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Quarter 1 Highlights, February 22nd, 2012
Letter From the VP
A few things you may want to know.....
Product Highlight:
Motorola Enterprise Tablet (ET1)
New to the Motorola line, the ET1 is now available for purchase. With much hype beginning in Q4 of 2011, the ET1 was promoted heavily at the National Retail Federation “Big Show” a few weeks ago. While many stores are demoing iPads and other consumer grade devices in their stores, this tablet is an excellent choice for retailers who need a more durable solution. The tablet withstands spills, drops, and every security issue you may be concerned about. Read more about Retail Tech’s thoughts on the tablet and ask us how to get your hands on one! ET1 Tablet Highlights
Mark Baskfield VP Sales and Marketing Marketing
Retail season has come and gone, and the New Year is upon us.. Usually for us in Minnesota, that means blustery winds, lots of snow, and pale skin.. Thankfully, Mother Nature has been kind to us this winter by bringing warm temperatures and very little snow. Halfway through 1st quarter, we are seeing some positive signs that the retail industry is rebounding.. Retail Tech is confident that 2012 will be a great year.
Inside this Issue: pg. 2 - RTI Partner Corner: Interview with Mark Wagner, Epson, How do they do it?
pg. 4 -
Featured Blog
Here are a few things you may want to know... On behalf of Retail Tech, Bob Spinner and I have been honoured, once again, to participate on the 2012 IBM Retail Store Solutions Advisory Council. The event will take place at the start of the IBM Retail Store Solutions Sales Summit (RS4) in San Diego April 30 – May 3 2012. Membership on the council is limited to a distinguished group of Retail Solution Providers, Distributors, and Independent Software Vendors who contributed significantly to IBM Retail Store Solutions in 2011. Members work directly with IBM Executive, Sales, Marketing, and Product Management teams to help improve IBM Retail Store Solutions programs and product offerings. This is the third consecutive year that we have participated on the Advisory Council. Secondly, for those of you who remember the “Red Tag Mailers” that Retail Tech mailed out a number of years ago, we have brought them back by popular demand. However, this time we are going paperless and they will be delivered via email. The Red Tag E-Mailers will be sent out once a month and will showcase products that we are promoting with special pricing. If you are not receiving these and would like to be on the list, please email snoble@retailtechinc.com. Another change that you may have noticed is a small "Seal of Approval" stamp on your shipping labels. What is the RTI Seal of Approval, and why do we have it? Click
Here to watch the short video to find out. We look forward to working with you in 2012!
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pg. 5 -
Employee Spotlight: Steve Biccum
& IRUG Information
Featured Inventory 4846-565 IBM POS Hardware Available 12" Sceen Special Price: $925/unit
RTI Partner Corner
You were recently named Best Channel Vendor for the Fourth Year in a Row in Business Solutions Magazine’s Annual Survey. What is the key to maintaining great relationships with all your resellers?
Epson How do they do it?
We advocate for resellers and offer a
How does a leader in POS printing solutions, Epson, look to maintain success and stay relevant in the ever changing technology industry?
partnership approach, rather than a vendor relationship. At Epson, we roll up our sleeves and work in close collaboration with partners to develop a mutually shared vision of success.
Epson is a leading supplier of POS technology solutions and has been for many years, how do you think e-receipts and other new online/receipt technology will affect Epson's leadership?
Having the breadth and depth of products with reliable, global service and support, along with a strong, solid commitment to the channel keeps Epson top of mind with our loyal resellers.
We don’t envision paper receipts going away anytime soon. While it’s true digital receipts are becoming more popular, there are drawbacks. Some customers don’t want to provide e-mail information for obvious privacy concerns, and others want something they can hold onto as proof of the transaction. Either way, the safest bet for some time to come will still be for retailers to listen to customers and offer the option of a digital or printed receipt.
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New Epson Feature TM-H2000 Multifunction Printer
What are some great new products/features Epson has added to its repertoire recently?
