The newest version of NCR SelfServ Checkout, the market-leading self-checkout solution from NCR Corporation, is among the 2009 winners of the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) competition.
Created in 1980 by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), The IDEA program is the premier international competition honoring design excellence in products, ecodesign, interaction design, packaging, strategy, research and concepts. The competition is sponsored by Autodesk, Target and BusinessWeek magazine, which has reported on the program since 1990.
NCR SelfServ Checkout earned a bronze award in the IDEA program's Commercial and Industrial Products category. The latest evolution of the company's successful line of self-checkout offerings, the NCR SelfServ Checkout is the only self-service technology solution named in this year's competition.
"This IDEA award is further testimony to NCR's leadership and competitive advantage in self-service technology, built on our years of experience and extensive knowledge base, both of which are unmatched in the industry," said NCR Engineering and Development Vice President Jeff Cegalis. "It reflects outstanding teamwork among talented and dedicated NCR employees in solutions management, hardware design, software design and human factors engineering."
The award-winning NCR SelfServ Checkout enables consumers to scan, bag and pay for goods on their own using cash, debit or credit, including the increasingly popular contactless payment cards. It incorporates a number of features designed to enhance customers' shopping experience, while helping retailers maximize productivity, minimize costs and promote their store brand.
A natural curve on the front of the unit is designed to be inviting to shoppers, while the low profile allows stores to better monitor service and consumer activity. Animated lead-though software and "follow-me" lighting at various points on the device help provide a feeling of confidence to consumers, guiding them through each step of the checkout process.
The modular design of NCR SelfServ Checkout partitions the core scanning and tendering functions from the unloading and bagging functions; this helps provide built-in investment protection by enabling retailers to readily upgrade and modify the configuration after installation. Retailers can even select a specific color for NCR SelfServ Checkout to match their stores' decor. The unit can be re-colored simply by replacing its outside cosmetic panels.
To help make payment transactions more user-friendly, cash inputs/outputs are arranged side by side, while an oversized bulk coin drop bowl allows consumers to pay with coins by the handful rather than one at a time. NCR SelfServ Checkout includes standard integrated coin recycling, as well as available integrated bill recycling. Recycling allows the cash and coins consumers insert during a purchase to later be issued as change. This function enables retailers to invest fewer resources in cash management and requires less currency at the beginning of daily operation.
Moreover, NCR SelfServ Checkout is equipped with the NCR RealPOS high performance bi-optic scanner/scale, which was designed specifically to help make self-checkout scanning even more quick and accessible for consumers. An LED display on the top of the scanner provides intuitive visual feedback to the user, and is particularly helpful for hearing-impaired individuals.
Finally, NCR SelfServ Checkout includes a variety of features designed to support retailers' commitment to the environment. The NCR RealPOS two-sided thermal receipt printer, a standard feature in each unit, prints on both sides of receipts, reducing paper consumption by up to 40 percent. This can result in less energy being consumed during paper production and distribution, as well as reductions in waste disposal, air emissions and wastewater. In addition, an "own bag" button allows shoppers to use their reusable bags. The solution also allows stores to use low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs in the lane lights.