Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) System

Company: W5 Networks

Details: Wireless shelf tags, access points and software available for $3.50 per label.

Challenge: Retailers, such as grocery store chains, spend exorbitant amounts in labor to update paper shelf labels. A typical supermarket chain manually changes thousands of paper labels each week, which can cost more than $100,000 per store per year in labor, according to Richard White, CEO of W5 Networks. Manual processes lead to accuracy issues, as prices on products often do not match shelf tags.

Click to see: Shelf Label (ESL) System

Solution: W5 Networks developed the ESL System to eradicate the need for paper shelf labels. The proprietary wireless network, which operates between the 4.8 MHz and 5.6 MHz frequency, includes battery-powered LCD shelf displays, access points and back-end software. White says the network uses an alternate frequency from Wi-Fi and RFID because of problems with interference. “That space is getting crowded and many retail environments are running hotspots or voice over IP or other wireless applications,” he says. The server taps into pricing information that is regularly downloaded to stores and automatically transmits updates to the tags via two-way radio. White says the automated tagging system also allows stores to offer short-term sale promotions and make use of price optimization data.

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