The Hindu Business Line : NCR Corp to foray into retail segment

Encouraged by the response it received from Indian oil marketing companies, the Ohio-based NCR Corporation, engaged in end-to-end retail automation, is all set to foray into the burgeoning retail sector.

The company is launching Real POS 21 (RP-21) terminal, a retail automation solution aimed at replacing the PC-based point-of-sale terminals, in India.

RP-21 is a touch-screen workstation or platform (very similar to a data processor) designed to facilitate the entire gamut of retail operations, including inventory management, tracking sales and customer relationship management.

Its peripheral options include an array of printers, a complete family of bar-code scanners, customer displays, payment terminals and biometric devices. The workstation is priced at about Rs 85,000 per unit.

"The general retail sector in India is still in its infancy. Retail outlets here are small and low in volumes to install high-end retail gadgets like `Fastlanes,' `Autocheckouts' and `Dynamic Shelf Labelling' units. Currently, we are only providing basic service automation in India. RP 21 is engineered and tested to operate within the harshest Indian retail conditions," said Mr Shrihari Bhat, General Manager - Retail Solutions Division (South-East Asia) NCR Corporation - India.

NCR has already begun talks with major Indian retail chains for providing automation solutions. The company is also eyeing Indian Railways, State Electricity Boards and Postal Services as potential customers. NCR intends to sell around 1,000 Real POS units in a year's time.

FUEL OUTLET AUTOMATION

`Octane 2007,' NCR's automation solution for retail petroleum outlets, has been installed in around 1,000 outlets across India.

The company caters to all petroleum majors including Indian Oil Corporation and Reliance Petroleum. Orpac Ltd of Israel and Postec Data Systems Ltd of New Zealand are NCR's major competitors in this segment.

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