industryview
Frank Dekker explores the potential for RF in improving customer service – and cutting costs.
In the same way as EPoS revolutionised the working ethics of retail, RF wireless networks will take retailing into and beyond the millennium. At the present time the cabling required to network any organisation can be a nightmare. Not only can it render updating or installing new equipment an expensive ‘out of hours’ task – not so easy in this age of 24 hour shopping – but one that few IT departments relish.
Now, instead of connecting EPoS tills to the back office through a wired Ethernet network, you can make all the connections through RF. The principle is quite straightforward, but the effect is dramatic. Recently, NatWest approved a wireless LAN system from technology company Breezecom to take the place of existing cabled networks. After a two year in-house research programme the technology passed all security, health and safety tests – as well as technical trials. Initially it is expected that wireless LANs will only be used in small branches, listed buildings and temporary sites with expected savings of more than 20% compared to the costs of cabling.
RF wireless technology
has also already started to make an impact on warehousing – particularly for logistics. As with retail, mobility is the key. RF wireless infrastructures won’t just replace cables, they will open up the front of store to a whole new retailing revolution.
Handheld touch screen computers
have now been designed to operate within a wireless environment. They allow staff to offer knowledgeable advice to customers who require specific information regarding their proposed purchase. Linked through RF to the back office system, the portable computers have the ability to interrogate the data held to provide up to date information on every product the store holds. Suddenly, therefore, using wireless technology, the whole principle of a ‘thin-client’ application – where information and processing power is stored remotely from the handheld unit is achievable.
Imagine the scenario...
You walk into a store with £250 to spend on a television. At first sight you are faced with a bewildering array of very similar products. How do you know which TV offers the best features or value for money? Your hand-held computer can provide the answer. Any assistant – even a part-timer – can quickly access the full information on the whole range of TVs available at £250. They can help in your choice by model, or features, or screen size or any number of criteria – and most importantly whether your choice is currently in stock. In addition, through a wireless infrastructure, the assistant could even complete the transaction through an integrated barcode scanner and credit card swipe . No need to queue at a till once you have decided, just go to the pick up point – or arrange delivery – and the TV is yours.
The same ethos applies to interactive PPS (portable personal shopping), mobile or portable PoS and on-line RPM (Reduced Price Management), a development by Visum to take control of reduced to clear items. Now imagine this across all retail environments and the traditional store layout where customers no longer have to exit at till points. RF, then, can even have an impact on store design.
It is true to say that retailers who have until recently used RF have had problems with interoperability. Whereas an office environment or warehouse is typically a one off application, a retailer may have 300 or more outlets. These environments all require the use of Portable Data Capture Units, so the ability to use the equipment at any of the sites is of paramount importance. The IEEE 802.11 standard ratified last June outlines the mechanism for totally interoperable systems. This provides the first real opportunity for retailers to make multivendor purchasing decisions, comfortable in the knowledge that they are able to build-in upgradability to protect their investment – and the ability to move handheld equipment from one site to another, without a logistical nightmare of recording their movement. This interoperability provides retailers with the opportunity to use ‘plug and play’ RF cards such as Symbol and Netwave on Breezecom’s unique 3Mbit/s infrastructure. This speed of processing allows retailers the ability to utilise some of the most sophisticated technology available across their entire store network via the IEEE 802.11 compliant wireless LAN standard.
RF then has the ability to revolutionise retailing by linking every query, transaction and order directly from the shop floor to the back office system – using technology available now, yet with full upgradeability built in. It can, and will, change the face of retail as we know it.