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| Case studies Retail Scanners |
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| The MS9500 Voyager participates in the preparation of the 2002 Spanish Population Census |
| The National Statistic Institute (INE) has recently carried out the preparation of the 2002 population Census, aimed at updating a database of more than 40 million Spaniards. This process is undertaken every 10 years and for the current campaign the INE has invested more than 9 million Euro in computer equipment and services.During the last Census, undertaken in the early 90s, the data collected by the pollsters was entered by hand, by companies contracted for that specific purpose, with theresults later centralised at the head office of the INE. This process, of course, took a long time and it was tough work, since the questionnaire was completed by hand,which therefore made it very difficult to use any automatic data collection technology whilst extending the time taken to collate the final results of the survey to a whole year.To speed up this process, the INE designed a new procedure which meant that the Census forms were delivered with the existing information about that particularperson or inhabitants, already entered within the document. Later, an OCR based system introduced the data of that home and its inhabitants into the computer system. The barcode printed on the envelope, which contained the document, identified this information, quickly and accurately, avoiding manual data entry and thus reducingtimescale of the operation and the level of errors.The INE employed more than 40.000 pollsters to visit in excess of 12 million of homes to gather the informationrelating to the Census. The envelope had a Code 128 bar code that was read by one of the 1000 Metrologic Voyagers installed in the 475 regional offices of the INE, across Spain. These offices acted as local logistics centres and completedthe data collection by the end of January 2002. The Voyager® – both MS9520 and MS9540 with CodeGate® versions were the choice of the INE being themost cost – effective scanners submitted following the invitation to tender.The Voyager 9520 is a very user-friendly hand held scanner. The laser is automatically activated when a barcode is presented to it and the data is immediatelytransmitted to the host system. Moreover, the Voyager 9540 CodeGate version allows the user to point and select a specific barcode and transmit its data by pressing theCodeGate button.“As a result of the introduction of these high-performance scanners, there has been a remarkable advantage in terms of productivity” commented Pedro Solé Romeo, head of the Department of Systems and Communications of the INE, as we have been able to reduce this data entry process from one year to two months!” “The selection of the Voyager was very easy. The advantages in terms of speed, accuracy and reliability ofscanning are more significant when the volume of barcodes to be collected are high, such as in this case of a national census” added José María Tejedor, Sales Manager ofMetrologic Eria Ibérica. This is another example about how Metrologic canimprove the productivity and effectiveness of any barcode collection application. |
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| The Komen Race for the Cure® races were timed by Metrologic’s MS9540 VoyagerCG |
| The Komen Race for the Cure Series has become the largest series of 5K runs/fitness walks in the world. Races were held in 107 U.S. cities and two foreign countries in 2000, with over one million participants. At the end of the Philadelphia and New Jersey races, which take place in May and October, respectively, Metrologic's MS9540 VoyagerCG single line bar code scanners are off and running to help record the racers' times quickly and accurately.
They didn't always use VoyagerCG. In 1997, when Bill Boyajian--owner of New Jersey based Best Racing Systems--wanted a bar code scanning device capable of reading bar codes on the bibs of his runners, he called Tyner Associates, a Metrologic reseller locat-ed in San Angelo, Texas. Bill explains, "Tyner Associates recommended the MS951, which has performed consistently at outdoor races in bright sunlight, rain and snow. This year, Metrologic donated VoyagerCG scanners for our use, and we have been very
pleased with their performance."
How it works: The name, age and gender of each runner is entered into a database and a bib number is generated for each entrant. As runners cross the finish line, a timing device transmits their times to a computer scoring program via RS232, then a bar coded pull tab is removed from each bib and put on a spindle in order of finish. The bar
coded bib numbers are then scanned with the MS9540 Voyager, the software transmits the data and updates the database with the runners’ times. Just hours after each race, runners can check their times on the www.BESTrace.com web site. |
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| Wax Lyrical...waxing lyrical about Orbit®! |
Formed in 1990, Wax Lyrical has rapidly become the UK’s largest retailer of candles and natural lighting home accessories. Since then, the business has steadily expanded to the present figure of 45 branches throughout the UK, with another five operated through a franchise operation, abroad – predominantly in the Middle East.
