BlueStar, New West partner

BlueStar, an innovator in solutions-based distribution for auto ID, point-of-sale, mobility, and RFID products, has signed a distribution agreement with New West Technologies, an integrator of retail point-of-sale software solutions and Microsoft Dynamics Retail products, according to PR-USA.

BlueStar will distribute New West's Mobile Suite Pro software that extends Microsoft RMS into a fully functioning mobile POS system for retail operations that need to process transactions on-the-go.

Mobile Suite Pro delivers the flexibility to adapt to changing retail needs while keeping command over important inventory, allowing retailers to work more efficiently and manage inventory more accurately.

A preliminary analysis of the effect of radio frequency identification (RFID) on retail-inventory accuracy demonstrated that an automated, RFID-enabled inventory system improved accuracy by about 13% in test stores compared to control stores, reports University of Arkansas Daily Headlines.

The investigation, conducted by researchers in the RFID Research Centre, a research unit of the IT Research Institute in the Sam Walton College of Business, also revealed that manual inventory adjustments by store personnel significantly declined in test stores due to the automated, RFID-based system.

"Inventory accuracy is one of the keys to an efficient and effective supply chain," said Bill Hardgrave, director of the research centre and principal investigator.

Kroger, Tesco and Carrefour have become members of the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), the technology standards division of the National Retail Federation, states Supermarket News.

This increases ARTS's membership base to more than 200 organisations from 22 countries. ARTS is designed to allow retailers and technology vendors to work together to create international retail technology standards in order to reduce the costs associated with investment in retail technology.

"ARTS is delighted to welcome these top retail companies to our membership as we work to develop retail technology standards to facilitate IT support of the business," said ARTS executive director Richard Mader in a statement.