Epson's TM-H2000 dual-function printer is a new class of multifunction printer featuring high-speed receipt printing and check processing with the industry's leading 99.9% accuracy. Read More
Epson’s new TM-T88V and TM-H6000IV offer significant enhancements to already best in class printers at the same price as previous models, which means more bang for the buck. With 50% faster print speeds, the TM-T88V also has an industry leading, four-year warranty, Energy Star certification, dual interface and significant,
What has been the leading contributor to Epson’s POS printer success in the past and how do you think Epson will continue to be a leader into the future?
cost savings paper reduction features. The paper reduction feature is an innovative firmware utility (no changes needed to POS software application), and enables end users to greatly reduce consumables/paper costs. For example, with the TM-T88V set at full 75% paper reduction mode, paper costs can be reduced by over $300
Retailers want printers that work consistently
per printer in five years with a savings of over
and dependably above all. Epson prides itself
200 lbs. of paper. For users with 1000 printers,
on its strengths in technical engineering and
this could mean a cost savings of over $300K in
software /driver support. As a result, Epson
five years.
printers are true working solutions, not just A special Thank You to Mark Wagner, Account Manager, OEM/VAR Team, for allowing us to interview him.
commodity peripherals. In addition, we host "Voice of the Customer" product tours with key OEMs, VARs and end users to gather
Epson Website: www.pos.epson.com
intelligence for next generation products. We take requirements, ideas and criticisms back to our design teams. This collaborative approach yields products with better, more customer driven features and functionality.
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ReUse, ReDuce, ReCycle, Retail Tech 2011 Retail Tech Recycling Efforts After purchasing new POS equipment, many of you are left with the question…where do we dispose of all our old equipment? Many items cannot be thrown in the garbage, so how do I abide by the laws without all the hassle? There is a simple solution. Send it to us! Retail Tech uses a licensed hazardous waste generator, and all equipment is transported and disposed of in accordance with EPA guidelines. Among the PC’s, laptops, printers, and monitors Retail Tech disposed of in 2011, we are proud to say that we recycled over 500,000 pounds of electronic scrap alone! That is equal to about 7,142 lanes of IBM SurePOS 700 systems,
Or About this many Ford F-150 trucks…
…99 to be exact (didn’t want to make you count). Our recycling efforts are not limited to our customer’s needs; we recycle all of Retail Tech’s material waste as well. Aside from electronic scrap, we have recycled:
96,000 lbs. of Scrap Metal
1,727 wood pallets + 162,080 lbs. of Cardboard Waste
= A whole lotta’ recycling There is always room for growth, and we are committed to increasing our efforts in 2012. Help us as we continue on our quest to eliminate POS scrap, in the right way. Learn more about the Retail Tech Electronics Recycling program by contacting a representative. Retail Tech also provides Electronic Hard Drive Destruction. Click Here to learn more. 4
Employee Highlight: Steven Biccum
Marketing and Sales Support Director Steve began his 31 year career as an Industrial Engineer with IBM and held various positions in
IBM Retail User Group
the industrial engineering, planning community and management. In 1983 he began working
35th Annual Conference
with (what is now called) Retail Store Solutions
May 20-23rd, 2012
(RSS) as a product planner where the assignments concentrated on development of hardware and software solutions. As a member of the Senior Advisory Committee, input was provided as to the directions for future development of RSS products. Steve joined the RSS Sale Team in 1995 where he received two IBM Golden Circle Awards and three One Hundred Percent Club Awards. Upon retirement
Join IBM executives, Business Partners, and retailers as we come together for a networking and thought leadership summit. This year, IRUG will be held at the JW Marriott in Las Vegas.
in 2000 he consulted for RSS and IBM Global Finance for five years in a Marketing and Sales Support capacity. In 2005 Steve accepted a position with Retail Tech Inc. in a Marketing and Sales Support role, where he has been fortunate to be part of and
In 2011, Retail Tech won the IBM Retail User Group Innovation Award on behalf of a rollout we provided for Duane Reade drugstores. We are excited, once again, to represent Retail Tech at the User Group. We will be exhibiting in Booth #19. Contact us for more details.
witness a 10 fold growth over Retail Tech’s 12 year existence.
1501 Park Road, Chanhassen MN 55317 1.877.590.9687 952.380.0493 pos@retailtechinc.com www.retailtechinc.com
To register go to: http://ibmretailug.org/
"Keeping Pace with Retail Evolution" 5