Self Service

The literature below is a research about self-checkout machine in Tesco supermarkets, and it aims at answering; the reasons that Tesco has changed, importance of self checkout systems in Tesco and challenges faced by the self checkout systems. TESCO is a chain of supermarkets stores originally from the U.K; they have expanded rapidly over the past few years. These stores are of general merchandise that carries everything from clothing, deckchairs, groceries, petrol stations, wines, consumer electronics, DVD and CDS. TESCO has stores in North America, Asia and Europe that operate under the TESCO brand. It operates hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenient stores. TESCO services allow their customers to do their shopping from the comfort of their chairs; because delivery is done to their homes, and it also offers internet shopping services.

Gone are the days of waiting in long lines while at grocery stores with the hopes that that person in front of you will have a speedy transaction without the delay of a price check. The grocery shopping experience is quite different than when we were children. Many of us in the Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z era are ditching the long lines and relying on apps to fill our fridges. However, while many of us are relaxing in the comfort of our homes and ordering a week’s supply of groceries, others are bypassing the cashier and are heading directly to self-checkout.

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Providing a self-check-out machine to save the customer’s time. Also, these machines will reduce the expenses that will be paid for the labours.

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As mentioned in this report, the return on investment is not immediate but there are long-term advantages to using the Media Cart. The advertising and suggestions made to the consumer can cater to reducing excess inventory before spoilage occurs, improving the effectiveness of sales, and introduce consumers to brands which may interest him or her; these directives can increase sales and decrease loss. The on-board navigation system will help customers to find the products they are seeking; this allows the customer to find products without taking time from the customer service employees. Use of the navigation system also allows customer to find what products they are looking for; if they find the product at Kudler they are less likely to go to another store and give the sale to a competitor.

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Many businesses are implementing technology to combat wage increases and remain competitive. Many larger retailers, such as Walmart and Kroger, have effectively maintained self-checkouts for customers for years. The self-checkout area may have four to six registers, manned by one associate. Larger gas stations are implementing new technologies, as well. Quick Trip(QT) has installed a system that allows the user to order food and drink by touch screen, print a ticket and pay at the regular counter, eliminating the need for extra cashiers and registers. They serve a variety of items such as specialty coffees, smoothies, pretzels, pizza, sandwiches, ice cream and more with their user-friendly system. In addition, pay at the pump has provided relief at long lines of gas stations for years. Restaurants such as Wendy’s, McDonalds, and Panera bread are currently investing in kiosk to serve the future needs of their customers. Wendy’s will have 6,000 locations equipped with kiosk by the end of 2016. "With the pressure on wages and minimum wage increasing in some places, (restaurants) are motivated," said Bob Welcher, president of Restaurant Consultants Inc. "From an operational standpoint, I can see the advantages." Welcher also adds that “The kiosks are more precise. They always are courteous. They always show up to work on time." (Malone, JD. "Wendy's embraces self-order kiosks." Columbus Dispatch, The (OH) 17 May 2016: Newspaper Source. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.)

In 2002, Shell Canada launched its online store called eStore for its customers. The objective was to keep costs low by having a self-service technology so that agricultural customers can buy their products without the need for a sales-representative. The statistics from eStore showed even though the number of customers who signed up for eStore was close to the target, number of customers who actually used eStore remained low. The problem seemed to be mainly due to customers having difficulty with the service. According to customer’s feedbacks, many encountered various technical problems when they tried to place orders. Others just preferred traditional methods of buying what they needed, while the remaining group were

point of sale system. The POS system is a perpetual inventory counting method that electronically records items immediately upon their point of sale (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). In other words, as a cashier scans a customer 's groceries, each scanned item is automatically recorded in the system and deducted from the store’s inventory. Implementing a point of sale would benefit a business’s inventory management function in several ways. First, the POS system will provide managers with a continuous flow of updated information (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). As a result, the information will provide more accuracy when used for sales forecasts and analysis, which substantially affect inventory decisions. Continuously, this inventory system would also allow greater flexibility in the sense that it can be wirelessly linked to the main company’s inventory system, creating a network of the company’s inventory systems. The POS system is capable of tracking many operations at once and can be modified according to management’s needs (MacCarthy, n.d.). This flexibility would undoubtedly benefit a large company like Wegman’s with many store locations. Lastly, the system is able to help businesses maintain a high level of customer service. Because the system gives customers a receipt with the price and quantity of each item purchased, the customer is able to see exactly what he or she purchased. This practice

The adoption of Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), Electronic Funds Transfer Systems (EFTPoS) and electronic scanners have greatly improved the efficiency of distribution and stocking activities, with needs being communicated almost in real time to the supplier (Finch, 2004).

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Self-service technology does require a moderate change in behavior as consumers must learn to use equipment. However, self-service technology is designed to be intuitive, so the adjustment is not major. Thus, self-checkout technology would be best considered as a dynamically continuous