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Regensdorf / Walldorf / Schöneck — 23 February 2012 — The Swiss business group Valora is equipping its kiosks and other small-outlet stores with the leading till and store software, SAP Point-of-Sale by GK, in the German-speaking world and Luxembourg. This software not only handles classic till operations, but also many processes linked to accounting, loyalty & promotions, digital signage and store management. SAP Point-of-Sale by GK will allow Valora to integrate all its store processes in its central SAP system, optimize its range of services at sales outlets and increase the efficiency of its operations. Valora has many sales outlets and is the leading micro-retailer in the German-speaking world.
The Valora kiosk and train station bookstores in Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg stock newspapers and magazines, tobacco products, food and non-food goods and provide services as standard features. The company operates approx. 1200 sales outlets in its home country, Switzerland; its brands there include k kiosk, avec., Press & Books and Caffè Spettacolo. After taking over the Lekkerland subsidiary, Convenience Concept, in January 2012 (subject to approval by the German anti-trust authorities), Valora now has 1500 outlets in Germany operating under the k kiosk, CIGO and ServiceStore DB brands. Valora needs software so that it can operate its sales outlets efficiently from a central location; this is the only way that it will be able to survive and continue to grow with its small retail stores spread over such a large area. But there is another important issue: The new software has to link up with the SAP systems and components seamlessly. SAP Point-of-Sale is exactly designed to meet this kind of situation.
«The POS software from SAP enables us to manage as many sales outlets as we need from a central office – regardless of whether they are located in Germany, Switzerland or another country,» says Markus Guggenbühler, CIO at Valora. «This is extremely important for our growth strategy. One of our goals is to expand as a European micro-retailer through inorganic growth. Having this POS software, which we can adapt to new conditions and requirements at any time, we are helping the retail sector to reach its goals.» Enterprise headquarters will become the service provider for the stores. It will make available all the functions required at local stores and information without any time delay. This not only means reduced maintenance costs, but also savings in the hardware that is required.
The «Valora 4 Growth» strategy aims to achieve annual growth in sales of about 10 percent, increase operating results by approx. 15 percent per annum and therefore up the EBIT margin to 3 or 4 percent by 2015. This is a clear statement in the eyes of Stephan Sieber, Sales Director, SAP (Schweiz) AG: «You can only set these kinds of goals if you’re certain that you can meet them. Valora has shown that it knows how to set up the correct infrastructure to achieve its ambitious goals. In opting for the SAP Point-of-Sale by GK, Valora has demonstrated that it’s relying on a combination of innovation and proven systems for its till software.»
SAP Point-of-Sale by GK is the market-leading till and store software, which SAP has migrated to SAP software standards in conjunction with GK SOFTWARE AG, which is based in Saxony. This software has many advantages: It is not only flexible and efficient, but also has a broad range of functions available in the standard package. For example, it allows cashiers to immediately check whether empties vouchers are genuine or not at any till. The POS software also supports many kinds of customer loyalty features: It is possible, for example, to grant customers a discount for their next shopping spree based on the goods that they have bought and send coupons to the customer’s cell phone. Special conditions and special rates, freely configurable discounts or support for almost any number of different promotions illustrate just a few more of the possibilities provided by SAP Point-of Sale by GK.
The central component in SAP Point-of-Sale by GK runs on SAP NetWeaver, the technical platform of the SAP architecture. The till software is connected to the ERP system via the SAP NetWeaver Process Integration program. Data is automatically shared between enterprise headquarters and individual sales outlets. And the SAP Solution Manager also provides an overview of what is happening in all the systems. This means that operators can intervene immediately at any time if unexpected developments take place. SAP Point-of-Sale by GK supports a broad spectrum of hardware equipment in stores: ranging from a two-line display to the classic combination of keyboard and screen and even touch devices.
Valora is a retail company trading in consumer goods; it specializes in micro-retail outlets and operates in selected niche markets. The Valora Retail division operates kiosks across Europe and other micro-retail outlets at locations used by large numbers of people. They include kiosks, convenience sales outlets and catering facilities in the Swiss, German, Luxembourg and Austrian markets. Valora is the market leader for micro-retail outlets, at locations used by large numbers of people and with standardized formats in the German-speaking world. Valora is the second-largest micro-retailer in Europe. You can obtain more information by visiting www.valora.com.
