Utopia Self-Checkout Introduced at Strack & Van Til Groceries

Utopia self-checkout units and attendant stations were installed at the grocery chain Strack & VanTil in the Chicago area May 12, 2008. Utopia technology, developed by Pan-Oston and Hitcents, is paving the way for innovative customer service and convenience.

Hitcents President Chris Mills said “Strack & VanTil is one of the most innovative and respected grocery chains in their industry and we are pleased to have the opportunity to help them achieve their customer service goals.”

The Utopia Self-Service Checkout Solution operates Point of Sale (POS) independent and can be easily customized and retrofitted for use with any new or existing grocery store counter application.

Featuring an open architecture, the Utopia Self-Scan lineup of products allows for ease of integration to existing point of sale systems, and is the most customizable solution currently available in the industry. Offerings include customer specific models in either metal or wood cabinets.

Strack & VanTil previously struggled with other self-checkout solutions in their stores. They were attracted to the promises Utopia offers of easy integration, full customization, and first-class support.

"It’s as if they designed it just for us," said Henry Bykerk, director of information systems for Strack & VanTil. "The installation of our Utopia solution was as simple as Pan-Oston promised. Within three hours of delivery we scanned our first item."

Pan-Oston brings many years of experience in retail cabinetry and store front-end design, and currently manufactures checkout lanes for Wal-Mart, Target, Michaels, and many others. Hitcents designs and produces the software for Utopia Self-Checkout, offering a unique, user-friendly interface to raise the self-checkout process to a whole new level.