The History of Grocery

We are proud to be a part of the exciting, groundbreaking and vital business called grocery.  Here is an info graphic that we've created to share some of the highlights over the past 135 years. http://www.groceryhistory.com/#sthash.M2VAVVfK.BFvSjxgq.dpbs

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How much has your grocery store changed over the past 100 years?

Not a lot has changed in grocery checkout over the past century,

in the early 1900's it was all about customer service,

today it is still all about customer service.

To see our amazing FastLane X3 in action, checkout our video at this link:

http://www.utopiatechnologygroup.com

The secret to increased customer satisfaction, lower overhead and higher profits is here!

The number one complaint by customers today is the front-end checkout experience.  We have all been there, a few lanes open with the majority of lanes closed, resulting in long lines and aggravation.

That is why we developed the revolutionary Utopia Fast Lane X3.  It is the first and only checkout that incorporates PortalSorting, a record-breaking combination of high-speed portal scanning with contactless sorting in flexible modular configurations.

• One lane does the work of multiple lanes.
• It requires fewer employees while delivering improved customer service.
• The FastLane X3 delivers a faster and better shopping experience.
• According to DataLogic, the Portal Scan can handle up to 160 items a minute.
• SpanTech Sortation Technology is included, which directs items to the specified bagging area to assist customer flow.
• Multiple customer service style options are available, including assisted cart unloading and bagging service, or customer unload and bag.
• There are flexible payment options for your customers' convenience.
• The FastLane X3 integrates with your existing POS system.
• A dedicated employee is always present to assist customers.

To see the FastLane X3 in action visit www.utopiatechnologygroup.com

The Utopia Technology Group is a division of Pan-Oston.

Fox Business News PanOston Manufacturing Marvels

If you interviewed over a thousand different grocery store and convenience store owners, what would they tell you?

After being in business for over 40 years, you'd think that there isn't a lot you don't know about your customer's business.  But having spent over 2 years with buses traveling across the United States, talking to grocery store and convenience store owners and managers, we saw first hand how rapidly the retail business is changing and how quickly consumer expectations are evolving.

This tour provided us with more knowledge than could ever had been gained sitting in dark rooms and doing focus groups.  That is because we went to the headquarters, then we went to the stores, we talked to owners, we talked to cashiers and we talked to their customers.  No one, has ever gone to the lengths that Pan-Oston has gone to, to understand what our customers are facing, what their pain points are and how we can help
improve profitability and the customer shopping experience.

This has led us to developing revolutionary new products with our partners that speed transactions with portal scanners, provide more options with products like convertible lanes that can be self checkout or attended, and revolutionary merchandising units that can provide products as well
 as recipes and samples.

Our new video that we are releasing for the 2014 NRF and 2014 NGA shows captures the breath of our capabilities as well as demonstrating where we believe the future of retailing is going.

To find out more please give us a call 800.210.2302 or visit us at www.utopiatechnologygroup.com

NRF and Beyond. The future of retail.

We will be all over NRF having products at 7 of our partner booths including the Microsoft booth, the Digimarc booth, the Motorola booth, the Dell booth, the Datalogic booth, the Glory booth and the MEI booth.  But if you want to see our newest creation, something that has never been seen before, you'll have to come to the NGA show in February to see this amazing product in action!

Lessons From The Road.

After visiting over 150 grocery headquarters, talking to over 1200 independent grocers, and traveling over 75,000 miles. You learn a lot.

Here is what we've learned and the solutions we have developed to address the needs of the independent grocer.

Overhead keeps going up.

Utopia Self-checkout will lower your overhead and has the lowest attendant intervention rate in the industry. This combined with the simplest and easiest customer interface, ensures higher customer satisfaction and increased customer loyalty.

Profits are being reduced.

Bank note recycling will improve your bottom line. The Utopia Innovation lane and the Utopia Cash Handling Lane each come equipped with the MEI Bank Note Recycler. The Bank Note Recycler greatly reduces float by up to 90% and requires less tills to be pre-made and counted.

Shrink is going up, sweethearting and employee theft on the rise.

Utopia Cash Handling Lane will reduce sweethearting and employee theft. It will also detect counterfeit bills. Plus the accuracy of automated equipment eliminates the need for cashiers, cash room personnel and managers to reconcile tills repeatedly due to cash counting errors and employee theft. The Cash Handling Lane also drastically reduces the amount of time required to reconcile tills before and after each cashier shift, providing substantial labor and time savings.

Counterfeit bill use is increasing.

Mei's Bank Note Recycler will detect and reject counterfeit bills.

Customer loyalty declining.

If you don't offer self-checkout over 20% of customers won't shop your store. If you are not currently offering self-checkout, you're already losing up to 20% of your potential customers. The old days of thinking that self-service would lessen your interaction with customers and reduce customer service are over.

Prepared meals to go, is growing.

In store sampling with the Pan-Oston Mobile Demonstration Unit increase sales by over 60%. Recent research and what we've seen on the road, shows that with the customer interaction of in-store demonstrations you not only increase sales, but that you increase customer loyalty too.

Need more room for merchandising.

We offer a wide selection of reduced footprint merchandising solutions throughout the store. From our bakery displays to our self-checkout units we are always developing ways to increase product while reducing the footprint of our merchandisers.

Need self-checkout and new merchandisers but I can't afford them or lending is too tight.

With your N.G.A. discounts and with leasing options available to you it's never been easier to afford new merchandisers and lanes. Plus with our direct from the manufacturer pricing you can now offer your customers the option of self-checkout for 1/3 less than comparable solutions. In fact we've been asked over and over how can we make our Utopia self-checkout solutions so affordable and the answer is that we are the only ones that aren't trying to lock you into a long term service contract, and the only ones to not go through a middle man to serve the independent grocer. When you cut out the middle man and make your solution POS neutral, you save a fortune! Plus with our leasing options there is no reason you cant afford self-checkout.

To schedule a stop by the Utopia Across America Tour at your grocery headquarters or to find out even more about Pan-Oston and all of our solutions visit us on the web at panoston.com or call us at 800-210-2302.