eInfochips and Kroger Unveil ZigBee-based 'Retail Site Intelligence' for Stores of the 21st Century

LAS VEGAS - International Security Conference and Expo, April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

eInfochips, a global product engineering company; The Kroger Co. (KR), one of the world's largest retailers and Wincor Nixdorf (WIN), one of the world's leading providers of IT solutions and services to retail banks and the retail industry today introduced a new enterprise IT architecture called Retail Site Intelligence (RSI).  This architecture for stores of the 21st century uses ZigBee® wireless mesh networks to integrate long battery life sensors, hand held devices, point-of-sale devices and video management software into a next generation platform for retail applications such as loss prevention, store automation and analytics. The companies will demonstrate the RSI video management solution in booth #6141 at ISC West 2014.

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"Retail Site Intelligence is, above all, about Customer 1st innovation. We are leveraging technology to help customers have the best possible shopping experience in retail stores, whether by more easily finding the products they want or saving time at checkout," said Chris Hjelm, Kroger's Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer.  "We expect Retail Site Intelligence to be the cornerstone of the technology infrastructure for Kroger stores in the future."

Innovative Products and Commercial Solutions

The introduction of the RSI architecture, and the deployment of new retail business solutions by Kroger, culminates two years of global collaboration between Kroger and eInfochips to develop the underlying technology products for Stores of the 21^st century. The results of this phase of development are new wireless devices (cameras, scanners, scales, and more to come) featuring ZigBee wireless technology, and Vigil360, a new video management software kernel designed specifically for RSI.

Commercial versions of the RSI solutions being piloted by Kroger will be available later in 2014 with support and customization services delivered globally.

"Retail Site Intelligence is an exciting new frontier for retail business solutions," said Brian Baker, Vice President, Professional Services at Wincor Nixdorf, Inc. "As always, our solutions will represent world-class customization, integration, deployment and support services."

Retailers who want to conduct a pilot run of an RSI solution can register at www.retail-site-intelligence.com.

Live Demo at ISC West

Representatives from eInfochips, Kroger and Wincor Nixdorf will be demonstrating RSI products and applications including a new handheld bar-code scanner used by shoppers, and a loss prevention application using the world's first video camera which serves as both a video camera and a ZigBee Access Point. The new camera is easily integrated into a store's IP network for better camera network scalability and support.

According to John Osborne, Chairman of the ZigBee Alliance, "The new products introduced by eInfochips, Kroger and Wincor Nixdorf will fit perfectly into the ZigBee Retail Services ecosystem. Their ZigBee Certified products will support a fully integrated ecosystem of technology suppliers, merchants, and distribution centers in providing a standard way to purchase, fulfill, automate and monitor the purchase and delivery of goods. Using our open, global standard will bring the benefits of Internet of Things for retailers and their customers."

"Most IT products are developed by design teams insulated from the user and application," said Frank Berry, founder and senior analyst, IT Brand Pulse. "Kroger's hands-on involvement in the development process has yielded products that are innovative and tailor made for digitized store environments."

Parag Mehta, the CMO at eInfochips added, "Our collaboration with Kroger to develop products for their Retail Site Intelligence Initiative embodies the trend of businesses partnering with technology companies to develop intellectual property for a sustainable competitive edge. The results of the Retail Site Intelligence project demonstrate why this trend is gaining momentum."

About Kroger
Kroger, one of the world's largest retailers, employs more than 375,000 associates who serve customers in 2,640 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia under two dozen local banner names including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Harris Teeter, Jay C, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith's.  The company also operates 786 convenience stores, 320 fine jewelry stores, 1,240 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food processing plants in the U.S.  Recognized by Forbes as the most generous company in America, Kroger supports hunger relief, breast cancer awareness, the military and their families, and more than 30,000 schools and grassroots organizations. Kroger contributes food and funds equal to 200 million meals a year through more than 80 Feeding America food bank partners. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber's Million Dollar Club.

About Wincor Nixdorf

Wincor Nixdorf is one of the world's leading providers of IT solutions and services to retail banks and the retail industry. The main focus of the Group's comprehensive portfolio is on business process optimization, especially in the branch operations of both sectors. We also apply the expertise we have gained from our core business to related industries such as postal services and service station networks.

About the ZigBee Alliance

ZigBee® offers green and global wireless standards, connecting the widest range of devices to work together intelligently and help you control your world. The ZigBee® Alliance is an open, non-profit association of approximately 400 members driving development of innovative, reliable and easy-to-use ZigBee® standards. The Alliance promotes worldwide adoption of ZigBee® as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in consumer, commercial and industrial areas. For more information, visit: www.zigbee.org.

About eInfochips

eInfochips is a global product innovation partner recognized for technology leadership by Gartner, Frost & Sullivan, NASSCOM and Zinnov. eInfochips has contributed to 500+ products for top global companies, with more than 10 million deployments across the world.

Visit eInfochips at www.einfochips.com, or stay connected on, Facebook, Linkedin, SlideShare, and YouTube. To request information, contact [email protected]

Contact:
Mayank Shukla
eInfochips
India (+91) 79 2656 3705
US (+1) 408 496 1882    
http://www.einfochips.com
[email protected]

SOURCE eInfochips