Dell/Point-Of-Sale: Allied With Four Companies
Dow Jones Business News
ROUND ROCK, Texas (Dow Jones) Dell Computer Corp. (NasdaqNM:DELL - News) formed alliances with four independent software vendors to sell retail-store systems, including PC- based cash registers, as reported in The Wall Street Journal Monday.
Dell on Monday said it has fostered relationships with Retek Inc. (RETK), AutoGas, GERS Retail Systems and MSS Global to develop software that manages retail operations.
The move comes as the world's largest PC maker continues to expand its ambitions beyond its traditional turf. Among the products planned under the alliances are a pair of PC-based cash registers, along with the specialized software, services and peripherals required to link retail-store checkout lanes to corporate information systems.
Michael J. Farello, Dell's vice president of retail-business development, told The Wall Street Journal that the company aims to provide the customized equipment required to automate department-store and convenience-store operations. The company will use its existing factories to assemble PC-based cash registers and install customer software.
For several months, Dell has been quietly testing retail-systems sales, and has even landed point-of-sale system contracts with two specialty retailers, Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA), Foothill Ranch, Calif., and Nextel Communications Inc. (NXTL), Reston, Va.
Farello said Dell has been encouraged to enter the market by large retailers looking to lower their point-of-sale systems' cost.
The sales push comes at a time of expected large-scale replacement of point-of-sale systems. Many retailers have aging systems in need of updates, and the recent mergers of U.S. gasoline companies may drive sales, Greg Buzek, president of retail market researchers IHL Consulting Group, Franklin, Tenn., told the Journal.
Dell's new marketing will pit it against traditional point-of-sale suppliers, including International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), NCR Corp. (NCR) and Wincor Nixdorf GmbH, as well as newer entries from Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW).
IHL estimates the North American market for checkout systems at $4 billion a year. IBM, the largest supplier of point-of-sale systems, holds an as much as 75% share of the systems installed at the top grocery-store and retail chains.
ROUND ROCK, Texas (Dow Jones) Dell Computer Corp. (NasdaqNM:DELL - News) formed alliances with four independent software vendors to sell retail-store systems, including PC- based cash registers, as reported in The Wall Street Journal Monday.
Dell on Monday said it has fostered relationships with Retek Inc. (RETK), AutoGas, GERS Retail Systems and MSS Global to develop software that manages retail operations.
The move comes as the world's largest PC maker continues to expand its ambitions beyond its traditional turf. Among the products planned under the alliances are a pair of PC-based cash registers, along with the specialized software, services and peripherals required to link retail-store checkout lanes to corporate information systems.
Michael J. Farello, Dell's vice president of retail-business development, told The Wall Street Journal that the company aims to provide the customized equipment required to automate department-store and convenience-store operations. The company will use its existing factories to assemble PC-based cash registers and install customer software.
For several months, Dell has been quietly testing retail-systems sales, and has even landed point-of-sale system contracts with two specialty retailers, Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA), Foothill Ranch, Calif., and Nextel Communications Inc. (NXTL), Reston, Va.
Farello said Dell has been encouraged to enter the market by large retailers looking to lower their point-of-sale systems' cost.
The sales push comes at a time of expected large-scale replacement of point-of-sale systems. Many retailers have aging systems in need of updates, and the recent mergers of U.S. gasoline companies may drive sales, Greg Buzek, president of retail market researchers IHL Consulting Group, Franklin, Tenn., told the Journal.
Dell's new marketing will pit it against traditional point-of-sale suppliers, including International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), NCR Corp. (NCR) and Wincor Nixdorf GmbH, as well as newer entries from Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW).
IHL estimates the North American market for checkout systems at $4 billion a year. IBM, the largest supplier of point-of-sale systems, holds an as much as 75% share of the systems installed at the top grocery-store and retail chains.
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