EDION Co., Ltd. is Japan’s largest consumer electronics distribution chain. Headquartered in Kita-ku, Osaka, EDION is an abbreviation for ‘Exciting Discovery In One Network’ and its vision is to deliver inspiring experiences that stimulate the senses of customers. EDION group operates home appliance specialty stores such as “EDION” and “1 million volt” all over Japan, with 437 stores in total.

Challenges

In an industry were price changes were multiple on a daily basis, printing price tags each time a price changed meant that a substantial amount of time and effort was invested in the price change process. In order to eliminate labor shortages and human errors and improve sales, the Group needed to implement centralized management of stores nationwide, which would also improve product promotion and business overall.

Solution

When considering RAINUS’s solution, EDION looked at various items, but the central server which can manage stores nationwide, a highly functional electronic shelf label Gateway, and the layout design tool that provides a high degree of freedom were the determining factors that led to choosing RAINUS as ESL system provider. Since one RAINUS central server can cover up to about 2000 stores, EDION, which runs just a bit more than 430 stores nationwide, can manage all stores with one central server. In addition, RAINUS’s online design tool makes it possible to easily create the design of price tags and POP, which was originally complicated since it incorporates various information. With flexible editing functions not found in other companies, it became possible to create digital price tags otherwise unimaginable with paper price tags.

Results

By automating price management, the enormous amount of work required to replace conventional paper price tags can be reduced, and store staff can be more focused on customer service or other more meaningful tasks. It also helped prevent and reduce human errors such as price display errors. The system stability of the RAINUS central server could be verified via an early Proof of Concept, and the effect of the electronic shelf label was obtained in terms of operational efficiency and sales increase. Therefore, EDION decide to increase the roll out to 25% more stores than originally planned. In addition, EDION has been considering using electronic shelf labels not only as a price display tool but also as a POP, expecting and considering the sales promotion effect of digital signage.