Modelo Continente Selects Fujitsu's U-Scan; First Portuguese Retailer to Use Self-Checkout; Rapid Integration Cuts Normal Implementation Time by Half.FRISCO, Texas -- Modelo Continente SGPS SGPS Sociedade Gestora de Participações Sociais , the leading Portuguese retail arm of the Sonae Group, is the first retailer in Portugal to implement a self-checkout system, from Frisco FRISCO Fast Reaction Integrated Submarine Control , Texas-based Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc. Modelo Continente operates a total of 480 stores, including hypermarkets, supermarkets and specialty retail stores in Portugal and Brazil with consolidated gross sales Gross Sales A measure of overall sales that isn't adjusted for customer discounts or returns, calculated simply by adding all sales invoices, and not including operating expenses, cost of goods sold, payment of taxes, or any other charge. of about 4 billion euros ($4.8 billion USD USD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the U.S. Dollar. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ) as of Dec. 31, 2004. "Self-checkout will help further differentiate our stores and offer our customers new shopping services and options," said Paulo Magalhaes, chief information officer of Modelo Continente. "We selected Fujitsu's U Scan system because it was the solution that best fit our criteria: functionality, usability, cost and implementation deadline." In fact, the initial store implementation time was reduced by more than half, due in part to a virtual point-of-sale (VPOS VPOS Vertical Position VPOS Virtual Point-Of-Sale VPOS Virtual Point of Service ) messaging framework that had previously been created by Fujitsu's U-Scan engineers. The VPOS is a piece of software code that enhances communications between the front-end cash registers and the self-checkout systems, speeding up the integration process. Once the Sonae in-house IT team had embedded the interface into the POS (1) See point of sale and packet over SONET. (2) "Parent over shoulder." See digispeak. POS - point of sale , Fujitsu modified the self-checkout software and the first system was live in the store just 57 days from the point of decision. "Self-checkout has arrived in Portugal and we expect to see continued growth throughout Europe, Asia and the rest of the world," said Austen Mulinder, president and chief executive officer at Fujitsu Transaction Solutions. "As self-checkout systems continue to grow in global popularity, leading retailers are selecting Fujitsu for its quality U-Scan technology and smooth implementation services." Magalhaes says the self-checkout systems are currently limited to Modelo Continente's Hypermarkets, but the company is considering expanding to other food and non-food chains under the Modelo Continente umbrella. About Modelo Continente Modelo Continente is a subsidiary of the Sonae Group in the retail sector and has a wide range of food and non-food retail chains in Portugal and Brazil. Based in Matosinhos, Portugal, the company is the leading operator in the retail market in Portugal and the fourth largest in the Brazilian retail market with 480 stores and consolidated gross sales of about 4 billion euros ($4.8 billion USD). The company's Portuguese portfolio includes Continente hypermarkets; Modelo mini-hypermarkets; Modelo Bonjour supermarkets; Worten electronics chain; Modalfa clothing and apparel; Maxmat DIY DIY abbr. do-it-yourself DIY or d.i.y. Brit, Austral & NZ do-it-yourself DIY abbr DIY do it yourself a DIY shop/job. and construction; Sportzone sport equipment and accessories; Vobis computer equipment; Zippy kid stores and Worten Mobile cell phone and mobile computing. Modelo Continente's Brazilian portfolio includes hypermarkets under the brand name BIG; supermarkets under the brand names Nacional and Mercadorama; and non-food retail chains under the names Big Electroelectronico and Hello. About Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Fujitsu Limited (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). : 6702) and the IT "lifecycle solutions" provider for consumer transaction environments. The company creates and manages high availability store environments and collaborates with customers to reduce their costs and improve their profitability. Fujitsu's offerings include multi-vendor lifecycle services, point-of-sale hardware and software, mobile devices, networking solutions and self service systems including U-Scan. Customers include Canadian Tire, Chevron Corporation, Loblaws, Nordstrom, Payless ShoeSource, Regal Cinema, Ross Dress for Less, REI, Staples, Stop & Shop and The TJX Companies, among others. The company also has a 50/50 joint venture with Retalix Ltd. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : RTLX) in StoreNext Retail Technologies LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , the No. 1 supplier of retail technology to independent grocers and regional chains. Web site: www.ftxs.fujitsu.com EDITOR'S NOTE: For sales and product information call 1-800-340-4425. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion