Key Food Stores to Speed up Check-Out With IBM Technology

NEW YORK, NY.- IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today it has teamed with Man-Dell Food Stores to deploy new IBM scan-and-bag and point-of-sale technology in five Key Food locations the company owns in the New York City area.

With margins thin and customer loyalty on the line, independent grocers like Man-Dell Food Stores are searching for innovative ways to save time and create efficiencies. Leveraging customer-assisted services, like self-checkout, enables grocers to meet consumers’ expectations and apply resources to other areas of their business.

Man-Dell replaced NCR ScanMaster systems with new IBM SurePOS™ 700 Series systems running the IBM 4690 operating system, and later added the powerful new "scan-and-bag" self-checkout terminals from IBM.

"IBM Self Checkout offers customers a faster, more reliable, and more flexible shopping experience" said Scott Schubert, MIS Director of Man-Dell Food Stores. "We estimate that 28 percent of our shoppers now use self-checkout on a daily basis, which proves that busy shoppers want a speedy ’in and out’ experience, without dealing with long lines"

IBM, in conjunction with Premier IBM Business Partner STCR, helped Man-Dell Food Stores deploy seven IBM SurePOS 700 systems and four IBM Scan-and-Bag Self Checkouts, making it the first New York area independent grocer to offer such self-checkout. The Queens-based store chose IBM and STCR to help enable a better customer checkout experience due to the high percentage of express to mid-size orders and limited front end space. In September of 2007, Man-Dell Food Stores plans to install additional self-service machines in four more locations.

"Consumers measure service by what they can do for themselves, not by what others do for them" said Brian Tuberman, president of STCR. "Self-service technology can be a competitive asset for an independent grocer because this technology provides the consumer with autonomy which, in turn, provides a greater level of satisfaction"

The IBM Scan-and-Bag Self Checkout model was designed specifically for flexibility, ensuring that retailers can tailor the use of the system for a variety of different locations and departments. The next generation Self Checkout system boasts enhancements of improved ergonomic design, improved features for more secure currency enclosures, hardware durability for enhanced reliability, and increased flexibility to help retailers optimize throughput. For more information about IBM Self Checkout, go to http://www-03.ibm.com/products/retail/products/selfco/models.html.

The IBM installation was part of a total in-store revamp process that cleared out the NCR systems for new IBM machines running the IBM 4690 operating system, along with the four scan-and-bag terminals.

In collaboration with STCR, Man-Dell Food Stores implemented an Application Client/Server Environment (ACE) system that allowed the client to enhance SurePOS 700 features, enabling cashiers to accelerate transaction time. ACE software combines checkout support, electronic marketing, data maintenance, account management and other accounting processes in a versatile package. For instance, clerks now have access to integrated electronic "flip charts" to assist in produce lookups, and electronic help screens to help with cashier training.