Shell Food Mart ‘Hinsdeli’ Implements Price Labeling Solution
Locally known as the ‘Hinsdeli,’ the Shell Food Mart in Hinsdale, IL has a highly successful fuel, retail, and food service operation. In addition to traditional food staples, the store offers a milkshake bar, fresh pastries, and a full range of custom made sandwiches and hot meals, and has seen customers embrace these specialty meals and drinks. However, in a fast paced, 24-hour operation, keeping products and shelves labeled with the correct price while maintaining the desired merchandising image can be a challenge.
Business Challenge
The Shell Food Mart needed to create professional looking price labels for its retail and food service operations. Historically, the team had to set up pricing labels using their back office computer and a connection to the Price Book labeling system. This required extensive training that not every employee could receive; there were also occasions when personnel could not access the POS system to change pricing. The setup also meant all label printing occurred in the office on a laser printer using sheets of labels, which led to material waste when only a few labels were needed. Employees had to travel between the office and the retail area to manage their print jobs.
When deliveries arrived at the store, shelves would need to be repriced quickly, and without a reliable printing system the team occasionally had to resort to handwriting labels. This left room for human error and sometimes led to discrepancies between the shelf price and what appeared at checkout.
The Solution
Informs worked with Shell Food Mart to implement a solution comprised of the CloudBox 900 Series PrintPad and the Brother TD2120 desktop printer, which proved to be a simple, effective system to produce clean, attractive pricing labels.
CloudBox 900 Series PrintPad
• 17-key alphanumeric keypad with operator display
• Includes 10 preprogrammed label templates
• Full on-board SQL database
• Store SKU file or enter SKU or UPC data
• Connects directly to several thermal printers
Brother TD2120 Desktop Printer
• Compact design and fast print speed
• Easy label loading
• Prints labels, tags, and receipts
• Comes with 2 year warranty
Together these devices can be a standalone solution for creation, management, and printing of labels - no costly software development required. If quicker response times are needed, they can also connect to a POS database. The standard label formats include options for printing shelf, food, and markdown labels. The system eliminates the need for costly price marking guns and provides a
higher quality image than laser printers.
Benefits and Results
With the Brother/CloudBox labeling solution from Informs, the Shell Food Mart has streamlined its printing process and eliminated label material waste. Store personnel find the solution to be easy to learn, use, and maintain. The store is now able to quickly print labels for shelf and item repricing. Additionally, the team is using the Print-Pad’s preprogrammed label templates to create promotions and mark fresh food products to encourage sales toward the close of the business day.
