4-page Case Study - Posted 5/15/2008

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The Cooperative Group

Retailer Saves 722 Tonnes of CO2 a Year Using Embedded Operating System

The Co-operative Group has always taken a lead in responsible retailing. After the organisation deployed Windows® XP Embedded—a highly flexible, customisable operating system—across its till systems in 2003, it looked for ways to use the software to further its ecological sustainability strategy. In 2008, its development team created a Wake-up on LAN component for its electronic point of sale (EPOS) system, In-Control. The application takes advantage of the unique boot loader support and network configuration settings in Windows XP Embedded to automatically switch off 8,000 point of sale (POS) units when Co-operative stores close at night, and turn them back on just before the stores re-open in the morning. When the system is rolled out to all stores, it will save the business 722 tonnes of CO2 a year, as well as £120,000 (U.S.$240,000) a year in energy costs.  

Situation

With the growing impact of climate change, it is no longer enough for retailers to sell quality products at low prices. Increasingly, customers are demanding goods and services that have less impact on the environment. That means large retailers are under pressure not just to source products ethically from sustainable environments, but to cut the energy used by their stores.

The Co-operative Group is at the forefront of these initiatives in the United Kingdom (U.K.). It is the world’s largest consumer co-operative in the world and one of the biggest retailers in the U.K., with 2,223 stores and food sales of £3.68 billion (U.S.$7.36 billion) for the 12 months to January 2008. It is also a leader in sustainability, with 98 per cent of the organisation’s energy derived from renewable resources, including a large contribution from its own purpose-built wind farm. Since 2004, it has reduced net CO2 emissions by 82 per cent by implementing new measures such as reducing packaging and training staff to use less energy in stores. The business also topped a YouGov poll as the Most Eco-Friendly Retailer of the Year 2007, and won the Corporate Social Responsibility Award in the Retail Week Awards 2008.

In-Control Wake-up on LAN is a simple idea, but it works brilliantly. Using unique features in Windows XP Embedded, we’ve taken another big step to reduce the organisation’s impact on the environment. Chris Sproston Group Software Development Manager The Co-operative Group

The management team is always looking for ways to make the business even more efficient. In 2003, as part of that commitment, the business updated its 8,000 tills with point of sale (POS) systems based on the latest IBM SurePOS 300 technology running Windows® XP Embedded, a highly flexible operating system that can be easily and securely customised to dedicated hardware devices.

At the time, the team considered using other operating systems. Lawrence Freeman, Development Manager, The Co-operative Group, says: “We chose Windows XP Embedded over Linux-based alternatives because we were more confident of its reliability and security, and we wanted to take advantage of expert support from Microsoft. As an added bonus, working with a familiar skill set meant our developers deployed the software in record time.”

The first application the development team built to run on the new operating system was In-Control, an electronic point of sale (EPOS) and store management system that delivers all front and back-office trading functionality, including tilling, cash and inventory management, ordering, and self service.

After running In-Control successfully across its stores for a number of years, the organisation started looking at ways of using the software, in conjunction with Windows XP Embedded, to reduce the amount of power consumed by its POS units.

Chris Sproston, Group Software Development Manager, The Co-operative Group, says: “We wanted a smart way to save energy, money, and hardware life. But whatever we developed had to work immediately and flawlessly, because the POS units are absolutely critical to the business. If they fail, the organisation can’t trade. The system also had to accommodate business processes such as updates and maintenance, and different opening times across our stores.”

Solution

In February 2008, Freeman and the development team at The Co-operative Group started working on a Wake-up on LAN component for In-Control. To make the application work, they took advantage of unique features in Windows XP Embedded.

The operating system can power down everything on a computer except the network card, which uses only a small amount of energy. The In-Control Wake-up on LAN application does this automatically when Co-operative stores close in the evening. Just before the stores re-open in the morning, a central server running Windows XP Embedded sends a “magic packet”—a piece of command code instructing a computer to turn on—to each computer on the network. All the POS units then “wake-up.”

In March 2008, after just three weeks in development, the team began rolling out the application to all 2,223 Co-operative stores and 8,000 POS systems.

The system powers down the organisation’s POS systems for an average 9.5 hours a night. The devices are turned on again around half an hour before stores open in the morning. During this time, the In-Control Wake-up on LAN application pushes updates to the computers. In addition, the system takes into account the different opening times between stores, including the group’s eight 24-hour premises.

Benefits

Taking advantage of features in Windows XP Embedded, the development team at the Co-operative has created a simple, cost-effective software solution that supports the organisation’s sustainability policy. As well as reducing the group’s carbon footprint, the In-Control Wake-up on LAN system will help reduce total cost of ownership of its till systems. Critically, Windows XP Embedded reduces time to deployment of new software and helps The Co-operative Group compete in one of the toughest food retail markets in the world.

