some time or other must consider the application of EDP equipment at the point of sale in retailing. This article suggests a strategy for companies confronted with this dilemma; it attempts to marshal the factors involved in reaching a decision. It is a synthesis of the views of retailers who have been through this experience formulated into a decision‐making framework.

Mothercare, with a long record of having successfully applied computerisation to their operations, has over the last two years or so been investigating POS devices which will capture SKU data through the use of wands, look up prices automatically, and be able to communicate efficiently with a central computer. The pitfalls inherent in such an operation are manifold, and in this paper, originally presented to a CIES Symposium in Brussels earlier this year, Harold Sanderson outlines the problems which confront any retaier setting out on this tasK. The paper is the result of a number of discussions and study sessions which reflect not only his own company's experiences but also the problems faced by other retailers both in the UK and the USA.

During the 1970s we became thoroughly accustomed to the use of “plastic money”; the volume of UK based credit card transactions rose from 10m in 1971 to over 100m by 1979. Today there are over 13m credit cards in circulation, and this excludes other cards issued by department stores and multiples. But this proliferation of plastic creates its own problems. Control needs to be exercised over excessive spending by card‐holders; the unit costs of processing card‐based transactions needs to be contained; and of course the possibility of fraudulent use must be safeguarded against. The transaction telephone is one way in which these problems can be tackled. Already commonplace in the US, they are now being used by some major department store groups in the UK. The first part of this article reviews the range of technological issues which have so far determined the way credit card automation has developed. It also discusses how other technological factors may influence the different kinds of service delivery packages for retailers and ultimately card holders. The second part, to be published in our next issue, will discuss aspects of market strategy development for both the larger and smaller card issuing organisations.

This is the second part of an article previewing the results of a research programme aimed at studying the effect of recent developments in data capture and data transmission on management information in retailing. The results are to be published in full later this year by the National Computing Centre in a report entitled “Data Capture in the Retail Environment”. In Part I Dr Jones looked at the various technical options open to retail managers for both data capture and data transmission, and the ways in which such data may be used in a management information context. He also touched upon the differing data handling needs of various types of retail organisation. In Part II, he covers the cost and economic aspects of computer aided systems, provides some examples of user experiences, and draws together his main conclusions and recommendations from both parts of the article.

Various devices for capturing data at the point of sale are proliferating at a remarkable rate; the electro‐mechanical cash register, so we are told, is dead if not yet buried by electronics. Progress is proceeding with the development of a standard product numbering system; it does appear that until this is fully operational, non‐food retailing will get the lion's share of electronic cash register systems Some of these points were discussed at a recent conference sponsored by the British Computer Society in co‐operation with International Business Communications.