Company News • 26.02.2011

NCR launches converged channel store automation software

NCR’s new Retail Transaction Services solution enables retailers to deliver a consistent consumer shopping experience across digital and physical channels

NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) today launched Retail Transaction Services (RTS), a store automation system combining the latest point-of-sale (POS) application and a suite of sales transaction services, which enable retailers to manage consistent product, price and promotions data across in-store, online and mobile customer touch points simply and cost effectively. This makes it easier for retailers to deliver a seamless personalized ‘c-tailing’ shopping experience across digital and physical channels.

RTS uses a service oriented architecture (SOA), agile development techniques, object-oriented components and standard web-based interfaces. This enables rapid integration with the retailer’s enterprise system and a range of transaction services to be written once for in-store devices such as point-of-sale, self-service kiosks, handheld self-service, online and mobile channels using a single sales engine. RTS’ single engine eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming custom software development and integration for each consumer touch point.

As a result, RTS’ sales transaction services can be used to implement new price based promotions faster and consistently across multiple channels. No matter where a consumer queries the price of an article, the unique item look-up service can access the data and provide identical results back to the user.

RTS’ web based environment enables goods bought on-line to use the same sales engine that is used by the store environment providing a seamless “click and collect” in-store and “buy online, return to store” services for shoppers.

Unicoop Firenze in Italy is already realizing benefits from RTS with its ability to deliver consistent promotions to customers, reduced time-to-market for new ideas and lower operating costs across multiple touch points. The retailer is working closely with NCR on the next phase of development.

“RTS empowers retailers to remove the frustrations and complexity of shopping across various touch points for customers,” said Rick Chavie, VP of Marketing for Retail and Hospitality at NCR. “Retailers can develop business functionality once and reuse it across all their digital and physical channels. This improves the shopping experience for customers by enabling them to review consistent information on products and prices, complete purchases and receive deliveries and process returns at locations most convenient to them.”

RTS offers a common NRF ARTS RTI1 interface for the integration of third-party solutions, including self-service weigh scales, in-aisle scanners, self-checkouts and kiosks, resulting in a single transaction flow to enterprise solutions.

The RTS solution is scalable, from standalone installations in convenience stores to multi terminal installations in hypermarkets. The same services are used, whatever the store size.

Longer-term investment protection is assured because once deployed, the application can evolve as platform technology evolves. The SOA approach means specific retail system services can simply be upgraded or replaced over time, removing the huge task of having to rip out and replace POS solutions every seven to ten years to keep pace with technology advancements.

RTS is part of the NCR c-tailing™ solutions, a set of software, technology and services that enable retailers to offer consumers greater personalization and consistency across online, mobile and in-store channels. These converged retailing solutions enable retailers to differentiate themselves, lower operating costs and attract today’s empowered and elusive consumer.

RTS is complemented by the NCR Advanced Marketing Solution, which helps retailers develop and execute targeted promotional programmes. It combines planning, offer logic, discounting, graphical content and channel management into a single workspace. This is in addition to NCR WinEPTS, a PCI-compliant credit and debit handling solution and the NCR Utility Payment Bridge, which enable retailers to manage bill payment and mobile phone top-up services.

1The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) of the National Retail Federation is a retailer-driven membership organization. It is dedicated to creating an open environment where both retailers and technology vendors work together to create international retail technology standards. RTI, or Retail Transaction Interface, is a new ARTS standard, providing a set of XML message specifications for creating, populating, and completing retail transactions.