Cutting Back on CO2 Emissions
Once the In-Control Wake-up on LAN application is rolled out to all stores, The Co-operative Group will save energy equivalent to 722 tonnes of CO2 per year. This represents a saving of more than 90 kilograms of carbon per till.

Sproston says: “In-Control Wake-up on LAN is a simple idea, but it works brilliantly. Using unique features in Windows XP Embedded, we’ve taken another big step to reduce the organisation’s impact on the environment.”

Turning Cost into Profit
The solution will not only reduce carbon emissions, but reduce costs. Once the deployment is complete, the Co-operative will save £120,000 a year on energy bills. Sproston says: “It’s a fantastic return. All the work was carried out by our in-house development team, so except for employee hours, our original investment in the project was very small. It shows that companies don’t always have to pay a premium to be green.”

We chose Windows XP Embedded over Linux-based alternatives because we were more confident of its reliability and security, and we wanted to take advantage of expert support from Microsoft. As an added bonus, working with a familiar skill set meant our developers deployed the software in record time. Lawrence Freeman Development Manager The Co-operative Group

The Wake-up on LAN component adds value to the In-Control application, which the Co-operative plans to market to other retailers. Says Sproston: “We’re working with value-added resellers to present this solution to other organisations in the retail sector. We’ve already had a lot of interest, and the sales will turn a cost centre into a profit centre.”

Reducing Total Cost of Hardware and Software Ownership
Stephen Garner, Head of Solutions and Service for Stores, The Co-operative Group, expects that In-Control Wake-up on LAN will also extend the life of the group’s hardware. “Because the machines are switched off for 9.5 hours a night instead of being left on all the time, the strain on the hardware is significantly cut,” he says. “It may sound surprising, but many large retailers use machines so old that it’s impractical to turn them off, because they might not switch on again. The new functionality will prolong the life of our hardware, so the total cost of ownership will be lower.”

Accelerating Deployment of New Software
A great idea in the software lab won’t translate to the operational environment if it takes too much time and resource to deploy. But the beauty of In-Control Wake-up on LAN is that it runs on a small footprint operating system that dramatically reduces rollout time to POS units in new stores.

Sproston says: “There’s no point telling our customers that we want to reduce carbon emissions if we don’t act fast. We are committed to reducing packaging and reviewing the provenance of our products, but this can take time, so we know it’s equally important to look for the quick wins. That’s where technology such as Windows XP Embedded makes a difference. It’s standardised across the business, so we get existing applications such as In-Control Wake-up on LAN running immediately.”

Expert support from Microsoft helps the team develop new applications and get them running quickly. To speed up these processes even more, the organisation is transferring the code for In-Control using the Microsoft® Visual C#® development tool and the Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0. It will use the Microsoft Visual Studio® 2005 Professional Edition development system as its standard environment. “The close integration between Visual Studio and Windows XP Embedded will make our development cycles even faster,” says Sproston.

Boosting Security Across the Business
Freeman says that Windows XP Embedded more than met the security standards that his team set for new software deployments. “Windows XP Embedded is customisable, so we installed only the components we needed. Our critical systems are now much more robust, with a reduced attack surface that lowers the threat from viruses.”

The low price for each licence means that it’s extremely cost-effective across 8,000 till units. With this standardised environment, Co-operative developers can easily plug-in new line-of-business applications, and roll them out across the entire till estate. “It also means they focus on creating tools to make the business more efficient, instead of worrying about security,” says Freeman.

Leading the Way in Combating Climate Change
When the Co-operative surveyed its members on retailing ethics in 2008, the environment was one of the three main areas people said should be a priority for the business.

Sproston says: “Measures such as In-Control Wake-up on LAN are helping us to demonstrate to our customers that we understand and share their concerns about the environment. It is up to us to show that we are a responsible retailer that uses the latest technology innovations to minimise our impact on climate change. The deployment of Windows XP Embedded and In-Control Wake-up on LAN is an important step that demonstrates our commitment to sustainability at every level of our operations.”

Keyword: POS, Retail POS

Windows Embedded

The Windows Embedded family of products helps you turn your vision and ingenuity into superior business results. Windows Embedded consists of Windows Embedded CE, Windows XP Embedded and Windows Embedded for Point of Service. These operating system technologies combine with the best set of tools and support to provide you the control to build what you want, accelerated time to market, and industry-leading support.

For more information about Windows Embedded, please visit:
www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded

For More Information

For further information about Microsoft products and services, please visit
www.microsoft.com/uk

or call 0870 60 10 100*

For hearing impaired customers with a Minicom, contact: 0870 50 30 400*

*Lines are open 8am–6pm, Monday to Friday. Please note, numbers prefixed 0870 will be charged at national call rates. For details of national call rate charges, please contact your telecommunications provider.

For more information about The Co-operative Group products and services, visit the Web site at:
www.co-operative.coop

Software and Services

• Microsoft Visual Studio
  − Microsoft Visual C#
  − Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
• Windows XP
  − Windows XP Embedded
• Technologies
  − Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published May 2008