Back in January 2004 Fujitsu wrote a report called “Smart Stores” where they report on the future of retail regarding consumer expectations being matched by retailers having to use new technologies to keep a competitive edge. To do so, they reported that retailers must employ a system of cost-cutting technology that yields solid ROI and recognized benefits to customers.
So now it is July 2008. Has anything changed? Where are they now with retail? Fujitsu unsurprisingly is still focused on retail and do offer these retail solutions:
- Retail Directions software – a full-featured software solution for grocery, liquor, fuel and general merchandise channels.
- TeamPoS 2000 – an end-to-end point-of-sale and retail merchandising management platform designed for specialty retailers.
- GlobalSTORE – a complete suite of products that help retailers to create, deliver and track loyalty programs and targeted offers and promotions.
Self-checkout systems, new multimedia displays, electronic shelf-labeling and fraud detection systems are just some of the Fujitsu innovations that they tout today. They claim that this technology dramatically improves retail experiences for customers while delivering cost savings for retailers. Fujitsu also have RFID solutions, but it isn’t apparent that they are using RFID in retail in a way that their 2004 report would suggest.
Given their involvement in a wide range of technology, it seems just a matter of time before Fujitsu will actually have a solution that resembles their 2004 ‘Smart Stores’ report. As retailers becomes more competitive with each other and with the world Wide Web, look for Fujitsu to be a big player in supplying solutions for retailers that wish to open up smart stores.
