The Fresh Gate application serves as the central data hub connecting the weighing technology within the dennree chain of organic supermarkets. Fresh Gate facilitates XML-based data exchange which simplifies communication between scales, checkouts and the central ERP system.
METTLER TOLEDO worked closely with dennree to pre-configure the application before installation to ensure trouble-free compatibility with BIO.WIN, dennree’s bespoke ERP solution. Whereas InfoRouter, the tool dennree previously used, required each new type of scale to be connected separately, Fresh Gate now offers uniform interfaces for all current models.
Fit for future generations of scales
“By using the new Fresh Gate application, store managers benefit from a stable and highly secure connection between their weighing technology and our BIO.WIN ERP system,” explains Volker Bernard, BIO.WIN team leader at dennree. “Furthermore, Fresh Gate guarantees long-term plug-and-play convenience. Users can rely on smooth-running processes right from the start, even in the case of new weighing technology or other future developments.”
Itemised receipts at the checkout
The Fresh Gate data hub used by dennree transmits price and product-related information to the scales in one direction and communicates sales figures back to the ERP and checkout system in the other. The tool has also enabled dennree and METTLER TOLEDO to design a convenient process model for producing itemised receipts at the checkout, allowing customers to see all of the products they have purchased loose from the fresh counter listed separately.
Better service, easier maintenance
Fresh Gate provides information about the each scale’s status and availability via a user-friendly web interface. “In the unlikely event of a problem, Fresh Gate transmits valuable information and log data to the store manager and our internal first-level support service. That makes it easier to diagnose the problem and carry out the necessary reconfiguration work,” comments Volker Bernard, who also heads up support at dennree.
Reliable and compatible
Fresh Gate runs inconspicuously as a background application on the PC stationed in a store’s back office, consuming very little power. The solution is extremely reliable and optimises data communication in store networks of any size. Fresh Gate is compatible with all scales from METTLER TOLEDO’s bC and UC Evo Line ranges.
The nationwide roll-out of Fresh Gate to over 100 dennree-owned “denn’s Biomarkt” stores is due to be completed by the end of this year. The update is also available to independently run stores within dennree’s BioMarkt Group and to BIO.WIN users.