Montague Foods Implements Fuel Rewards

Montague Foods has been serving Michigan’s White Lake community since 1988.  They first opened their doors in the ground floor level of the building across the street from their present location.  Their purpose was to provide the White Lake community with a truly local hometown supermarket where they could purchase quality food and groceries at an affordable price.

 Due to steady growth in the customer base and demand for increased product selection, they began to look for opportunities and make plans for expansion.  In 2001, they built a new store in their current location, providing their customers with easier access, an updated shopping atmosphere and a greater variety of products to choose from.

They recently went through a remodel of the present store so that they could again expand their line of products in many of their departments, and be able to serve their customers even more effectively.

As part of the remodel they installed gas tanks and pumps in the parking lot to allow them to offer an additional convenience to their customers.  As part of the new offering the SMS fuel control was installed by STCR to allow them to manage both in-store and fuel pumps, with the same system.  This allows them to customize numerous options within the system to appeal to a broader customer base, while promoting shopping rewards that can be redeemed at the gas station.

IBM Executive Briefing Center

STCR had another opportunity to visit IBM’s Executive Briefing Center in Research Triangle Park, NC with some of their customers.  Retail Industry Experts were brought in to present and discuss the trends of the grocery industry.  The purpose was to learn more about the innovations of IBM Retail Store Solutions (RSS) and how our customers can benefit from them. 

A few facts about IBM Retail Store Solutions are:

·       Retail Store Solution established in 1972
·       2 Million + POS shipped and installed
·       65% of the Top Retailers use IBM
·       17 year Leader in POS patent (5,896 patents in 2010)
·       40% of staff has 10+ years  with IBM
·       10 year commitment to service and support on products once introduced
·       Improvement in EFF increased about 35% which saves about $25/machine a year

The group was taken on a tour of the RSS Development and Test Lab.  We have always known IBM designed their Retail Store Solutions to exceed industry standards and for years we’ve touted this higher standard but this brought things to a whole new perspective. 

The facility is the size of a football field end-zone to end-zone.  Half of it is filled with equipment running and diagnosing all of IBM’s Retail Software.  All customer issues in the US go through this facility.  The other half of this facility is where these machines are put to the physical test.  Needless to say this is really impressive. 

One station had Touch Screens where gallons of water were tossed at them, while another station had these units placed under containers that dripped gallons of water over them and still another had a pinball machine test performed on it to ensure the screen picks up movement.  The printers are constantly printing and cutting to simulate several years of wear and tear.  The terminals are electrically shocked and exposed to extreme temperatures (-40 – 140 degrees).  Cash drawers loaded with nuts and bolts were mechanically opened and closed at various points to simulate a cashier’s habits.  Dirt was replicated and deposited in machines to simulate years of accumulation and put into a device that accelerates use. 

At the end of the day we were give the special treat off seeing the infamous “Cloud” (a computing model providing web-based software, middleware and computing resources on demand).  This 60,000 sq. ft. facility has advanced software analytics which allow the facility to adjust and anticipate client data and energy workloads.

This tour was a little over an hour but what an impression it left.  It reinforces our belief that IBM Retail Store Solutions are the best and STCR is the right company to bring it to you.   If you are interested in visiting the IBM Executive Briefing Center please contact your sales representative at (607) 757-0181.  

Is Your System Secure?

It is important to make your store secure from intruders.  As you know as a store operator, you are required to follow the PCI guideline to protect the personal data of your customers.  One of the many things that you have to do is to make sure that your POS software and hardware is updated to the level that is compliant.  This is probably the most obvious step toward the compliancy.  However, there are several other areas that you need to address.

If you have an Internet connection, you are vulnerable to Internet intrusions.  The intrusion could come in many forms such as virus, spyware, etc.  There are also more active ways that a hacker can gain access to your computer.  The challenge is to stay ahead of these intrusions and it’s a never ending process. 

To secure your network, you need to have hardware and software that are designed to limit access to and from your store.  A Firewall is a solution to protect your system. A Firewall could be a hardware solution or software solution or both. 

Even with all the technology to protect your system, the best practice is to limit the Web access to business related traffic only.  Just because you use Windows PCs, it doesn’t mean you should use them like the Windows PCs you have at home.  A good rule of thumb is to “Let your POS system function as they are designed – to run your POS system.”

As the technology advances, so do the ways that hackers will come up with to try to steal valuable information.  This is a never ending battle and you need to keep up with hardware and software updates that are designed to stay ahead of the crooks.   As a POS systems provider, STCR is here to provide ever changing solutions to help you stay up to date.  If you have question on whether your network is secure or if your POS software is up to date, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (607) 757-0181.

McQuade's Marketplace Wins “Green Chill Award”

McQuade's Marketplace has been recognized by the federal government for its environmental practices.  The independent grocery retailer with stores in Westerly and Mystic, CT, as well as Jamestown, RI, was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency's GreenChill Partnership for achievements in refrigerant management in the past year.

GreenChill, a voluntary program launched by the EPA in 2007, works with supermarkets to help them transition to environmentally friendlier refrigerants, reduce the amount of refrigerant they use, eliminate leaks, adopt green technologies and environmental best practices.  According to the EPA, refrigerants used by supermarkets, if not managed properly, can contribute to climate change and harm the ozone layer.  More than 7,000 stores belong to the GreenChill Partnership, 20 percent of the supermarket industry.  GreenChill presents annual awards to retailers participating in the program.  McQuade's was awarded GreenChill's Best Emissions Rate Award for small retailers, for use of advanced refrigeration technology.

Michael McQuade, the company president, said the award recognized the cumulative performance of his three stores.  A new freezer system was installed in the Westerly store about 18 months ago.  If a leak develops, he said, the new system can lose no more than an eight-pound charge or one gallon of Freon.   McQuade's had just a 6 percent Freon leak rate during the last year.  Before the advent of new technology, just four years ago, the EPA questioned whether stores could get below a 12 percent leak rate.  A conscientious staff that is focused on maintenance put the chain in contention for the award.