United Co-operatives is rolling out electronic shelf-edge labelling and chip and PIN technology across its estate in a £4.2m overhaul of its in-store technology.

The society is also introducing self-scanning and hi-tech touch-screen till terminals with LCD customer displays to its 500 food stores. The revamp is being carried out by IT firm Fujitsu.

The full roll-out follows a successful trial at a United Co-operatives store in Sandbach, Crewe, and is set to be completed in 2008.

Ian Dyson, head of IT at United Co-operatives, said its stores had been due for a technological facelift.

"We had a series of new initiatives, for example promotions and customer specific offers, that were not easily handled by the existing systems," he said. "We reviewed our options and found that Fujitsu was the best match for us. Fujitsu offered an integrated solution that covered all of our key business requirements.

"We have already realised benefits, such as improved customer service and tighter financial control."?

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