The first point of sale system running on a DOS based platform was installed around six years ago, and is still going strong. The front-end functionality was pretty basic, but allowed for the capture of line sales with remote polling back to the head office in Hayes, Middlesex. However, with the need to punch in a six digit PLU code, the efficiency at the point of sale was in need of improvement and around the middle of 1999, Wax Lyrical took a serious look at introducing bar coding and the scanners to read them. |
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| Bell Atlantic Mobile Installs Metrologic's Smallest Scanner |
| Bell Atlantic Mobile owns and operates the largest wireless net-work on the East Coast. From New England to the Carolinas, Bell Atlantic Mobile stores now process retail sales of wireless communications products with the help of Metrologic's IS4220 desktop PC scanner. Measuring less than 51 mm wide by 76 mm long (2” x 3” ) and weighing less than 113 grams (4 oz), the IS4220 can be mounted anywhere. The employees at each Bell Atlantic Mobile store use Velcro ® to mount the scanner under a work counter or to the side of a PC terminal, presenting bar coded items to the scanner to record each sale. |
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| Planet Fitness Stays Fiscally Fit With ORBIT ® |
DHow does a health club know which members have paid their
membership fees? For over 20 years, ABC Financial Services
("ABC") has provided health club owners with the answer to this
question and more.
"A health club offers wonderful benefits for many people, but the
bottom line is that it is a business that requires income to stay
fiscally fit," explains Ray Belew, ABC's Manager of Purchasing and
Leasing. "We help the owners of fitness centers, day spas and
martial arts centers streamline their accounts receivables opera-tions,
offering our expertise in leasing, training, collections and
billing."
"Back in 1998, when I evaluated the billing and collections systems
at our health club customer sites, it became apparent that
the badge readers they were using were not providing optimum
results." said Mr. Belew. "ScanSource helped me identify
Metrologic's MS7120 Orbit ® bar code scanner as the product with
the features we were looking for, and we began swapping them
in via warranty exchange." Talking more about Orbit's winning
characteristics, he added, "Orbit's 20-line omni scan pattern reads
quickly and consistently, and the unit looks good in the image-conscious
health club environment." |
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| The Robert Mondavi Winery Shows Good Taste in Scanners |
Popular winery hand-picks the MS6720 for flexible, reliable bar
code scanning.
In 1966 Robert Mondavi left his general manager position at
Krug Winery and acquired 12 acres of the best land in the Napa
Valley. Today his family owns one of the most widely-recognized
wineries, with a Visitor Center that flows into the vineyards.
To ensure that touring tasters are processed smoothly through the
visitor center, bottles in hand, the winery wanted a scanner with
quick reading capability and the versatility to scan objects of
many sizes.
With the help and expertise of distributor Penstock/ECR
(Beaverton, Oregon), The POS Group (Fullerton, California) pro-vided
the hardware and software solution. According to Craig
Robinett, President of The POS Group, "MS6720 scanners have
been scanning at the winery for over two years with no prob-lems…
this scanner offered the quality and reliability we look for
in solutions for our clients." |
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| The MS951 Plays a Role in Early Detection as Part of the Second Look ™ System. |
When his mother received a delayed diagnosis of advanced stage
breast cancer, Steve Rogers dedicated himself to finding a better
detection system. Utilizing his knowledge of "smart weapons",
this professor of electrical engineering at the Air Force Institute of
Technology at Wright Patterson Air Force Base retired after a
20+ year career to form Qualia Computing. Shortly thereafter,
the Second Look™ computer-aided breast cancer detection sys-tem
was born. The system enhances a radiologist's ability to
interpret mammograms by providing a consistent, cost-efficient
second reading. Employing the same pattern recognition tech-nology
used to detect Scud missiles, Second Look helps the radi-ologist
detect breast cancer micro-calcifications and masses, pos-sibly
at earlier stages.
Second Look analyzes digitized images with a combination of
image processing and neural network algorithms designed for a
state-of-the-art PC workstation. These computer algorithms iden-tify
potential suspect lesions, and then easy-to-read markers indi-cate
areas of potential concern. A printout can then be included
with the patient's records, eliminating the radiologist's need for a
dedicated CAD work area. |
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| HobbyCraft Orbit® Speeds Up EPOS Transactions at the UK's Fastest Growing Art & Craft Retailer |
Time is money, and at HobbyCraft, the UK's only specialist chain
of art & craft superstores, the selection of Metrologic's MS7120
Orbit scanner has made an enormous difference to the perennial
problems of queues at the checkouts.
