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• 2007

S&T Poland looks after self-service checkout systems in Auchan hypermarkets

Commission: System installation and maintenance over the next three years

Self-service checkouts, called KASAMIŁA (NiceTills), complement the traditional payment methods that have been available in Auchan hypermarkets in Poland since recent times. Self-service sales are intended for customers who are purchasing relatively few items (up to 15 products in the shopping basket). They scan the barcodes of purchased products, pay and collect their receipts themselves. These “fast tills” are supervised by one or two cashiers, who – if needed – assist clients in operating the equipment. S&T Poland is responsible for the installation and maintenance of the system. Since the early beginnings of the project, S&T has been cooperating closely with Auchan Polska’s IT department and its technological partners Fujitsu Services and Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc. on testing and integrating systems for cash registers, IT, finance and stock keeping. S&T will carry out the installation and integration of all the units of IT systems, checkouts, warehouses, payment transactions and printing devices. Once successfully implemented, they will also be responsible for maintaining these systems over the next three years. Christian Rosner, CEO of S&T AG says, “We are looking forward to this innovative and challenging commission, for which we can put the competence of our experts to best possible use and contribute to the customer’s success.”

Satisfied customers

The surveys that were carried out confirm that the additional self-service tills have been very well received by Auchan’s customers and not only the younger and the more technology-savvy ones. Many clients prefer to pass through the self-service checkouts faster and to undertake the tasks that are usually performed by shop assistants themselves, than to wait in line for a traditional cash register.

Challenging project

The introduction of self-service cash registers in four hypermarkets was a huge challenge for IT specialists from S&T and Fujitsu Services, for Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc., supplier of the equipment, and for the Auchan IT department. Patrick Flanagan, Chairman of the Management Board of S&T Poland, said: “The unique feature of the project to install self-service checkouts at Auchan stores is the fact that in this particular case we cannot conduct any training for users, i.e. the consumers. Therefore, we have to do our best to make sure that operating the system is not only fault-free and fast, but also intuitive and obvious. I am glad that we have helped Auchan to launch this interesting idea. Auchan is our long-time business partner and the choice of S&T for cooperation was based on our positive track record from the past.”

IT market in Poland

Experts from EITO are predicting growth of 9.9% in 2007 and 10% in 2008 for the IT market in Poland. The growth expectations for the IT services market are even higher, at 16.1% for 2007 and 16.3% for 2008. Therefore, Poland joins Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia as one of the top performers among the Eastern European countries. This can be attributed to the high demand for IT consultation, solutions and service both in the public sector, with the implementation of EU guidelines in particular, and in the private sector, where above all financial service providers, industry and telecommunications providers invest in IT systems to improve productivity.

S&T in Poland

The S&T group of enterprises has been operating in the Polish market since the year 2000. In 2003, S&T took over sites from Fujitsu Services in seven countries, including Poland, and incorporated them into S&T Poland. In 2006, the takeover of Polish ERP specialists BEELC resulted in a huge increase in S&T core competencies. After the takeover of IMG the Information Management Group in spring 2007, the Polish branch has now expanded further with experts from IMG Poland. S&T in Poland currently employs a total of 350 staff in 12 branches.