Sainsbury’s plans to have all stores using the latest Toshiba EP portable series for in-store price mark-down by 2012.

With close to 900 stores across the UK, the daily ‘mark down’ process is a critical part of each store’s operation and essential to the overall business. This process needs to be completed quickly, producing accurate labels to clear the stock and reduce any potential wastage.

The central stock control system will inform each store the products that are due to go out of date and how many products need to be reduced. These products will then be scanned using a hand held device and a ‘mark-down’ label will be produced on the Toshiba EP2 portable printer.

As a forward thinking company, Sainsbury’s is constantly reviewing their IT infrastructure, evaluating products on the market to ensure they have the best solutions to manage the business. Sainsbury’s has been using Toshiba portable printers for price-mark down for over 12 years.

Dean Holt, the Principal Solutions Architect for Channels, commented on the relationship: “We chose the Toshiba portable products as the best fit for our business. They are small, light, robust, with great performance. We are aware of the competitor products on offer but have continued to work with Toshiba as we believe they have the best product in the marketplace at the right price.”

In 2008 Sainsbury’s evaluated all available portable printing solutions on the market with plans to migrate their existing Toshiba SP2 series to the latest technology. Dean commented on the process: “Although we were happy with the existing solution, we had been using the products for over 5 years and needed to refresh the technology. What set Toshiba apart from the competition was their ‘Voice of Customer Approach’: they brought members of their Japanese product development team to visit us, listened to our requirements and tailored the product to meet our exact needs.”

Toshiba worked with Sainsbury’s to make the necessary adaptations to a prototype device. For example, the product is designed with a carry strap or belt clip but in reality the product often sits on the edge of a trolley and often slipped to the floor. Toshiba created rubber bumpers on all corners of the printer so the printer clings to the plastic making a much more efficient operation. Other enhancements included:

• The removal of the battery cover, so this is integrated into the battery, adding robustness to the product.
• Charge and wireless indicators, essential for trouble shooting and problem solving
• Charging the battery in situ, no need to remove battery from the printer in order to charge in a separate docking station.
• Placement of the print-head in a suitable internal position, away from the lid, to remove the possibility of damage when changing paper rolls.
• Core-less media, essential for safety, with cores not falling out, potentially creating a hazard for customers.
• Larger media capacity, for less media changes.
• Emulation capabilities, to simply plug in the new model, without any changes to the software.

After a successful trial the roll-out of the new EP2 Toshiba printers, commenced in August 2009 with over 130 stores now benefiting from the new device.

With the legacy product the SP2 still operating effectively and the easy integration of the new products, Sainsbury’s plans to complete the migration over the next two years.

”What has impressed me most about Toshiba as a company, is their ability to tailor the product based on our suggestions. I have never experienced this with any other manufacturer. We felt like part of the design team and it is something that I often talk about. I believe that they are able to do this as they are one of the only manufacturers in this arena, that still manufactures their own products from component level. This is essential for product consistency, stability and long-term reliability”, commented Dean.

About TOSHIBA TEC Corporation

TOSHIBA TEC Corporation manages product planning, marketing, sales, service support and distribution of point of sale systems, cash registers, scales, barcode printers, peripherals and software information systems throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As a total solution provider, TOSHIBA TEC Europe offers a complete package from consulting and system design to system installation, operation and maintenance.
Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium TOSHIBA TEC Europe has three divisions: the Retail division; the Auto ID division and the Services division.
TOSHIBA TEC is an independent operating company of Toshiba Corporation, the seventh largest electronics/electrical equipment company and the world's 91st largest company in terms of sales. Toshiba is a world leader and innovator in pioneering high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products spanning information & communications systems; digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; power systems, including nuclear energy; industrial and social infrastructure systems; and home appliances.
Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 740 companies, with 204,000 staff worldwide and 2009 annual sales surpassing 6.3 trillion yen (US$68 billion).
For more information on TOSHIBA TEC point of sale systems, cash registers, scales, RFID-ready barcode printers, peripherals, retail and Auto ID software solutions, or for a dealer in your area, call +32 2 410 2100 or visit the TERIS web site at www.toshibatec-eu.com.

For media enquiries please contact:

TOSHIBA TEC Europe Retail Information Systems - Headquarters
Rue de la Célidée, 33
BE-1080 Brussels
Belgium
Contact: Mr Eric Dauchy
European PR Manager
Tel: +32 2 410 21 00
Fax: +32 2 410 79 87
E-mail: edauchy@toshibatec-eu.com.

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