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Wincor World 2005

Wincor World successfully showcases both the financial and retail industries, including self-service technologies, under one roof. Here's a look at what to expect at this year's event, which begins on Jan. 25.

January 19, 2005

There are large trade shows devoted to the financial industry, such as the Bank Administration Institute's Retail Delivery Conference, and the retail industry, including annual shows presented by the National Association of Convenience Stores and the National Retail Federation.

But few shows are ambitious enough to showcase both businesses. A notable exception is Wincor World, an annual event presented by Wincor Nixdorf that showcases its products and services, including self-service technologies.

This year's show, Jan. 25-27 in its headquarters of Paderborn, Germany, is expected to attract more than 7,500 attendees from all over the world.

Among the technologies they can expect to see:

A new cash recycling system, the ProCash 4000, offers a higher recycling capacity than Wincor's Procash 3100xe recycling system. Wincor, one of the early innovators in the recycling space, continues to refine the concept. The 4000 features only cassettes rather than the drums used in the 3100xe, making the system far easier to use for cash-in-transit companies and others handling the cash.

The 4000 utilizes up to four cassettes with a capacity of up to 2,500 notes each for recycling, and an extra cassette to hold rejected bills. That's a  recycling capacity three times greater than the 3100xe, which holds a total of 3,000 notes.

The cash recycling concept has already been adopted across Europe and Asia. Uwe Krause, Wincor Nixdorf's director of marketing for financial services, expects to see increased interest in North America following the recent passage of Check 21.

As financial institutions begin to experience efficiencies associated with using digital images of checks rather than the checks themselves, Krause believes they will seek similar efficiencies with cash. With recycling, armored runs to ATMs could be dramatically reduced, he said.

In one of the most unusual sights at Wincor World 2004, a silver-suited mime climbed atop a giant logo near the entrance of the exhibit hall.

The teller assist unit is another concept already popular elsewhere around the world that Krause said is generating buzz in North America. The units "turn tellers into sellers" by automating cash dispensing, Krause said. Branch personnel can then focus on more complex transactions and improved customer service.

"Thousands" of them are deployed across Europe, and they are beginning to attract second and third looks from North American FIs, Krause said.

Several new applications based on Wincor's Java-based ProClassic Enterprise software will be demonstrated at Wincor World, for both the branch and ATMs. They can run on either a thin client or fat client architectures. Wincor is advocating a move to the more flexible thin client, Krause said, with the ATM a logical starting point.

With ProClassic Enterprise, FIs can introduce thin client applications at their own pace -- perhaps beginning with the ATM, then adding the branch, online banking and the call center when ready.

Wincor is especially proud of a new thin client counter application. While ATM software has been migrating in that direction for several years, with all major vendors producing multi-vendor applications and ATM owners now beginning to deploy them, the branch channel remains more proprietary.

Wincor is also introducing monitoring software that will complement a channel integration strategy by offering FIs business as well as the usual technical analyses.

"With most monitoring software, all the bank knows is whether the hardware is up and running," Krause said. "But we can give them more information on the types of transactions and when and where they are being conducted to help them produce more effective customer profiles."

Such profiles can be taken to the next logical step with Wincor's ProSales application, which helps FIs manage their customer databases and use them to produce one-to-one marketing campaigns.

"We have been showing one-to-one marketing on our ATMs and kiosks for three years," Krause said. "Banks are now taking a big step into the future and recognizing the real advantage of starting a Web-based dialogue with their customers at these channels. It makes sense to focus on self service first, because you know the customer is there."

On the retail side

Wincor also will showcase its retail software, including a platform called Store Communication Framework that Joachim Pinhammer, director of marketing for retail, said offers retailers the ability to integrate any new client applications they want to install in their stores.

With SCF, all information -- from suppliers and other third parties -- is stored and managed from a central location. That way, said Pinhammer, retailers will know they have access to the most up to date information, including prices.

"We bring everything together so the retailer knows he has the right information in the right place at the right time," he said.

In the retail automation area of Wincor World 2004, the company demonstrated technology that improves service by freeing workers for one-on-one attention to customers.

As part of its "strong partnership" with Microsoft, Wincor is introducing a software suite called TP.net that was developed using Microsoft's native architecture and tools. Pinhammer said it can be used across Wincor's line of Beetle products, including iScan self-checkout systems and iScreen flat monitor display screens.

Another software product, which has already been purchased by an American client that Pinhammer declined to name, is Namos. It allows users to integrate and manage all of the petroleum industry's typical devices, including pumps, car washes, point-of-sale terminals and surveillance systems.

Wincor is especially proud of the Namos user interface, which is designed to bring an enviable ease of use to what Pinhammer called "one of the most sophisticated retail markets."

Modern service stations have a constantly changing line-up of products and services and back-office applications to support them, he said. Yet, "they don't want to have to deal with a lot of complicated technology. They want to be able to just rely upon what's there and have it work."

In addition to solutions for petroleum stations, Wincor will demonstrate products designed for lotteries, hypermarkets, convenience stores and other segments of the retail and hospitality industries.

Wincor will introduce thenewest member of its family of self-service kiosks, which is designed to produce prints of digital photographs.

It will also roll out a new line of reverse vending products that feature the combined strengths of Wincor and Pronkent, a German company that it purchased last year. Reverse vending is popular in Europe and other regions of the world where environmental consciousness is often mandated by the government.

"The process is very costly if done manually," Pinhammer said. "So there is an almost immediate payback that comes with automation."

The company will also demonstrate an RFID "starter kit," a combination of hardware, software and consulting services that Pinhammer said will help suppliers "take an appropriate approach at a reasonable price" to introducing the fast-emerging technology, which is being required by some of the world's largest retailers including Wal-Mart.

All of Wincor's retail products and services are united under a broad end-to-end concept it calls Store Vision, Pinhammer said. The ultimate aim is to help retailers improve their supply chain management, resulting in increased sales, reduced costs and improved customer service.