Autonomous Self-Service Markets with RFID

ProMart is a Finnish wholesaler of construction equipment and tools. Founded by Sampo Säily in 2009, the company’s first customers were industrial companies in the Pirkanmaa region. In the second business year, Sampo’s brother Ilkka Säily joined the company. He had close contacts in the construction industry. As a result, the focus shifted towards construction.

In 2019, the decision was made to offer automated stores. Today, ProMart supplies cdifferent manufacturing industries as well as construction companies.

The company operates exclusively in Finland. There are 5.5 million inhabitants living in an area of 340,000 km². The population density is one of the lowest in Europe. In sparsely populated areas, supply is more difficult. However, thanks to RFID technology, the company brings autonomous self-service stores close to customers. The stores are located directly on construction sites or in shipyards.

Unmanned stores have been around in Northern Europe for many years. The first unmanned store in Sweden opened in 2016, and during this time there were also many such stores in China and the USA. However, these did not meet customer requirements.

The challenge was to simplify the payment process, which is exactly what the RFID solution from Turck Vilant Systems does. With this solution, the new store concept was successfully implemented. The result is the EasyMart. This works according to the self-service concept. Payment is made automatically when shopping.

Standard ISO shipping containers provide the space for the EasyMarts. ProMart sets these up on construction sites and in shipyards. The store itself has a modular design. It is divided into a shopping area and a collection area.

In the former, products are available. The latter is a modular chamber connected to the shopping area. The payment process takes place in the latter. RFID readers can be installed in both areas.

Customized Product Range

Depending on its size, an EasyMart has hundreds to thousands of RFID-tagged products. In total, ProMart sells over 20,000 items from various manufacturers as well as its own brand Kranit.

These include tools, construction equipment and accessories, fasteners, chemicals, and protective equipment. The company creates the store inventory of each EasyMart in consultation with customers.

Access to the EasyMart works by means of RFID. Customers identify themselves at the entrance with an RFID card and enter the shopping area. This opens a virtual shopping basket which is linked to the customer’s company account. The system allows access to only one customer at a time.

Automatic Payment Process

The customer selects items to buy, lease or rent. He then enters the reading area with the products where he identifies himself again with the RFID card. He places the goods on a table. An RFID reader captures their unique IDs. The customer then leaves the store with the products. The system automatically settles the purchase with the linked company account.

An EasyMart can serve between ten and one hundred customers. It is also possible to set up an EasyMart for a single large customer. At shipyards, for example, an EasyMart can serve dozens of users. These benefit from the customized product range, high product availability around the clock, and the simple payment process.

Outsourcing materials procurement to ProMart also reduces costs for construction companies.

In addition, a certain percentage of healthcare workers face situational threats and verbal aggression. Most of these incidents originate from patients and visitors. Healthcare workers most affected by violence are those directly involved in patient care, such as nurses, emergency room staff, and paramedics.

The company has received positive feedback for the autonomous markets: “Customers are particularly enthusiastic about the user-friendliness. This is a good thing, because that was our goal. For this reason, we have decided to name our autonomous stores ‘EasyMart’.”

The establishment of an autonomous self-service market makes sense mainly for large companies due to the high investment costs. Construction sites and shipyards, where many companies have the same needs, benefit most from the EasyMart.

1. ProMart has implemented the EasyMart with an RFID solution from Turck Vilant Systems. What were the challenges from your point of view?

We knew that the solution had to enable a smooth payment process. To achieve this, the reading area must function without errors. We had to make sure that the read zone remains closed while the tags are being captured and that incorrect readings do not occur. We indicate this with a traffic light.

This way, all shoppers in the store know that they must wait for the lamp to turn green before they may enter the read zone. The solution overcomes all these challenges.

2. Was RFID the only viable technology for this solution?

Barcode was another possibility. However, this technology is not as intuitive to use as RFID. This is an important difference. The users of our RFID store solutions are often international and lack a common language. RFID has two major benefits over barcodes: firstly it requires no action on the part of the user.

Secondly, it provides an element of security. The only way out of the store is through the read zone. It would be easy not to scan every item, but the RFID tag on all products carried by the customer is automatically scanned can captured by the readers. This ensures all items are registered as purchased.

Based on different user experiences from our RFID stores, I can also tell that they have minimal issues concerning loss. We believe it is because the users do not pay for the purchases from their own pockets. Billing is automatic, as their company gets invoiced for all purchases. This way, there is no element of personal gain, and forgetting to pay is impossible, as is theft.

3. What other advantages does the RFID solution offer apart from simplified shopping?

ProMart studied the time it takes to procure materials for a company. They found that if two workers had to make three tours, each lasting an hour, the material procurement would cause hidden costs of 300 euros per tour, twice a week. This is based on average drive times to and from the construction sites of their customers.

Calculated over the year, the costs added up to 30,000 euros. With EasyMart, material procurement is far more time and cost efficient.

4. Are unmanned stores with RFID a profitable investment for companies of any size?

I would like to say yes to this question. However, the costs are still too high for the smallest companies. Replenishment costs add a percentage to the price of products in EasyMart. Large companies can offset these.

The same applies to construction sites or shipyards with several companies. They benefit from the EasyMart. Additionally, different VMI (vendor managed inventory) systems are getting more and more popular. It doesn’t always need to be a full store. Smart cabinets and smart shelves can also solve part of this problem.

5. How are customers reacting to the solution?

Customers really appreciate the simplicity. When everything works in Finland, customers tend to behave quietly. Quiet means that everyone is satisfied. Neither ProMart nor Turck Vilant Systems have heard any complaints. That’s how we know that everything is running smoothly.