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Aldi's Barcode Strategy

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Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#221

Post by stereo »

lordnacho wrote: post #217

If scanning the barcode is the critical step, why do it with an ordinary barcode scanner? Just make a conveyor belt that has multiple cameras. One of them will definitely catch one of the barcodes. I've done barcode scanning with ZXing lib myself on a phone, it's super easy even with one camera. Perhaps set up the bags in a clever way so everything other than eggs falls into a new bag. Also, it can't be long before y…

Because you couldn’t easily tell if a bag of crisps has already been scanned, or if I bought two.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#222

Post by [deleted] »

dazc wrote: post #208
btgeekboy wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've noticed this as well. I worked as a grocery store checker in college, and was consistently one of the most efficient in the store. Yet now when I use self-checkout machines I feel like I'm fighting them every step of the way. Yes, I scanned the item. Yes, I put it in the bag. No seriously, it's in the goddamn bag.

In the UK these machines are notoriously inefficient especially with situations like you describe and also when you are buying alcohol or something they consider dangerous. In Spain however I've noticed they get around this by having one person with remote access to every machine, so if there is problem with your bag or they need to verify your age it's all done from one point rather than an individual member of staf…

[deleted]

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#223

Post by jessaustin »

stereo wrote: post #221
lordnacho wrote: post #217

If scanning the barcode is the critical step, why do it with an ordinary barcode scanner? Just make a conveyor belt that has multiple cameras. One of them will definitely catch one of the barcodes. I've done barcode scanning with ZXing lib myself on a phone, it's super easy even with one camera. Perhaps set up the bags in a clever way so everything other than eggs falls into a new bag. Also, it can't be long before y…

Because you couldn’t easily tell if a bag of crisps has already been scanned, or if I bought two.

That seems to be a limitation of the barcodes themselves. Why don't they have three additional random-ish digits? Then the two-item/double-scan confusion would have a 1/1000 chance.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#224

Post by majewsky »

mdip wrote: post #153
zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the article doesn't mention: Aldi optimizing the speed of their cashiers is nothing new. The northern Aldi ("Aldi Nord") for a long time had three-digit article codes for every product that cashiers had to know by heart--which also meant that they couldn't have more than 1000 different products. In fact, that system was so efficient that they completely switched to bardcodes only in 2002 as they didn't see any a…

Interesting - Part of me wonders about what their accuracy rate was with that kind of system. 1,000 different 3-digit numbers is still a lot to remember. It's possible, but it would seem to add a pretty big barrier for a lot of people who would otherwise be fine as a cashier, elsewhere. Though when I worked at CompUSA in the early 90s, we lacked barcode readers and each product had a 6-digit SKU which meant only bein…

> Part of me wonders about what their accuracy rate was with that kind of system.

We bought all our groceries at Aldi Nord in Germany when I was young, and I never recount a cashier typing a wrong code, despite the ridiculous speed.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#225

Post by artumi-richard »

ams6110 wrote: post #49

I'm inspired to visit Aldi's again. It's been years. I remember them as being a rather depressing very low budget ambiance, dimly lit by a few flourescent tubes with an awful color spectrum, and populated by a sad bunch of customers who looked like their next option was the local community kitchen. Kind of like the typical older Kmart that's about to go out of business.

There are 2 Aldi's near me here in the UK. One in a wealthier area and one in a poorer area. They do seem to alter the store somewhat to match what they sell. The Aldi in the wealthier area has a larger area for fresh foods and a large stock of those foods. I think the poorer one has more biscuits and soft drinks.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#226

Post by lucaspiller »

kagamine wrote: post #186
jboles wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so true. I worked as a supermarket checkout operator at a large Australian chain of supermarkets for a few years, and the PoS systems were redone while I was there. Before were old Fujitsu machines running an old version of OS/2 with mechanical keyboards. After overhaul, Windows xp embedded machines with touch screens. The touch screens were a massive step backwards, especially when it came to punching in pro…

The touch screens allow us (I work in backend retail) to push updates to hundreds of shops across a region without having to update those mechanical keyboards. It's a huge benefit to the industry. Before, when a new feature was added we had to send a human technician out to every one of those shops. Or get the shop managers to replace the key, or sticker the key. You can see how much easier it is to push updates over…

I worked in Tesco in the 00s while I was studying, and when I first started the checkouts had physical keys with some quick access keys on the side of the screen which changed depending on the context. The normal keys had a rather satisfying mechanical mechanism, where as the quick access keys just used a conductive-rubber mechanism so were a bit harder to press.

When I first started there was a menu driven by the mechanical keys so if you didn't remember produce codes, you could use this to go through everything. The systems were networked and these menus were updated regularly with seasonal products. To get to potatoes (for example) you would press Menu, Down, Down, Enter, Down, Enter and be presented with the different types of potatoes. You could even hit the keys in quick succession without waiting for the UI to update, so it was pretty quick if you knew what you were doing.

Later they changed the system to instead of being driven by the mechanical keys, to use the quick access keys. These were harder to press and you couldn't press them in quick succession - you had to wait for the UI to update before pressing them.

Just before I left they started phasing out the physical buttons, and I think all the new checkouts are touch-screen driven which I assume is even worse. Under the hook they (were anyway) running Windows XP, and the same software.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#227

Post by realityking »

jernfrost wrote: post #183
jschulenklopper wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ... I can't help hating those stores. It all looks so cheap and barebones that I get depressed just being there. Then why go there? Normally, you enter most stores by choice, so after a couple of (negative) experiences, just stop visiting them. Can't speak for all Aldi and Lidl stores (not even in all of The Netherlands), but in my hometown a new Lidl store is actually better than just looking cheap and barebones.…

Sure, and I don't go there. But why can't I still hate them? Does me having a choice mean that I should like them. I hate opera too, and I don't go watching opera either. But am I required to like it because I am not forced to go there? Anyway in Germany there is not much of a choice whether to enter Lidl or Aldi as they are everywhere and there seems to be little else. I've lived several years in the Netherlands btw…

> Anyway in Germany there is not much of a choice whether to enter Lidl or Aldi as they are everywhere and there seems to be little else.

While they're the biggest players, there are more traditional supermarkets like REWE, Edeka and Kaisers.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#228

Post by realityking »

jernfrost wrote: post #185
atomwaffel wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It all looks so cheap and barebones that I get depressed just being there. Can I ask which part of Germany you've been to – or rather which Aldi (Nord or Süd)? There's a surprising amount of difference between the two and I've always found one of them far nicer than the other.

I was in Berlin

That makes it Aldi North. I don't actually like that one, South is much better.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#229

Post by pbhjpbhj »

jads wrote: post #93
skrebbel wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also the shopping cards have a small chain that attaches to the cart in front of it. Wait, there are supermarkets that don't have that? How does it work? Do people just leave the shopping carts standing around on the parking lot? Not cynical, geniunely wondering how that works. Anyway, afaik virtually all supermarkets in Europe have that system. I'm pretty sure Aldi didn't invent it.

In the UK, it's not the case. Most have carts that have no such feature, though a good proportion do. From my own anecdotal experience living in less desirable areas, the use of the coin system tends to be in areas that would be more likely to have carts taken/stolen.

In our area we have wheel and coin locks. Wheel locks only work in retail parks though as there are too many possible exits in other locations.

Re: Aldi's Barcode Strategy

#230

Post by majewsky »

wodenokoto wrote: post #216
eru wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When was Germany supposed to have had baggers according to the book?

When Aldi came to Denmark and didn't redesign the checkout for not having baggers.

Germany never had baggers. In fact, to me as a German, the job of a bagger appears about as nonsensical as that of a telephone sanitizer.
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