SEMINAR PRESENTATION ON THE USE OF ICT IN SUPERMARKET

PRESENTED BY

ADAMU JETHRO

INTRODUCTION

Supermarkets have computer systems for receiving payments during checkout, recording sales
and keeping customer information. In addition, computers are used in surveillance systems,
customer service and other administrative functions.

Through computer systems, cashiers in supermarkets are able to accept payment methods in
addition to cash, such as credit card and mobile. Scanner systems and spreadsheet software also
record sold goods automatically to save time and effort that are usually required for manual
inventory keeping. Some supermarkets also feature self-serve scanning systems in which
customers can go through checkout without the need of cashiers. Modern systems are capable of
scanning items through pattern and color recognition, rendering bar codes obsolete.

To help boost sales and profit, supermarkets use computers to gather customer data. Computers
can identify items that customers regularly buy, how often customers shop and which loyalty
cards they have. Supermarkets use these collected data to create profiles that can help tailor
vouchers, deals and advertisements. Customer profiles can also give an approximation of the
success of promotions and events.

Computer systems for surveillance are also common features in supermarkets. For instance,
supermarkets attach electronic circuits or electromagnetic tags to their merchandise. Unless
they're deactivated upon purchase of the merchandise, these small attachments emit signals and
cause sensors nearby the exit to sound their alarm. Security systems also make use of cameras
and security bars.

With the rapid development of modern science and technology, computer technology has
penetrated into all fields and becomes the necessary tools for various industries, especially the
Internet technology promotion and the establishment of the information highway. It makes the IT
industry increasingly shows its unique advantages in the market competition. Into the digital age,
there is a huge data information waiting for processing and transmission, which makes the
further development and use of the database is particularly urgent. To adapt to market
competition, it requires efficient handling and management methods, so it is indispensable that
accelerate the process of the computerization of supermarket.

GENERAL SITUATION OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED SUPERMARKET

With the increasingly fierce competition, how to reduce the cost has become the supermarket's
vital problem. For ordinary supermarkets, involving the management of the sources of raw
materials, sales and inventory, and the good or bad management is very important to the
durability of the supermarket. Generally speaking, the user's demand for procurement, sales and
inventory system is universal. Supermarket management system used in the supermarket's
procurement, sales and warehouse department, controlling and tracking the whole business of
supermarket procurement, sales and warehouse effectively. Using the supermarket's
procurement, sales and inventory management system can effectively reduce the blind
procurement, reduce the costs of procurement, reasonable control inventory, increase market
sensitivity, and enhance the market competitiveness of the supermarkets. Compared with the
domestic and foreign large-scale supermarket, small and medium-sized supermarkets has
obvious difference in the operation and management. And in order to design the management
software which conforms to the small and medium-sized supermarket, we will understand some
characteristic of small and medium sized supermarket management. The function of management
system which Small and medium-sized supermarkets need is not as comprehensive as big
supermarkets and chain supermarkets, it puts forward higher requirements on concise and
practical. Features of small and medium-sized supermarkets:

i. The size is relatively small, and may not have their own warehouse, inventory
backlog is less.
ii. The employee is less and a person might has multiple positions, and has low
quality skills.

USE OF COMPUTER IN SUPERMARKET

i. BAR CODING
This is an automatic identification system that captures data at the point of goods
receiving and at the point of sale (POS). Bar coding can be integrated with VMI such that
the information on the bar code label can be scanned at the point of sale to venerate
packing list to the buyer; and communicate replenishment information to the suppliers
(Sople, 2011). This also fastens stock taking in inventory management to eliminate
pilferages. At the point of sale, this system can also be linked with the VM1 for
transmission to the suppliers; replenishment therefore is fastened. When a product is sold
the following sequence of events take place:

 A barcode scanner is used to read the EAN number from the product

 The EAN number is sent to the branch computer by the EPOS terminal

 The branch computer uses the EAN number to search the stock file for the product’s
price and description which it sends back to the EPOS terminal

 The branch computer updates the stock level for the product to show that one has
been sold

 The product’s price and description are displayed at the EPOS terminal and printed
on a receipt

 The price of the product is added to the total of the products processed so far

Figure. 1 How a barcode work

 i. ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS

Not every customer pays by cash or cheque though. Many now opt to pay by a debit card.
In the cases, the customer’s card is swiped through the card through the card reader
which reads the information (such as account number and date of expiry) held on the
magnetic strip on the back of the card.

According to Sumanjeet (2009), the e-payment can be any form of payment for business
transactions or bank transfers using telecommunications or electronic network. For use in
e-commerce or transactions, the system, according to Turban et al., (2006), requires high
security to safeguard the client and suppliers’ money. VISA and MasterCard have
continued to use this type of payment system and have made it very convenient for retail
shoppers especially supermarkets. The cashless systems continue to guarantee customers
peace of mind because they do not have to carry cash around. This involves the use POS
to make transaction using your A.T.M without paying with cash.

