Automatic Merchandiser - 27

TECHNOLOGY

Express Market ™ and Flex Market® by ECRS
ECRS offers two self-checkout kiosks: the Express
Market, which is commercially available, and the Flex
Market, which is currently in production and will be
available for purchase later this summer. According to
Felice Manget, micro market and campus systems executive for ECRS, both units run their CATAPULT® software,
which offers perpetual inventory management, customer
records, loyalty points and rewards, and remote enterprise-level business management.
"We offer versatile functionality across multiple use
cases and touchpoints," Manget said. "A company
breakroom that offers both a 24/7 micro market and a
corporate dining entity can use the same kiosk running
the same software. It's particularly useful in places like
campus or university systems."

Norm Technologies' locking cooler
by Three Square Market
Last year, Three Square Market became a vested
partner in a cooler and freezer manufacturing company
located overseas, leading them to start Norm Technologies. They commercially launched
the first Norm Tech cooler in the
first quarter of 2019 and showcased
this new line of micro market coolers
at The NAMA Show earlier this year.
"There's a standard cooler that's
been a staple of our industry: the
26-inch-wide, single-door cooler
that everybody has bought for some
time," explained Patrick McMullan,
co-founder and president of Three
Square Market. "Our cooler has a
similar compressor, warranty, square
footage - the works. The difference
is, we developed our own smart lock."

Having one system that unifies those different segments
streamlines business operations, especially for operators
offering services beyond micro markets and vending machines, such as catering, corporate dining, delis or grills.
For the end user, the kiosks are intuitive and easy to use.
"A customer can walk up to an ECRS Express Market or
Flex Market and can either scan and go, use biometrics
to check out with the tap of a finger, or create a customized sandwich, coffee or pizza - all at the same kiosks,"
she said.
Both the Express Market and Flex Market come with
walkaway detection, timeout functionality, and video
cameras in the screens, powered by network video
recording (NVR) wired or wireless IP cameras. Manget
said that the Express Market is ideal for quick transactions as it is configured for scan-and-go scenarios, while
the Flex Market has a slightly bigger footprint. The Flex
is available as a tabletop, wall-mounted or freestanding kiosk and can come assembled with as little as a
scanner and an encrypted payment unit, or as much as
a bill acceptor, biometrics, proximity reader and receipt
printer, depending on the operator's needs.
"We also have 297 reports that come out of the box
with our software, which enables operators to drill down
to times and places at kiosks to determine if and when
transactions may have gone awry," she continued. "In
addition to those security measures, our back-office
inventory management helps minimize shrink, and biometrics help ensure customer identification."
The Express Market ™ and
Flex Market® by ECRS are
both powered by CATAPULT.
ECRS

The hybrid cooler
from Norm
Technologies is a
new offering from
Three Square
Market.
Norm Technologies by Three

The cooler is equipped with the
mobile-friendly, wifi-capable SmartLock Health Timer, which can lock
the cooler if it's left open or if the
compressor fails. During busy times
when doors are repeatedly opened
and closed, operators can program
the lock to control the temperature
and keep items colder. At night,
a standard cooler temperature is
maintained.
Another unique feature is the size,
created specifically with micro markets in mind.

Square Market

"We introduced a model at NAMA
that is a 34-inch-wide, micro market specific cooler
that holds between 60 and 170 additional units,
depending on what products you're putting in there,"
he said. "You're never going to run out of your bestselling products. If you have a cooler that can hold more
units, you don't have to visit it as often. So, more of
your bestsellers, less trips, more profit - that's just
better margins and a healthier company."
McMullan said operators can choose to keep the cooler
locked at all times in high-theft areas, and that end
users can easily unlock the cooler by identifying themselves by a thumbprint, a key fob or an account code
through the market's kiosk or mobile app. The coolers
integrate with other brands of kiosks, making the cooler
a seamless addition to a market.
"You don't have to be a Three Square client to buy our
coolers," McMullan said. "I welcome the chance to have
our lock integrate with our competing kiosk systems."

August 2019

VendingMarketWatch.com

Automatic Merchandiser

http://www.VendingMarketWatch.com

Automatic Merchandiser

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