Multiple UnifiedPOS Implementation Scenarios To Be Shown At NRF 91st Annual Convention & EXPO
Contact:
Scott Krugman/Sarah Scheuer
(202) 783-7971
krugmans@nrf.com
scheuers@nrf.com
Richard Mader
National Retail Federation
arts@nrf.com
-- Vendors Unite To Demonstrate Cost-Saving Power Of UnifiedPOS --
Washington, DC, January 8, 2002 - The Association for Retail Technology
Standards (ARTS), a retailer-driven membership organization dedicated to
creating an open environment where retailers and technology vendors work
together to create international retail technology standards, will be
demonstrating the interoperability benefits of UnifiedPOS at the upcoming
National Retail Federation 91st Annual Convention & EXPO, January 13-16, in
New York City. The exhibit will consist of a continuous demonstration made
up of a variety of hardware, software and peripheral deployment combinations
from a mix of vendors who are dedicated to helping retailers by adhering to
retail technology standards.
"We follow the UnifiedPOS standard because the freedom-of-choice it provides
helped us reduce total costs for the POS hardware configuration we`re
rolling out later this year," said Danny Branch, VP of Store and People
Systems at The Home Depot.
The ARTS exhibit at NRF`s Annual Convention & EXPO will testify to the value
of standards in the retail community by addressing several key concerns
retailers have when purchasing a store system. The use of UnifiedPOS by an
increasing number of hardware and software vendors will provide retailers
with the freedom to choose best-of-breed components for a new store system.
This freedom will prevent retailers from being tied to one vendor and will
allow them to select a cost-effective total solution made up of vendors who
can best meet their business needs.
"In my thirty years in retail, extending the life of POS systems has always
been a major IT objective," said Richard Mader, Executive Director of ARTS.
"UnifiedPOS allows new peripherals and platforms to add business
functionality without total replacement."
Additionally, retailers will gain the ability to maximize existing
investments while adopting newer, more cost-effective technology through the
use of UnifiedPOS and other standards. The plug-and-play capabilities of
hardware and software that utilize UnifiedPOS standards provides retailers
with easier deployment, accelerated customizations, and diversity in vendor
and deployment options -- creating the opportunity for a faster
time-to-market.
"We have found that the agility inherent in hardware and software that
adhere to recognized standards provides a faster time-to-market for system
deployment and the implementation of new peripherals," said Jeannine
Ralston, VP of Store Systems at The Limited, Inc.
ARTS has brought together a variety of hardware and software vendors for the
first UnifiedPOS collaborative effort, including 360Commerce, Chelsea Market
Systems, Epson, IBM, PCMS Datafit, Sun Microsystems, and Wincor Nixdorf.
Each software vendor will display their software running on two different
combinations of server platform hardware and peripherals, demonstrating the
retailer`s ultimate freedom-of-choice.
Also on display in the ARTS booth will be a first-ever demonstration of the
ARTS IXRetail, newly-released XML Digital Receipt Standard presented by
AfterBOT, Infrared Data Association, and QuickSell Commerce. Digital
Receipt is an electronic purchase verification transaction that can be
issued by retailers, financial institutions or any other industry that
provides consumers proof-of-purchase. The demonstration will showcase the
power of the digital receipt as both a customer service tool and a promotion
delivery vehicle for retailers.
The ARTS UnifiedPOS exhibit can be viewed during EXPO Hall hours at NRF
Booth #981. Attendees are invited to stop by the booth to learn more about
the standards initiative. In addition, ARTS will provide retailers with an
in-depth update on the progress of standards in the retail industry. This
presentation will take place on Sunday, January 13, 2002 at 2:30 p.m. in
Room 1E10 and Room 1E11 in the Jacob Javits Convention Center. For more
information about ARTS, please visit www.nrf-arts.org.
About ARTS Standards and UnifiedPOS Options
ARTS has three standards embraced by the retail industry around the world:
(1) Standard Retail Data Model, (2) UnifiedPOS, a detailed, agreed-upon
specification of all POS peripheral behavior, and (3) IXRetail, which
describes inter-application interoperability. These standards have been
created through a cooperative effort from retailers and hardware and
software solution providers to reduce the time and cost of implementing
retail technology from multiple vendors.
There are two implementation options of UnifiedPOS available to date. The
first is OPOS, which is used for applications in any language on Windows®
platforms. The second is JavaPOS, which is used for applications on any
platform that supports Java. The implementation of either form of
UnifiedPOS can open up additional options for retailers in terms of
technology choices, a lower total cost of ownership of those choices, and a
faster overall time-to-market in the implementation phase.
The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), a division of the
National Retail Federation, is a retailer-driven membership organization
dedicated to creating an international, barrier-free technology environment
for retailers. ARTS was established in 1993 to ensure that technology works
to enhance a retailer`s ability to develop store level business solutions
and avoid situations that limit a retailers` ability to implement change
while providing industry standards designed to provide greater value at
lower costs. For more information about ARTS and how to become a member,
visit www.nrf-arts.org .
The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world`s largest retail trade
association with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels
of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet
and independent stores. NRF members represent an industry that encompasses
more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, employs more than 20
million people -- about 1 in 5 American workers -- and registered 2000 sales
of $3.4 trillion. NRF`s international members operate stores in more than 50
nations. In its role as the retail industry`s umbrella group, NRF also
represents 32 national and 50 state associations in the U.S. as well as 36
international associations representing retailers abroad. For more
information about NRF, visit us at www.nrf.com.
###
Back...