SAP AG is the market leader for corporate software and it enables corporations of any size or in any sector to operate their business profitably, adapt continually and grow in a sustainable way. SAP enables people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business information more effectively than their rivals – regardless of whether this is in the back-office area or on the management board floor, in warehouses or at shelves in stores, or on a desktop or a mobile terminal. More than 183,000 customers (including Sybase customers) rely on SAP applications and services in order to meet their goals more easily. You can obtain more information by visiting www.sap.ch or www.sap.de.
Schöneck, 01. Nov. 2011 – Aufsichtsrat und Vorstand der GK SOFTWARE AG freuen sich mitteilen zu können, dass die Gesellschaft Herrn Michael Jaszczyk als Vorstand Technologie und Herrn Oliver Kantner als Vorstand Operations gewinnen konnte.
Herr Jaszczyk übernimmt zum 01. November 2011 das Vorstandsressort Technologie und Entwicklung von Herrn Stephan Kronmüller, der der Gesellschaft als stellvertretender Vorstand auch weiterhin verbunden bleibt. Herr Kronmüller wird sich als Leiter des GK FutureLab insbesondere der Entwicklung von Zukunftstechnologien widmen. Der bisherige Vorstand Operations Herr Ronald Scholz scheidet zum 31. Oktober 2011 aus dem Vorstand der Gesellschaft aus; Aufsichtsrat und Vorstand danken Herrn Scholz für die langjährig geleistete ausgezeichnete Arbeit für die Gesellschaft.
GK SOFTWARE AG
Waldstraße 7
08261 Schöneck
Deutschland
WKN 757142
ISIN DE0007571424
(Ende der Ad-hoc-Mitteilung)
Schöneck, 14 March 2011 – GK SOFTWARE AG has received an order from a major German sporting goods and sportswear producer from Herzogenaurach, Germany to supply all ~2.000 sport item branches worldwide with its GK/Retail software. Both companies have agreed to keep the details of this agreement and scope of this project confidential.
GK Software AG
Waldstraße 7
08261 Schöneck
Deutschland
WKN 757142
ISIN DE0007571424
(End of Ad-hoc-Announcement)
Schöneck, 28 March 2011 - GK SOFTWARE AG once again had a record year in 2010 according to provisional figures. Sales grew by 19% to EUR 27.7 million (EUR 23.3 mil-lion in the previous year) - and this was at the upper end of expectations published in the Management Board's forecast. Earnings before tax and interest (EBIT) at the com-pany reached a figure of approx. EUR 5.6 million (EUR 4.9 million in the previous year). This represents an EBIT margin on operating performance of 19.0% (20.1% in the pre-vious year).
The basis for this continuing growth at the company during fiscal 2010 was its ability to win major new projects both at home and abroad and make scheduled progress in ongoing jobs. The completion of the major project at EDEKA as part of its LUNAR program, which was achieved with SAP, was particularly important during 2010.
GK SOFTWARE AG
Waldstraße 7
08261 Schöneck
Deutschland
WKN 757142
ISIN DE0007571424
(End of the Ad hoc report)
Schöneck, 22 March 2011 – The EDEKA Group, Germany’s leading food retailer, was presented the Retail Technology Award in the Best Enterprise Solution category at a gala event for its success in introducing innovative retail processes as part of its LUNAR program and presenting them as future software solutions at its showcase “Market of the Future.” The key partners in completing what is the largest IT project in the retail sector, even in the international arena, have been SAP and GK SOFTWARE AG, which jointly developed the crucial software elements for EDEKA’s “Market of the Future.” The first pilot market using the new software began commercial operations just one day after the prize-giving ceremony.
The jury of experts associated with the EHI Retail Institute awarded the Retail Technology Awards (RETA) for the third time since 2009. One of the coveted prizes in the Best Enterprise Solution category went to EDEKA’s “Market of the Future” or the innovative retail processes on display there. They have been developed as part of EDEKA‘s LUNAR program and its end-to-end integration with the central SAP system. They are on display at the EDEKA Group’s enhanced in-house showroom in Hamburg. There EDEKA provides its member companies with the opportunity of obtaining information about new software solutions and technologies for their business processes at an early stage. The project partners for the “Market of the Future” included SAP and GK SOFTWARE, which jointly developed the core elements of the new software. These primarily involve the infrastructure solutions taken from EDEKA’s LUNAR program. The new template versions based on SAP components are fully integrated in the new retail software, which was developed by SAP and GK SOFTWARE AG in a close development partnership with EDEKA. As a result, EDEKA’s “Market of the Future” provides extensive insight into the usefulness of this unique end-to-end approach.
