Wincor World 2009: Strengthening competiveness through innovation
At this year’s Wincor World, Wincor Nixdorf will present a wide range of products and services, demonstrating how the IT solutions provider can reliably and competently support banks and retailers in their business and strengthen its own competitiveness through innovation.
“More than ever, our customers’ business is being shaped by intensive competition, rationalization, globalization and standardization,” said Wincor Nixdorf CEO Eckard Heidloff at the start of the three-day customer exhibition and conference in Paderborn, expressing cautious optimism for the mid-term future. Should, however, the overall economic situation lead to lower investments in both the banking and retail sectors, Heidloff does not rule out a cloudy business development in the short term. In the first quarter, sales at Wincor Nixdorf rose by 7 percent and EBITA by 8 percent, compared to the same period a year ago. For the current fiscal year, the IT specialist for bank and retail branch solutions expects sales and earnings to reach approximately the same level as the previous year.
Over the years, Wincor World has developed into a premier branch event. It is an important communications forum for the 40 partner companies participating in the event and provides an ideal platform for exhibiting more than 600 IT solutions and services. The focus of this year’s event is on cash management, sales automation and marketing processes as well as managed services, outsourcing and checkout automation. Another important theme involves software platforms designed to extensively support processes in retail stores and the front-office area of banks.
Wincor Nixdorf has expanded its software suite for banks with new mobile-phone enabled solutions. The PC/E Mobile Transaction Services software, for instance, enables so-called person-to-person payments. With this solution, the account holder initiates payment to another person, who uses two payment codes sent per mobile phone for authorization. With its software solutions, Wincor Nixdorf supports banks in their efforts to intensify customer contact through self-service systems, using ATMs as a sales channel. Standard transactions such as cash withdrawals are now processed largely by self-service machines. Another new software product, PC/E Value-Added Services, enables attractive value-added services at self-service terminals such as selling tickets, booking trips and loading mobile phone pre-paid cards.
Wincor Nixdorf is becoming increasingly occupied with implementing PC/E Retail Banking Solution Suite modules to meet customers’ specific needs. The company is also expanding its Professional Services offer. In this area, it aims to develop tailored solutions to meet customer requirements not covered by the existing product portfolio, using either software from other vendors or developing its own solutions. One example is a customer advisor portal, which is being developed with industry standard components.
Wincor Nixdorf demonstrates its branch competence across all life-cycles of a branch – from new branch openings and operations to their modernization – and shows examples of contemporary branch designs. In one modernly designed branch, visitors are offered a “design check” based on newly planned or existing branches.
For retail companies, Wincor Nixdorf presents a complementary software portfolio. A new module from the TP Application Suite, which is now running on more than 80,000 systems worldwide, enhances customer loyalty in stores. TP Loyalty software supports the implementation of individual bonus programs and simplifies the administration of customer cards and accounts. Wincor Nixdorf has also successfully implemented its software in service stations. At the start of Wincor World, Shell announced plans to equip service stations on different continents with Namos software, which Wincor Nixdorf has developed specifically for service stations.
The company’s comprehensive offer of automated checkout solutions has been enhanced with additional options. The offer now covers various checkout scenarios, such as the express checkout for a limited number of purchases, self-service terminals for full shopping carts, mobile scanning and options for separated scanning and payment processes. It also includes specific solutions for individual retail branches such as electrical appliance and do-it-yourself stores. Cash management components integrated into self-service checkout terminals ensure secure and efficient cash handling at checkout.
Wincor Nixdorf continues to enhance its services offer for operating the IT solutions deployed by banks and retail companies, as the company moves beyond its traditional role as a manufacturer to become a strategic business partner. Customers are increasingly demanding high-quality services such as managed services and outsourcing services. Today, Wincor World is already managing more than 40,000 systems worldwide. Customers can lower their operating costs by as much as 25 percent by outsourcing their IT operations to Wincor Nixdorf. As a new service for banks and retail companies, the company can take over debit and credit card transaction processing. As an outsourcing partner, it assumes responsibility for the entire technical and operative processing of transaction processes between terminals and the host systems of bank. By outsourcing these operations to specialized service providers like Wincor Nixdorf, customers no longer require their own IT infrastructure for processing transactions and can thus reduce costs.
Through Thursday, more than 7,000 customers from around 80 countries are expected to attend Wincor World. The event features a comprehensive program of presentations and workshops.