The Haskins Group established HobbyCraft in 1995 when an
adjoining site next to the Haskins' Ferndown (Bournemouth)
Garden Centre was converted into the first HobbyCraft
Superstore. A highly successful launch meant that this was
quickly followed by a second HobbyCraft Superstore next to the
Haskins Garden Centre in West End, Southampton, and to date
19 superstores operate throughout the UK.
The first EPOS system was introduced to the Bournemouth site
in 1998 and was operational in all stores by September 2000.
It soon became clear that there was a need to improve service
by getting the customers through the checkouts faster.
Scanning, for example, 80 different skeins of thread with a sin-gle-line hand held scanner was laborious, as was printing a receipt detailing that number of items. So the Haskins Group set out for the Retail Solutions Trade Show in Birmingham, England to source new scanning and printing options. |
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| Case studies Industrial Scanners |
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| Smith & Nephew install HoloTrak® as part of integrated warehouse solution |
Smith & Nephew Medical, part of the multi-national Smith & Nephew plc, a healthcare manufacturer with a turnover in excess of £1 billion per annum, have recently implemented a brand new KTP task management solution as part of a business process improvement project within their finished goods warehouse operation.
The solution, named SPECTRUM by Smith & Nephew, was designed and implemented by long time Metrologic Concert Platinum Business Partner, KTP, based in Beverley in the UK. Driven by simple but effective processes, SPECTRUM allows Smith & Nephew to meet the needs of their demanding inventory department. |
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| Case studies OEM Scanners |
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| Metrologic’s IS4220 takes part in trial of MobiPays’ innovative mobile |
MobiPay is an innovative cell phone based payment system which has gathered together more than 90 financial entities, three leading Spanish telecommunications companies, Telefónica, Vodafone and Retevisión and the main payment cards, Visa, 4B and Euro 6000 of Spain to launch this exciting new system. The launch and presentation of this technological ‘mobile’ payment system, took place in the city of Valladolid, and was attended by Spain’s Minister of Science and Technology Ms. Anna Birulés. During the presentation a live demonstration was carried out using a TPV, a cellphone and a Metrologic IS4220 barcode scanner.
The system is designed to carry out purchases through vending machines and the Internet, for purchasing cinema or Concert tickets, for example. Other uses for which this system is ideally suited include the ‘topping up’ of phone cards for mobile phones, and of course, to carry out payments at the traditional points of sale.
The basic operation in the first place, is based upon a cell phone carrying a barcode on its back with data related to the user. The data is captured by the MS4220 and automatically transmitted to the TPV which is connected to the bank. Once the data is processed the transaction details are sent to the user's telephone and to the POS terminal. The client receives the transaction and then he validates the operation by typing his personal PIN number into his mobile. The whole operation takes just a few seconds. “The initial trial will take place in the central Spanish city of Valladolid, having the ideal commercial conditions to carry out this pilot study, representing as it does, a good cross section of the Spanish population. The system will be trialled until September. Later on, the MobiPay system will be enlarged to include the rest of Spain. At the same time it will begin to be introduced in Latin America and across Europe” according to Luis Lada, President of MobiPay. “The target for the long term is the substitution of plastic cards by the cell phone as an instrument for electronic payment. Actually, the card does not disappear – only the plastic – since the telephone will be linked to the card numbers which belong to the user” added José Luis Martínez Dalmau, member of the board of the new MobiPay team.
This project has already attracted the interest of the major retail organisations such as Carrefour, which has prepared, in several of their outlets, information points where customers can find information about this innovative payment system. Other agreements are also in negotiation with multinationals such as McDonald’s, which has, up to now, been reluctant to accept credit cards in their restaurants. As Larry Fluder, Commercial Director of Metrologic Eria Iberica’s Industrial Division states, “The MobiPay project opens up some promising opportunities for Metrologic, in an area where bar code based solutions are rare. In this way, we believe that the IS4220 is ideally suited to play an important role given that its major characteristics and benefits include its small size and auto trigger, making it ideal for this application. With the IS4220 included as part of the equipment integrated for this first phase trial, it puts us in pole position to have Metrologic at the forefront of one of the most innovative new payment systems within Europe.” |
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