The first market in the EDEKA south-west region to commercially use the new retail software developed by SAP and GK SOFTWARE AG successfully launched productive live operations on schedule, just one day after the prize-giving ceremony on 28 February 2011. This market is also using three solutions developed by GK SOFTWARE AG, which were directly sold by SAP as part of a reseller agreement: GK Store Device Control from SAP, GK Offline Mobile Handheld Applications from SAP und GK Point-of-Sale from SAP (including a link to the mobile consumer software provided by valuephone). As a result, the new complete software for stores, which is part of the LUNAR template, is now in commercial use for the first time.
The new store software was jointly adapted to the requirements of the LUNAR program by SAP and GK SOFTWARE AG in just one year and was installed on schedule. This means that SAP and GK SOFTWARE AG now have a new, completely integrated software solution to cover all the processes at retail enterprise headquarters and stores; it can be used in every retail sector at regionally administered enterprises, independent retailers, chain stores or franchisees.
Schöneck, 2nd of August – SAP has gained the first significant customer as a result of the direct sales agreement covering three solutions provided by GK SOFTWARE AG – the products were officially launched in the D-A-CH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) in May this year.
Europe’s leading specialist chain of stores for pet food and accessories, Fressnapf, has opted to use a broad range of SAP software solutions. The total package also includes “GK offline mobile handheld application from SAP and “GK point-of-sale software from SAP” – which have all been developed by GK SOFTWARE AG and enables Fressnapf to bring efficient processes from the headquarter down to the point-of-sale. In the project, SAP will equip approx. 1,150 Fressnapf stores with software during the next years.
The order clearly demonstrates that GK SOFTWARE AG’s potential is being extended through its partnership with SAP, as the joint software package is highly attractive for the retail sector. The Management Board at GK SOFTWARE AG is not expecting the project to trigger any significant changes to its sales situation during the current business year and is therefore standing by its earlier forecast.
Schöneck, 26 January 2011 GK SOFTWARE AG is presenting its comprehensive software for handling all store processes, the GK/Retail suite, at the EuroShop trade fair in Düsseldorf. GK/Retail offers retailers in all kinds of business sectors integrated access to their stores, ranging from merchandise management to POS operations, scales, central management and uploading data and even special elements like digital signage, self-checkouts or integrating mobile payments.
GK SOFTWARE AG is presenting a variety of new solutions at the upcoming EuroShop trade fair. One major theme is using the software on mobile devices, ranging from classic hand-held units to smartphones and even iPads. The presentation of GK/Retail StoreWeaver Enterprise Edition, GK/Retail Open Scale and the latest version of the POS software will form the major focus at the trade fair booth.
A central highlight at the fair will be the presentation of the latest version of GK/Retail StoreWeaver Enterprise Edition, which provides a direct link to a central merchandise management control system like SAP and connects all the processes ranging from merchandise planning to incoming goods or inventories or the automatic label and poster printing devices and even the Store Device Control software – and all this is available on mobile devices, which either work online or offline. The Store Device Control software within the GK/Retail suite ensures that all the subsystems in a store are directly integrated end-to-end – ranging from the till to the scales, automatic empties machines, digital signage, mobile data collection devices and even the automatic dispensing machines. This enables all the systems to be supplied with the correct data automatically, on time and in a controlled manner. GK SOFTWARE AG has further developed its GK/Retail StoreWeaver Enterprise Edition in close cooperation with SAP.
The youngest member of the GK/Retail family, Open Scale, will be on show at the EuroShop for the very first time. The fully integrated software allows open PC-scales made by various manufacturers to be seamlessly linked in a store’s IT system and enables information to be uploaded and downloaded to and from the scales in real time. Different types of scales can use GK/Retail Open Scale – ranging from staff-operated scales to checking scales and even self-service scales. The software used here uses the same technology and architecture principles as the rest of the GK/Retail suite. Bizerba has been the partner involved in the development of this new software for scales.
