Are Open Architecture Self-Checkouts Worth It?

By Erin Harris, Integrated Solutions For Retailers magazine

Self-checkout is quickly becoming an essential tool in today's retail environment. Thousands of stores now offer self-checkout, and that number is increasing daily. Retail executives are realizing that self-checkout systems greatly improve customer service and increase operational efficiency while providing a strategic competitive advantage. Henry Bykerk, IT director at Strack and Van Til (SVT), overhauled the grocer's existing self-checkout units in favor of units that operated independently of the cashier-operated units.

Headquartered in Highland, IN, SVT operates under the banners of Strack and Van Til, Ultra Foods, and Town and Country Markets. The company operates 30 grocery stores in northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois and employs more than 5,000 people. SVT operated self-checkout units in its stores for many years. However, concern about SVT's inability to update its front end software for regular lanes and self-checkout software separately created severe problems. "Our previous self-checkout initiative forced us to maintain two versions of our front end software," says Bykerk. "One version ran the regular lanes, and the other ran the self-checkout units. The only way to update our front end software was to maintain a separate code base. If we tried to update the self-checkout software, it would shut down the regular lane's software completely and vice versa." In addition, the existing self-checkout units operated slowly and did not accept all forms of payment. Therefore, each self-checkout unit housed a large amount of cash every day to provide change for transactions. Bykerk was concerned about the risk associated with the excessive amount of cash carried daily in each store. Finally, SVT wanted to enhance customer satisfaction. "We are a union shop across the board," says Bykerk. "We are not interested in replacing or reducing labor. We just want to enhance customer experience. We hoped to increase customer throughput at the self-checkout units by providing an attendant to actively help customers using the self-checkout units," says Bykerk.

Used with permission from Integrated Solutions For Retailers magazine.