DAYTON, Ohio - NCR Corp. has announced a work-station for use in department stores that looks like an automated teller machine and that is designed to speed the checkout process.
A U.S.-based retailer that is testing the workstation has been able to speed checkout time by 10%, and to cut in half the time needed to train new cashiers, an NCR spokesman said.
"The idea is to simplify the interface for the cashier, by giving them a device that works the way people think," said Mark Feighery, the spokesman.
Testing in Tokyo
NCR annouced the new workstation at the Retail Information Systems Conference in Chicago last week.
Sogo, a department store based in Tokyo, has installed 300 models of the workstation, called the NCR 7450, since April.
The workstation uses technology that NCR calls DynaKey, which combines a flat screen that can display graphics, and a keyboard of eight keys, just like an ATM.
The screen graphics lead a cashier through a transaction the same way an ATM leads a customer through one.
Replaces Function Keys
The workstation replaces the dozens of function keys on a conventional cash register with eight keys that have functions based on what is displayed on the screen.
The workstation can run Microsoft Corp.'s DOS or Windows software, or International Business Machines Corp.'s OS/ 2 operating system.
The system incorporates a magnetic stripe reader, and can be used with NCR devices that store signatures for matching with credit and debit cards.
The workstations, at a base price of about $2,500, cost slightly more than conventional point of sale stations, the spokesman said. Other versions are under development for use in supermarkets, drugstores, fast food outlets, and restaurants.
