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Shop Assistant 1.0

Integra Techsoft, wholly owned by $ 4 billion Ikon Office Solutions, has developed a software for small, small businesses in India

When a company gets really big, it thinks small in a big way too, learning to explore the nooks and crannies of every niche it delves into.

Which is why, perhaps, Integra Techsoft, wholly owned by $ 4 billion Ikon Office Solutions, has developed a software for small, small businesses

T O D A Y

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-- grocers, stationers, hairdressers, suchlike. It's called Ringer.

The company is talking to firms like IBM to make use of their distribution network. And as and when the small-time shopkeeper gets more computer-saavy, the software allows for the addition of hardware like printers, cash registers, barcode devices, etc. The software also will allow the cash box to be opened only by the system, a prime requirement for a shopkeeper, though insufficient protection when there's a gun at your temple.

It calculates for home deliveries, when the free gift that accompanied a returned item are not returned even keeping a check on expiry dates when it gives suitable warning. The software for the Indian market, unlike some abroad, is not dependent on bar codes. But though the software does some rudimentary accounting and inventory work, it has its limitations.

The software, which company sources say has received good reports, will cost Rs 60,000 along with a computer system.

Integra is also putting together a software for restaurant customers, using which, the customer can use a touch screen to place orders that are immediately transferred to the chef.

Smart work but will it work? Your grocer could tell you that.

-Compiled from the Indian media

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