Kölle Zoo Is Digitizing 28 Stores with 300,000 SOLUM ESLs

Kölle Zoo, one of the leading pet supply retailers in the German-speaking region, has implemented approximately 300,000 electronic shelf labels from SOLUM across 28 stores. The eight-week rollout reduces the need for manual price changes and frees up more time for customer consultation and service.

Centralized Control Replaces Paper Labels

Price changes, seasonal campaigns, and monthly promotional offers previously required a significant amount of organizational effort. Paper labels had to be prepared, distributed, applied, removed, and corrected as needed. Depending on the season and product range, up to several hundred changes had to be implemented.

With electronic shelf labels, price and product information can now be managed centrally and updated on the shelf at short notice. This reduces manual steps, minimizes sources of error, and ensures that information is always up to date.

300,000 ESLs in Eight Weeks

The project encompassed all 28 Kölle Zoo stores in Germany, Austria, and Belgium. Approximately 300,000 labels were installed and integrated into store processes within eight weeks.

For system integrators, it’s not just the installation that matters. Data management, software integration, wireless infrastructure, and operational workflows must also be coordinated across all locations.

E-Paper, 2.4-GHz Wireless, and Aims

The technical foundation consists of the SOLUM Newton ESLs, the central management platform Aims, and the gateway infrastructure. The labels use energy-efficient e-paper displays that primarily consume energy when the displayed content changes. A displayed price remains visible without a continuous power supply.

Communication between the platform, gateways, and labels takes place via the proprietary Newton wireless protocol in the 2.4-GHz band. Price and product data are transmitted to the gateways via Aims and then distributed wirelessly to the ESLs. The specific Newton model used by Kölle Zoo is not specified.

Kölle Zoo cites a battery life of more than ten years and a low failure rate in field operation as selection criteria. The battery life specification is based on internal tests conducted by SOLUM and may vary depending on operating conditions.

More Time for Customer Service and Support

Following the implementation, the effort required for price changes and promotional updates decreased more significantly than originally expected. The time saved is now increasingly available for customer consultation, service, and other customer-focused tasks.

Especially in the pet retail sector, the benefit lies not only in faster price labeling but also in a more efficient use of available working time.

Relevance for Retail and Integration

Electronic shelf labels are part of an overarching store infrastructure. The greatest benefit is realized when price changes, promotions, and product information are consistently transferred from central systems to the shelves.

For integrators, the key tasks involve system integration, radio frequency planning, data quality, and scalable operations across multiple locations.