*OT* Hey, looks like IBM brand management reads this thread. They just named their new cash register based on what some here label the 'new paradigm' tech stocks <ggg>.
Regards,
John
IBM's Net-Enabled Cash Registers
Will Link the Clicks to the Bricks
By KEVIN DELANEY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
PARIS -- Shoppers and sales staff will be able to log in at the checkout starting this spring, as International Business Machines Corp. rolls out what it says are the world's first Internet-enabled cash registers for retail stores.
The new SurePOS line, which the U.S. computer giant plans to unveil Thursday, will let customers access orders they placed online when they're in retail outlets. So they might, for example, cancel the purchase of a sweater they made over the Internet once they have tried it on in a store.
Online frequent buyer programs and preferences -- such as what type of books a customer likes -- could also be accessed from the in-store cash register. And IBM says the new machines could be linked to computer terminals at the checkout or elsewhere that would make it easier for consumers to find information and perform self-service activities.
For retail staff, the cash register will allow them to access information about online sales and supply chain information through a Web interface. So a cashier, for example, might have a better idea of when an out of stock item might be delivered to the store from a supplier. And a manager could create in-store discounts after viewing the levels of inventory and sales activity across the Internet and retail outlets.
The new cash registers mark a further development for retailers' efforts to coordinate their online and off-line activities. It's one of the first concrete applications developed to bring the Internet into the retail space, rather than just bring retail to the Internet. And IBM's heft in the industry -- it leads the field with a roughly 15% share of registers sold world-wide -- suggests that more sophisticated in-store digital technology is on the horizon.
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1-IBM SurePOS 700 Series flat-panel display with 8.5-inch viewable screen; touch-sensitive screen optional. Supports Digital Video Interface (DVI), which enables high-quality video from optional DVD and CD-ROM players
2-IBM 4610 SureMark, the industry's fastest thermal printer
3-Universal Serial Bus port replaces industry-specific ports, will allow greater interoperability with standard peripherals like printers and scanners
4-500 MHz Intel Celeron processer in top models; can run Microsoft Windows, Sco-Unix, and other operating systems; thin-client models due out later this spring
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"We want to enable an environment whereby a customer can transact though the Web, a [standalone computer] kiosk, at the till, or through a mobile phone and get the same experience," says Kevin McEvoy, business manager for IBM's retail store solutions unit in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The cash register hardware that enables this new functionality is based on standard PC microprocessors, with the high-end devices running on 500 megahertz Intel Celeron chips. Retailers can install their own software and run a variety of operating systems, including Microsoft Windows and Sco-Unix. A number of software makers allied with IBM are developing in-store applications to run on the machines.
A flat panel display with an 8.5 inch viewable area comes standard in the SurePOS 700 series, and IBM says additional displays could be added to the machines for customer-facing applications. They also support the high-quality digital video standard, Digital Video Interface, used for DVDs, and have DVD and CD-Rom players as optional add-ons.
The new SurePOS line also brings some computer industry standards to machines that were traditionally based on proprietary or sector-specific technology. For one, the registers come equipped with Universal Serial Bus ports similar to those found on most new personal computers. The UBS technology will allow store owners to plug in off-the-shelf peripherals like printers and scanners, something that wasn't possible before.
IBM will begin releasing the first cash registers in the new series in March. It plans to deliver a so-called "thin-client" version in May, where most of the computing brains reside on central computer servers. Those cash registers would access data and applications over the network, as part of a centralized setup that's often easier for technicians to maintain.
It's clear that the sort of in-store Internet activity IBM describes would require businesses to overhaul much of their existing computing and network infrastructure, like supply chain systems, if they haven't done so already.
And the SurePOS line will arrive in what is largely a wasteland of Internet use in retail outlets. Some stores using personal computers as cash registers are able to pull up Web sites from the checkout. But those systems tend to be less scalable and robust than the kind of machines IBM, NCR Corp., Siemens Nixdorf, and others are cranking out.
Retailers, for their part, have mostly been focusing on getting online sales up and running and addressing related issues like how to get the products to customers. In recent months, efforts to integrate Internet and in-store sales have taken on new momentum at retailers like France's FNAC, a division of Pinault-Printemps Redoute SA, and England's W.H. Smith bookstores.
But, "it's still a lot in the making," says Mikael Arnbjerg, a market analyst with International Data Corp. "The traditional retailers have been a little confused about how to use this media."
The retailers are beginning to find that confusion is costing them as more sales move to the Internet. Business-to-consumer retail activity will more than double to 13 billion euros ($12.8 billion) this year in Western Europe, according to IDC estimates.
Analysts say the new register technology could help break down individuals' fears about placing orders over the Internet that have hindered the takeoff of e-commerce to date.
"It's clearly going to increase the reliability of the whole system of online ordering and increase consumer confidence in that," says Tony Sherit, European retail analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston in London.
Depending on how the registers are used, they could also hasten the collapse of separate pricing policies for the different outlets. Consumers would likely respond negatively to deep discounts for online purchases if they can see access those from the store.
"The integration of the thing and the visibility from the front end raise issues from the retailers point of view about how much transparency they want in terms of pricing," says Mr. Sherit.
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