Retailer Tesco Purchases 10,000 Pocket PCs

[Andy Sjostrom]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cb_headline.cgi?&story_file=bw.072903/232105228' target='_blank'>http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin...72903/232105228</a><br /><br /></div>"Leading supermarket retailer Tesco has announced it is to purchase nearly 10,000 of Intermec's market leading handheld computer device, the 700 Series Color, for use throughout its UK store network", begins this press release which discusses a major win for Intermec, Microsoft, and Tesco. The Intermec 700 Series integrates GSM/GPRS, Bluetooth, WiFi and a bar code reader into a ruggedized Pocket PC which uses Intel's 400 MHz X-Scale processor to move things around.<br /><br />The background story is one that we will see many, many more of in the near future: "Tesco's existing handheld terminals were reaching the end of their working lives and the company chose to take the opportunity to upgrade to the latest, high performance technology. The retailer needed a rugged device that offered radio frequency (RF) mobile communication and could accommodate moves from a text-based to a graphical platform as well as from terminal emulation to Microsoft's Internet Explorer."<br /><br />How will Tesco use Intermec's Pocket PCs? The press release says: "Tesco is using the devices for in-store price mark-downs (in combination with a portable printer), shelf re-cubing (printing new shelf-edge labels), logging general stock transactions and producing planagrams of product layouts and shelf designs. They are also being used in the field for checking delivery accuracy using GPRS connectivity to feed back data in real time and to check accuracy of deliveries against invoices."

[Skitals]

I dont really understand would want to use the pocket pc platform for this. I'm sure their are alot easier ways to print labels and create product layouts (like... a desktop and printer). I also wonder how the battery life is, especially with all those features 8O I wonder how big of a discount a company gets for a 10,000 unit order? Wondering if they had to pay around 5 million 8O

[Duncan]

Tesco are also the only British retailer to offer Pocket PC online shopping through a dedicated piece of software. Pity their range of food is so poor...!

[Mr. Anonymous]

I dont really understand would want to use the pocket pc platform for this. I'm sure their are alot easier ways to print labels and create product layouts (like... a desktop and printer).

Actually a desktop and a printer is a MUCH more invconvenience setup for doing instore retail operations like receiving, expiration date checking, etc. You're not going to wheel a PC and a printer to the backroom every time a truck comes in to scan the boxes in the shipment. You're going to grab a handheld, scan each box, and print lables off on your wireless portable printer.

[dh]

I dont really understand would want to use the pocket pc platform for this. I'm sure their are alot easier ways to print labels and create product layouts (like... a desktop and printer).

Actually one of the big advantages of mobile printing is to free the printing from the desktop and move it to where the label will be used.

Imagine printing a sheet of small self labels on a desktop printer, then having to find the right shelves to stick them. Remember there are a lot of shelves in a Tesco or similer store.

Using the mobile solution, the Tesco person can simply scan a shelf label or product barcode with the barcode scanner in the PPC, access the database and print an updated label that can be applied right away.

A lot of retailers are going for this kind of technique. Next time you are in a T J Maxx or Marshals look for the staff doing mark down labeling using a portable printer and terminal in one of their shopping carts.

[leigho]

Tesco are also the only British retailer to offer Pocket PC online shopping through a dedicated piece of software. Pity their range of food is so poor...!

You must be going to the wrong branches because they are known as having the largest range of food of all the large supermarkets. Maybe not the best but the largest in sheer numbers.

Leigh

[Duncan]

You must be going to the wrong branches because they are known as having the largest range of food of all the large supermarkets. Maybe not the best but the largest in sheer numbers.

You seem to have misread my comment - I said nothing about how large their range of food was - only that of the range they sell the quality is poor. Tesco consistently come at or near the bottom in quality tests carried out by the Consumers Association - not helped by their insistence on concentrating on their own brand food!

[leigho]

You seem to have misread my comment - I said nothing about how large their range of food was - only that of the range they sell the quality is poor. Tesco consistently come at or near the bottom in quality tests carried out by the Consumers Association - not helped by their insistence on concentrating on their own brand food!

Due to you missing out the word "quality" from your initial post I didn't misread but I did misunderstand. Apologies.

[markan]

Tesco are also the only British retailer to offer Pocket PC online shopping through a dedicated piece of software

They don't go out of their way to advertise it though do they. I lost the url and have had some fun trying to find the software on their site!!

[Duncan]

Did you ever find it? http://www.lansley.com/tescopocketshopper/ or http://www.tesco.com/pocketshopper/

[Mattb90]

The question is whether I will be able to get WiFi net access when walking around my local Tesco with my Pocket PC? It would be great to able to do some shopping while streaming some music or video, and I'm sure some will want to talk to their wives/husbands on MSN Messenger to check they haven't forgotten anything...

[hamishmacdonald]

I tried out the Pocket Shopper application on my iPAQ 2210 last night, but it wouldn't synchronise the product data, no matter what I tried.

That said, my conscience doesn't really allow me to shop at Tesco anyway. I've read some pretty damning things about their practices in the UK and in places abroad, including Thailand and Korea. Some of the accusations include crowding out local businesses, unfair labour practices, and unfair practices when dealing with farmers (forcing them to accept prices lower than the cost of production, and having to pay extra for the presentation of their goods).

I'm not making these claims myself, and I know people like to hate big corporations. But more often than not, there's a good reason for it.

Just some food for thought.

Hamish MacDonald
_______________________________
references material on points mentioned:

http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/real_food/news/2003/february/february_5.html

http://www.union-network.org/UNIsite/Sectors/Commerce/Multinationals/Mnc_Korea_global_leaders_enter.htm

http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/magazine/issue3/cw3f7.html

http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/profiles/food_supermarkets/tesco/tesco1.html

[ctmagnus]

Some of the accusations include crowding out local businesses...

Walmart!