Avery Berkel has won a contract from Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Limited to integrate its counter and self-service retail scales and bakery printers into the world’s first fully-centralised system. The solution will cover all of the retailer’s 450 main stores and requires no in-store server.
Working closely with Sainsbury’s IT provider, a developer of retail software called Invatron and using Digi International device networking, Avery Berkel designed and implemented the new system that will update product data to more than 6000 scales every night. It will also report on the status of every scale and e-mail a store with details of any machine that does not update correctly.
A roll out programme for the solution is nearing completion with Avery Berkel engineers visiting each store to connect every scale to the network.
Before using the system, stores used a variety of methods to upload product data, including manual entry and information downloaded from an intranet site.
Now, Sainsbury’s retail pricing team maintains more than 2000 products and prices centrally which are loaded on a server. The EPlum scale management application from Invatron Systems controls the communication to all scales via MX100 software from Avery Berkel. The EPlum server was configured to drive over 200 scales simultaneously, enabling the update of all product and price data, label formats, pictures and self-service menus in less than three hours.
Scales are connected to the system in one of three ways. New M series scales from Avery Berkel use RF networking to minimise cabling. Existing MP and M series scales use Ethernet connectivity. Finally older scales and bakery printers use a new technology from Digi International called Digi Connect Wi-SP that turns serial communications into radio frequency without compromising network security.
Sainsbury’s and Avery Berkel are project managing the implementation. Avery Berkel is providing a full maintenance service for all scales, printers and meat slicers in the Sainsbury’s equipment estate.
Sainsbury’s project manager, Chris Price said, “It is great to be involved in the world’s first fully centralised system for counter scales. It has taken an enormous amount of effort from all parties involved, including all the IT specialists and Sainsbury’s project teams from each division of the business. We have delivered a simple solution for our store colleagues.”
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For further information contact:
Claire Blakemore Product and Marketing Communications Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 121 568 1650
Email: cblakemore@averyberkel.com
or
Jane Woods
Edson Evers LLP, New Garden Street, Stafford ST17 4AG
Tel: +44 (0) 1785 255146 Fax: +44 (0) 1785 211518
E-mail: jane@edsonevers.com