Introduction

In selected Würth stores, craftsmen have the opportunity to cover their immediate needs around the clock. Würth and Pyramid Computer GmbH have rethought and further developed the existing kiosk system for this purpose.

Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG, based in Künzelsau, Baden-Württemberg, is the parent company and also the largest single company in the Würth Group, the leading company in the development, manufacture and sale of assembly and fastening materials.

Würth operates 600 B2B sales stores in Germany. Experience shows that professional tradespeople also need to cover their needs outside of regular store opening hours. This is why the company will be making its wide range of products available to its customers around the clock in future - with kiosk systems from Pyramid Computer.

Wanted at EuroCIS: SCO of the third generation

At EuroCIS 2023, Würth was looking for a successor solution for its second-generation SCO systems. Unlike its predecessor, the terminals of the future needed to meet a number of specific requirements more precisely and enable self-checkout during off-peak times.

Kiosk terminals are key technologies for the acceptance of the 24/6 business model. As there is no staff available in Würth stores before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m. to support customers with self-checkout or to take over cashing up if the self-service infrastructure fails, highly reliable terminals are required that are intuitive to operate and thus convince customers of the practicality of the concept.

At the Düsseldorf trade fair, Würth therefore looked for a manufacturer whose systems are known for their quality and high reliability in 24/6 operation. Würth's other main focus was on the dimensions of the kiosk system: as the previous checkout counter solution did not fit into smaller Würth stores, the new one needed to be much more compact.

The touchscreen also required an overhaul: Würth planned to use software developed in-house in the future terminal version. In order to optimally display the user interface with its new screen content, the landscape display of the previous terminal was to make way for a display in portrait format.

The software changeover resulted in a further requirement: as the checkout application was no longer based on the Windows operating system, but on Android, which is rare in the SCO sector, the kiosk manufacturer had to provide compatible hardware.

A secure terminal was also important to Würth so that it could not be opened by outsiders during unattended off-peak times. And, of course, the appearance of the device had to be in keeping with Würth's striking corporate design. So the perfect brand ambassador was needed.

Found at Pyramid: Kiosk system with a custom-fit design

When Würth appeared at our stand during EuroCis 2023, we were able to impress visitors with the self-service solutions on display. However, none of them fully met all the requirements.

However, our product management team was in the process of developing a new SCO terminal that would be available in both classic countertop and cash desk formats. The modular platform enabled the use of touchscreens in portrait or landscape format and screen diagonals from 15.6" to 23.8", depending on customer requirements. And when it came to peripherals, customers could choose from scanners, printers and payments from numerous renowned manufacturers.

The technical concept convinced Würth and so, in the following months, we developed a checkout terminal in dialog with them, which we tailored to the specific requirements of the industry giant. At the same time, we created a solution for our own portfolio, the POLYTOUCH® pSyCO.

The development of self-service systems is usually associated with high costs. At Würth, however, these costs were significantly reduced as both developments advanced each other: Insights from the customer-specific solution flowed into the POLYTOUCH® pSyCO - and vice versa, insights from the pSyCO flowed into the solution for Würth.

The highly professional renderings with which we accompanied the individual development phases proved to be extremely helpful on the way to the final technical and visual design of the customer-specific terminal. They demonstrated to Würth how the current status of the solution was presented in the company's CI and in the various store sizes.

As a rule, our customers use POS software based on Microsoft Windows. However, in many cases, the expertise of our development team allows us to equip a terminal with the operating system that the customer prefers. This is also the case here: the Würth-specific terminal uses Android, while our POLYTOUCH® pSyCO uses Windows.

Self-checkout at Würth: less waiting time at the checkout

For tradespeople in particular, with their often full order books, time is money that must not be lost when purchasing materials. This is why long queues at the conventional checkout are annoying, especially with small shopping baskets.
This is where self-checkout with Pyramid 's kiosk systems provides an effective remedy:

The Würth terminals of the 3rd generation are compact and their hardware is tailored down to the last detail to the in-house software development and the special features of the check-out process. From now on, the motto in Würth's B2B stores is: get the item, scan it and you're done!