New versions of the market-leading POS software and the enterprise headquarters applications in the GK/Retail suite will be introduced at the EuroShop. One highlight will be the completely new design of user interfaces, which meet the highest ergonomic and aesthetic standards; this has been made possible by using modern skinning technologies. They allow innovative, new graphics surfaces to be used in connection with all the GK/Retail modules. The new GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) have been developed in a highly elaborate manner together with design studios and they represent the latest technology for the interaction of human beings and machines.
GK SOFTWARE AG’s presentation at the EuroShop will be rounded off by many other software solutions for use in stores and enterprise headquarters. They include packages for comprehensive digital signage services, automated label printing, task management and time tracking opportunities, using digital signatures, inventory information from many stores and handling returns. There will also be self-contained software for mobile couponing and payments in conjunction with our partner company, valuephone, which will also be present on the GK SOFTWARE AG booth.
A new development in the POS software related to the latest generation of self-checkouts will also be jointly presented on the booth of our partner, IBM. This enables a seamless link to be created between this software and the whole store IT system. The close partnership with IBM is once again bearing fruit – after the porting of GK/Retail on IBM’s 4690 platform last year.
Schöneck, 12 May 2011 – Point of Sale, Mobile Merchandise Management and Store Device Control are the GK SOFTWARE AG software solutions, which SAP is now starting to sell. The successful productive use of these software solutions in the joint EDEKA project formed the prelude to this decision. Sales will be directly launched in the D-A-CH area (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and will be gradually followed by the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) sales area and the rest of the world. In order to assist this process, both companies have agreed a joint sales and marketing concept and clear structures for their technical cooperation. GK SOFTWARE AG will continue to provide all the software solutions directly in addition to the sales arrangement with SAP.
Following the successful launch of the pilot project connected to the cooperation arrangement for the EDEKA LUNAR program, SAP will now sell three software solutions produced by GK SOFTWARE AG: “GK offline mobile handheld application from SAP,” “GK store device control software from SAP” and “GK point-of-sale software from SAP.” These software solutions are now available from SAP in line with the agreements that have been made. The conditions for this arrangement are based on the successful premium qualification of the software solutions in the SAP test laboratories and the productive start at EDEKA on schedule.
The GK software solutions enable SAP to expand its range of products for the retail sector by making use of the proven expertise at GK SOFTWARE AG in the areas of linking up stores and store processes. GK SOFTWARE AG is expecting the partnership to lead to an increase in sales potential in the medium term, particularly in the international arena.
The “GK offline mobile handheld application from SAP” software provides seamless end-to-end links between all the relevant store processes to the central SAP system and enables the retail sector to have faster processes available with a much higher degree of data quality. With “GK store device control software from SAP,” the partners are providing software for the central management of all the subsystems in stores – e.g. tills, scales, reverse vending machines or vending machines – and this provides automatic downloading and uploading processes for data and a seamless link to the merchandise management system. “GK point-of-sale software from SAP” is the market-leading till and store software from the GK SOFTWARE AG portfolio, which is being used by leading retailers under the GK/Retail POS brand name in more than 30 countries.
Schöneck, 18th of November 2011 - GK SOFTWARE AG has once again registered double digit growth during the first nine months of fiscal 2011. According to provisional figures, sales rose by more than 18 percent compared to the same period in the previous year to a figure of EUR 20.26 million. The EBIT was 21 percent higher than the figure for the previous year at EUR 2.81 million. Based on these very good third quarter results, the Management Board is standing by its growth forecast for 2011.
Schöneck, 1 July 2011 – Mr. Oliver Kantner is joining the management team at GK SOFTWARE AG as acting Chief Operations Officer from 1 July 2011.
The Management Board and Supervisory Board at GK SOFTWARE AG are delighted to have gained an experienced manager and business professional in Oliver Kantner; he will play a major role in continuing to expand and guarantee the business success at GK SOFTWARE AG as a result of his many years of professional experience and contacts at trading and services corporations, which are major players on the international stage.
The current Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Ronald Scholz, is taking parental leave during the second half of 2011 and is considering the option of not returning to the company following this period of absence.
The Retail Innovators