IBM Executive Briefing Center

STCR hadanother opportunity to visit IBM’s Executive Briefing Center in ResearchTriangle Park, NC with some of their customers. Retail Industry Experts were brought in to present and discuss thetrends of the grocery industry.  Thepurpose 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 in2010)
·      40% of staff has 10+ years  with IBM
·      10 year commitment to service and support onproducts once introduced
·      Improvement in EFF increased about 35% whichsaves about $25/machine a year

The group was taken on a tour of the RSS Development andTest Lab.  We have always known IBMdesigned their Retail Store Solutions to exceed industry standards and foryears we’ve touted this higher standard but this brought things to a whole newperspective. 

The facility is the size of a football field end-zone toend-zone.  Half of it is filled withequipment running and diagnosing all of IBM’s Retail Software.  All customer issues in the USgo through this facility.  The other halfof this facility is where these machines are put to the physical test.  Needless to say this is reallyimpressive. 

One station had Touch Screens where gallons of water weretossed at them, while another station had these units placed under containersthat dripped gallons of water over them and still another had a pinball machinetest performed on it to ensure the screen picks up movement.  The printers are constantly printing andcutting to simulate several years of wear and tear.  The terminals are electrically shocked andexposed to extreme temperatures (-40 – 140 degrees).  Cash drawers loaded with nuts and bolts weremechanically opened and closed at various points to simulate a cashier’shabits.  Dirt was replicated anddeposited in machines to simulate years of accumulation and put into a devicethat accelerates use. 

At the end of the day we were give the special treat offseeing 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 allowthe facility to adjust and anticipate client data and energy workloads.

This tour was a little over an hour but what an impressionit left.  It reinforces our belief thatIBM Retail Store Solutions are the best and STCR is the right company to bringit to you.   If you are interested invisiting the IBM Executive Briefing Center please contact your salesrepresentative at (607) 757-0181.