Umdasch’s ESL.inclusive Launched in a Spar Store in Vienna

Continuous, up-to-date, and time- and money-saving. These are the significant advantages provided by electronic price labeling. Electronic Shelf Labeling—ESL for short—has occupied retailers’ minds for some time. Umdasch’s e-paper displays are attached directly to the shelves and linked via W-Lan with the inventory control system. Price changes and product information can thus be transmitted in seconds. This can be controlled in the local shop or centrally across the entire branch network.

High investment costs, constant battery changes (with their corresponding impact on the environment), and electronic price labels that often fell off the shelves have led some retailers to hold back on investing in ESL.

Umdasch Shopfitting looked intensively into retailers’ needs when it comes to modern ESL equipment and designed a more modern solution—ESL.inclusive. ESL.inclusive connects the individual price tags using a closed-rail solution attached directly to the shelf. Seven electronic price labels can be clicked onto each meter of shelf. There’s also room for acrylic shelf stoppers for separate advertising messages. If existing shelves are equipped with ESL, all the price tags on one rail are operated with a single battery, making them sustainable and environmentally friendly. With new systems, the price tags can even be operated without batteries—they are powered directly from the rack. This also opens up the possibility of lighting the shelves with modern LEDs.

Integrated solution for all supermarket departments

An interdisciplinary project team made up of representatives from Spar, Umdasch Shopfitting, its subsidiary MMIT Retail, and Imagotag went into great detail on the requirements of a modern grocer as part of the project at Spar’s store on the campus of the Vienna University of Economics and Business. They developed the first-ever integrated solution for all supermarket departments—from dry goods, to refrigerated shelves, to frozen foods. “Modern commercial enterprises need innovation. Umdasch is a capable partner that develops unique technologies with us and has the courage to break new ground,” said Spar CEO Hans K. Reisch of their cooperation.

Umdasch Shopfitting acts as a comprehensive supplier in any project equipping a store with ESL: from procuring the tags, through custom adaptations and sophisticated interface software solutions, to their integration into the existing or new business location. This includes maintenance and service support. Silvio Kirchmair, CEO of Umdasch Shopfitting, is convinced that his company’s digital solutions make it a pioneer in modern shopfitting: “Umdasch Shopfitting combines tradition and innovation in viBIZ. We see ourselves as a pioneer of integrated solutions at the POS. ESL.inclusive is a product we have developed that has never been seen on the market before.” It is therefore no wonder that Umdasch Shopfitting has already received follow-up orders from Spar.