EuroCIS to Present Latest Technology for the Retail Industry
Over 100,000 visitors and nearly 2,000 exhibitors are expected to participate in EuroShop 2011, The Global Retail Trade Fair, to be held in Düsseldorf, Germany, from February 26 – March 2, 2011. EuroCIS, which covers information, communication, and security technology, will be one of the four segments of EuroShop 2011. Held as a stand-alone trade fair in the years when EuroShop does not take place, EuroCIS is staged in conjunction with EuroShop every three years. In 2011, visitors can look forward to a first-class array of technology for the retail sector.
At EuroCIS in 2011, over 300 companies will present their innovations and latest solutions, making it the largest trade fair of its kind in Europe and at the same time one of the most important growth segments at EuroShop. Over the next few years, it will be especially exciting to observe further developments in and around mobile devices — including equipment for sales staff and self-scanning solutions as well as applications for customers’ smart phones. The focus will be on cash management at the POS, the latest (and technically very much improved) generations of digital signage systems, and web-based solutions at and around the POS, the back office, and the head office. An outstanding role will be played by the merging of stationary business and e-commerce after online business has gained so much in importance across all segments of the retail trade in recent years. Moreover, EuroCIS will offer a wide spectrum of exciting solutions, covering weighing systems, check-out hardware and software, merchandising management systems, workforce management, reverse vending systems, and retail security systems.
The wide-ranging EuroCIS spectrum of IT solutions, products, and security equipment in Halls 6 and 7a will be complemented by the EuroCIS Forum, which will feature talks on innovations, trends, and the latest case studies. Speakers have been selected for the EuroCIS Forum by experts from the EHI Retail Institute. All talks will be held with simultaneous German/English translation.
One major highlight of the accompanying EuroCIS program will be the presentation of the European Retail Awards (RETA) on the evening of February 27 (by invitation only). A high-calibre international jury will award the RETA prizes for innovative retail solutions that have been implemented with the help of information technology in these three award categories: Best Customer Experience, Best In-Store Solution, and Best Enterprise Solution. In the past, award winners included Stime/Intermarché, Sonae, The Co-Operative Group, Metro Group, Parfümerie Douglas, Otto International, Spar Austria, Manor, and s.Oliver.
EuroCIS 2011 will be attended by retailers from all over the world looking for information about the most important trends in IT as well as special safety technology for the retail trade.
The trade fair organizer Messe Düsseldorf conducted a random survey among exhibitors about which areas they thought might dominate talks in the EuroCIS segment in 2011, and how they will adjust their trade fair presentation accordingly. The quotes below represent some of their feelings regarding the topics they feel will dominate EuroCIS discussions.
• Joachim Löw, Marketing Manager at Datalogic: “The check-out area is set to change radically in the future. Opening hours 24/7 and the separation of scanning and payment will require the use of new technologies and routines. The option of saving time and thus reducing costs is the issue that is currently moving hearts and minds in the retail trade. It’s an area where Datalogic will need to provide solutions. An increase in efficiency through the use of intelligent scanning solutions will offer major optimization potential for retailers. Combined with areas such as mobile marketing, 2D code recording, and automatic scanning, they will undoubtedly be our topics of the future.”
• Stefan Clemens, Area Industry Leader Retail & Hospitality at NCR: “Today’s consumers would like to see more flexibility in their interaction with the retail trade and want to use different channels of communication. The traditional business-to-consumer model (B2C) is almost past its sell-by date. Relationships with retailers are increasingly determined by customer behavior (C2B). NCR supports retailers in the realization of new models with its c-tailing solution that puts customers at the center and offers them a convergent shopping experience. At EuroShop, we will therefore concentrate on c-tailing solutions that will support retailers in their customer interaction across all channels of distribution. NCR’s wide-ranging solutions will permit the merging of shop activities, internet, self-service terminals, and mobile terminals, while also adding a new quality of information and service to the POS.”
• Frank Mihm-Gebauer, Communications Manager Application Software, Microsoft: “The retail trade is one of the focus sectors of Microsoft. With our very broad product portfolio, the latest version of our ERP solution for retailers, Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, we’ll be using EuroShop as an essential tool in the generation of leads for the 2011 financial year. Microsoft’s vision for supporting trade enterprises on their route to becoming “connected retailers” is called “Connected Experiences for Retail”. It is intended for companies wanting to network closely with their workforce, with customers and with suppliers, thus enabling them to make investments in long-term customer relations. Our portfolio contains ERP and CRM solutions for small, medium and large companies, as well as innovative solutions in business intelligence, portal technologies, middleware, mobility and collaboration. They deliver IT tools to help retailers map processes along their supply chains.”
• Jan Olof Jarnesjö, Business Development Director, Scan Coin: “One subject that will provide a lot of discussion is the boosting of cost effectiveness in cash payment transactions. After all, cash payments are rather a costly payment method for retailers throughout Europe. So we’re convinced that one major emphasis will be on the use of today’s available technology in the retail sector. We want to show that Scan Coin is a leading supplier of both hard and software for cash management solutions. Our solutions provide retailers with a fully self-contained cyclical cash management system within the store – from the cash desk to the bank. Flexible, user-friendly solutions that combine cost effectiveness with security in POS processes will allow retailers to lose less of their precious time on cash payments.”