Figure 2: A POS (Point on Sale)

ii. INTERNET SHOPPING

 Some supermarket companies now have website which allow you to shop over the

internet. This has allowed them access to different markets. I.e. people who do not have

transport to get the store.

Online shopping is another place where information technology is used in supermarkets.

Those with hectic workdays and kids' schedules don't always have time to spend at the
grocery store. Shopping can now be done from the convenience of a computer or
smartphone during a lunch break or at a soccer game. Point, click and add items to your
virtual cart. Pay online, schedule a delivery or pick up the order at the store, and you've
bought yourself an hour.

Businesses have recognized that the internet with each other in a different way, and it
gave the potential for creating new markets and in reinvigorating old ones. Businesses
began to use the internet in different ways:
a. As a means of communicating information about the products and services they
offer
b. As a virtual shop, allowing customers to purchase goods and services online.
c. As a free service which makes money by advertisers to use the site.
d. As an interactive site that encourages customers to give them give them feedback
on their products.

Steps in interactive shopping

a. The customer views the company’s products via a website and selects the objects for
purchase.
b. The customer enters his order, together with credit card details, via an on-screen form.
c. An encryption system or secure link is used to protect the transaction and to ensure credit
details are not accessible.
d. The order is received and sent to a database
e. The information in the database is communicated to a distribution center where orders are
made up.
f. The order is delivered to the customer.
Advantages to the Customer

a. Customers do not have to travel long distances to the shops and struggle through crowds
to make their purchases
b. It can be beneficial to those customers who are disabled or who, for some other reason
find it difficult to travel to shops.
c. New, smaller, more specialized businesses present themselves on the web, thus widening
the range of goods and services available.

Advantages to the business

a. Overheads can be cut. A web based business does not necessarily need a high street shop
and staff to run it. Small specialized concerns have therefore been able to establish
themselves on the web with very little capital outlay.
b. Many new businesses have been created via the internet. Some have been successful
some not. The overall effect, however, has been to investigate the business environment
by introducing healthy competition.

Figure 3: Example of an Online Shoe Ordering Website

iv. STOCK CONTROL

There are six branch computers linked to the EPOS terminals at the checkouts. They all
record information about items sold and provide backup for each other. If only one
computer was used and it broke down, the supermarket could not function. These branch
computers are linked via the satellite links to a large main computer housed at the
supermarket head office elsewhere in the country. All branches of this supermarket are
also linked in this way to the main computer and this is an example of an extranet.

iii. INVOICING
With the help of computer, invoicing in computer science seems to be easier more than
the manual method. In the computerized method of invoicing, a software is been used to
perform transaction, keep transaction record according to month, year and day. Apart
from the used of software, some businesses prefer using an online website whereby the
 login details are only accessible by the admin or the cashier and each record is been
backed up at the end of the day.

Figure 4: Example of an Online Invoicing System

iv. ROBOTIC ASSISTANTS MANAGE STORE SAFETY

 Perhaps one of the most noticeable uses of computers in supermarkets is the presence of
robotic assistants roaming the aisles. Many grocery stores utilize robotic devices that
wheel themselves through the store looking for potential safety hazards and alerting store
personnel of spills.
For example, in Giant Food stores, Marty, a tall, googly-eyed robot, reports spills to
human employees by tapping into the PA system and announcing the need for a "cleanup
in aisle three". In other stores, automated floor cleaners also roam the aisles performing
the task themselves.
v. USING HAND-HELD SCANNERS

Some supermarkets offer hand-held scanners to their customers to use throughout their
shopping trip. Customers pick up a scanner at the front of the store and have it linked to
their store loyalty card. Then, they scan each item as they select it and immediately bag it
right in the cart. When they are finished, the pre-scanned shopping cart list is downloaded
from the hand-held device, and the customer can pay right at the checkout terminal.

Figure. 5 How a barcode work

vi. SMARTPHONE APPS AND COMPUTER VISION

A step beyond the hand-held scanners are store scan-and-go apps that work on a
shopper's smartphone. In addition to scanning all the items, customers can pay for the
cartload right on the app. Some stores are also experimenting with computer vision and
machine-learning technology, where cameras stationed throughout the store view items
as a shopper puts them in the cart, recognize them and add the price to a customer's
grocery tab without having to actually scan the item's barcode.

vii. FAST-LANE TERMINALS

Many grocery shoppers stop by the store for only a few items and want to get in and out
quickly. Self-serve fast-lane terminals with voice assistance allow customers to check out
by themselves without having to wait in line. Point-and-select touchscreens, a
computerized voice assistant that gives directions for completing the sale and integrated
payment processing speed the checkout.

Scales and a produce picture directory on the screen eliminate the need to know specific
codes for produce items. When questions arise, one employee can step in and manage
four to six terminals, reducing the need for several employees operating multiple
checkout lanes.
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