[This article was first published in Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin, which was then called Army Logistician, volume 3, number 3 (May–June 1971), pages 26–29. The text, including any biographical note, is reproduced as faithfully as possible to enable searchability. To view any images and charts in the article, refer to the issue itself, available on DVIDS.]
Commissary shopping causing you problems? A new automated checkout system under development may be the solution to some of the difficulty.
THE COMMISSARY SYSTEM is criticized for poor service, stock-outs, and excessive queuing. The concern of some commissary managers is that the situation may deteriorate to the point that commissaries will lose their customers even though they maintain a low-cost advantage. Explanations as to why this situation is true stress cutbacks of personnel as the main problem, with inventory control running a close second.
Research may provide the commissary system with answers to these problems. There are several firms working on an improved checkout system for supermarkets. Most of the developments are closely guarded secrets; however, limited information has recently surfaced on two of the systems.
The two systems are being developed by Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and by Charecogn Systems, Incorporated, of Natick, Massachusetts. The Charecogn system is being developed in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture.
The RCA system is being tested by an Ohio-based supermarket chain. With this system, the customer unloads coded items onto a conveyor system (similar to the ones now in use) with their identifying codes face down so they will go over a scanner. Checkout personnel must insure that the goods are properly placed on the conveyor. The scanner reads the product codes and sends a message to a computer, which in turn sends the correct price information to a cash register where the transaction is recorded.
The second system is being developed by Charecogn Systems, Incorporated. This system is in the beginning stages of field testing. There is a prototype system undergoing engineering tests and evaluation at the Federal Center Building, Hyattsville, Maryland. Mrs. Virginia Knauer, the President’s adviser on consumer affairs, recently visited the prototype operations and commented favorably on it. The system is being evaluated to determine its full economic potential.
The Charecogn checkout system, a completely computerized operation, has four pieces of electronic equipment — a tabulator, a memory bank, a teletype, and a hand-held scanner that reads the product codes on each package. The customer unloads the items onto a standard conveyor system presently in use in most commissaries and supermarkets. The checkout operator places a hand-held scanner over a code disk affixed to each item. The scanner recognizes the code and transmits the information to a computer, which identifies the item and its price. The computer activates a tabulator, and the price appears on a lighted bar at the top of the tabulator. This process is essentially instantaneous. When the checkout is complete, the customer receives an itemized (by name) list of purchases, total item cost, cost per unit of measure, total tax or surcharge, and grand total. The tax or surcharge is computed automatically. The computer, with remote capabilities, can operate sixty checkout stations.
The system has several advantages which go right to the heart of the problems confronted by commissaries. Customer advantages include speedier checkout, virtual elimination of cashier ring-up error, accurate pricing, and itemized checkout slips with per unit price.
Up-to-Date Inventory
Management advantages are many. First and foremost, an up-to-date shelf inventory is maintained. Products are identified by a code consisting of black lines of varying widths on a round disk. This code triggers the computer which causes the programed price to appear on the tabulator. The computer then registers a reduction in store inventory of one item. Since the computer also registers all deliveries of items, it is able to maintain a minute-by-minute shelf inventory of all items in the store. Management can get this inventory instantaneously by instructing the computer to give an itemized printout. This new management tool will greatly assist in reducing the problem of stock-outs caused by poor inventory techniques. The establishment of correct reorder points will complete the necessary requirements for the elimination of stock-outs. Since the item code only identifies the item and not the price, price changes can be made without restamping the products. This capability of the system will allow for a reduction in the number of personnel needed for repricing of products. With (the improved) inventory figures readily available, pilferage could be detected quickly, and controls could be applied to those products susceptible to pilferage.
The benefits of this type of system can only be realized if it is widely accepted at the manufacturing and processing end of the food industry. It is hoped that industry can be persuaded to print the item identification code on the container at the initial processing point. If the code is printed on the container, there will be a significant reduction in the number of personnel required at the retail level for pricing. The code can be used to identify 99,999,999 different items. Since there would be no price on the item itself, prices would have to be listed on the shelves. Code readout units would be strategically placed throughout the store in order to allow the customer to check the accuracy of shelf-price listings.
The code used in this system is a fascinating feature which offers many possibilities for broader application. For example, it might permit the system’s use in warehouse operations. Any system that holds out the possibility of greater inventory control and speed of operation deserves further study and consideration.
As with all systems, there are still problems that require solving. The coding of fresh produce items is not yet solved. Consideration is being given to increased packaging of produce so that codes can be used. In the meantime, the tabulator can be operated manually for fresh produce items. Work is continuing on an improved scanner that will be even faster than the one presently in use.
Thus, the day may not be too far away when the commissary shopper no longer has to contend with the long lines at checkout counters and suffer the frustration of not being able to find a favorite food readily available from the shelf. Automation of checkout counters may help to remedy some of the ills that plague commissary patrons and managers alike.
MAJ William J. Flanagan was a Quartermaster Corps officer who completed his graduate study in Agricultural and Food Economics at the University of Delaware.
Dr. U. Toensmeyer, was a Quartermaster Corps officer, and was an assistant professor of food marketing, Department of Agricultural and Food Economics, University of Delaware.
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2025 16:25 |
| Story ID: | 548990 |
| Location: | US |
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