Coventry, 12th September, 2008

Système U, one of France’s largest grocery retailers, has selected the Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA solution from Aldata, a leading provider of software solutions for the retail industry, to increase both the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of its warehouse systems.

Following a successful pilot program, Système U has begun operating Vocal PDA with voice-order picking on 50 PDA units.

“The Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA is delivering both business and IT benefits to the Système U warehouse operations,” said François Lesieur, IS director for Système U. “Our warehouse workers are seeing efficiency gains at the same time that IT is enjoying the flexibility that Aldata’s open architecture affords.”

Fast growing Système U already used G.O.L.D. Stock to manage its warehouses and, since 2000, has deployed Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal in a proprietary environment to manage its fresh, dry and perishable products, plus seafood and fresh fish within its warehouses. Adding the Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA to its existing warehouse systems has allowed Système U to increase both the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of its warehouse systems.

Système U selected the Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA for a number of reasons. Firstly, the PDA solution is compatible with Système U’s current proprietary-based solution, which frees the retailer to replace its current technology investment step by step—in line with its hardware replacement strategy—or supplement the existing investment as new needs arise. Another benefit is that the Aldata solution frees Système U from proprietary hardware and systems integrator choices, and the PDA’s multi-modal functionality provides greater flexibility and enables Système U to study how the PDA can be used in support of other warehouse processes. Finally, the PDA generates real productivity gains in voice-order picking by enhancing the performance of the solution and improving ergonomics. PDAs are proven to improve long-term and short-term productivity by engaging workers on multiple levels.

Aldata collaborated on the Système U implementation with TIMCOD, which is the hardware supplier and mobile systems integrator responsible for Système U’s WiFi infrastructure and network equipment. The Motorola WT4090 was selected for the voice-order picking project. Both TIMCOD and Motorola are members of the Aldata Mobility Alliance.

François Lesieur added, “TIMCOD was chosen for its proven ability in this area and their high levels of customer service.”

“Système U is an existing Aldata G.O.L.D. customer that is taking advantage of Aldata’s flexible implementation services to build out a warehouse system that meets their inventory management needs,” said Allan Davies, CMO, Aldata. “In combining G.O.L.D. Stock for WMS management with G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA for inventory selection, Système U has created a sophisticated system that optimizes the movement of product and workers so that inventory gets to stores as quickly and accurately as possible.”

Complementing Aldata’s existing G.O.L.D. Vocal environment for dedicated voice terminals, the G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA extension permits a wider choice of operator terminals and enhances the potential for new business processes based on multi-modal applications integrating voice and other data management methods (keyboard, barcode reader—1D and 2D—Datamatrix), electronic tag reader (RFID), voice and photography. Aldata offers its customers both dedicated and multi-purpose voice solutions. Its G.O.L.D. Vocal is used by more than 6,000 operators worldwide thanks to its support for first and second generation voice-order picking.