The first deployment of electronic shelf labels in a self-service store
A big recent trend in retail is the automation of food retail stores. The topic of automation and modernisation retail store processes was also the focus of a substantial part of a conference we held last autumn.
In the last few months, the fifth store with 24/7 service has been opened in the Czech Republic. During normal business hours, it is possible to take advantage of the presence of a shop assistant while outside of these hours customers enter the store using an app with a bank identity and check out their purchases themselves at a self-service checkout.
Electronic Shelf Labels
A new feature, not only in this type of stores, is the installation of so-called electronic shelf labels (ESL) which use the principle of e-ink display to show the price. Compared to conventional paper price tags, this eliminates the need to replace them when the price of goods changes. This saves staff time, paper and printing costs and, last but not least, the environment.
Integration with B.O.S.S. Enterprise
The first self-service store in which we successfully introduced ESL tags was the COOP store in Beroun. The control of ESLs is fully integrated into the B.O.S.S. Enterprise ERP system, including all functionality such as displaying the status of the ESL, signal strength, temperature, assignment to specific goods, etc. Additional features such as LED flashing can also be used directly in B.O.S.S. Enterprise, which can be used in practice to identify goods that are about to expire.
By simply pressing a button on the ESL, additional pages with additional product information can be displayed. For unpackaged foods, the second page can display, for example, details of the manufacturer, product composition or allergen content, etc. The additional pages can also be used for shop assistants to display, for example, stock levels.
A new feature has been added to the B.O.S.S. Mobile app for convenient matching of ESLs with goods. Using this application installed on the handheld computer (data terminal), the barcode of the ESL and the barcode of the goods to which the ESL is to be matched are simply scanned. After confirmation on the terminal display, the price and other information about the goods is automatically transferred to the ESL according to the set template. The process of initial matching of ESLs and goods can be carried out directly from the sales area in this way.
We have become a supplier of a complete ESL solution
We have added to our product portfolio a complete ESL solution from two world leading manufacturers - SoluM and SES-imagotag. We are a supplier of these brands and we can offer our customers complete support in the field of ESL - from consultation of available solutions, through the design of a suitable layout in the store including installation materials to the final implementation and training of the staff.
The solution is fully integrated into our POS and ERP system B.O.S.S. Enterprise, so users benefit from the convenience of managing all components from one interface.
The introduction of ESL tags also opens up new pricing possibilities for retailers in the form of flexible changes to the price of goods directly from the B.O.S.S. Enterprise system (without the need for staff intervention in the store). Price changes can be made immediately or scheduled in the system for any time of the day or night. In this way, it is easy to change the prices of specials or to schedule various discount promotions, etc. Price changes can also prevent food waste and reduce losses on unsold goods by discounting products that are close to their best before date, etc.
In connection with the current trends in retail store automation, we are making great efforts to incorporate new technologies into our POS and ERP system. Examples of this are e.g. ESL tags, which are of great importance especially for self-service stores operating 24/7, due to changes in prices of goods in the absence of store staff, etc. We would like to contribute to the sustainability and availability of grocery stores in cities and smaller towns by using various modern technologies in this way at a time of increasing store operating costs.
