• RAMSTEIN AB, Germany
The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) store here is leading the way in modernizing patrons’ shopping experiences by being the first store in Europe to implement electronic shelf labels (ESLs).
The new graphic labels replace paper labels, a significant shift in how store associates manage pricing, inventory, order fulfillment and customer interactions.
The ESL solution was introduced to DeCA from 2007 through 2008 at nine pilot stores in the continental U.S. (CONUS).
After achieving success at the pilot sites, DeCA deployed ESLs to the remaining 169 commissaries across CONUS (including Alaska and Hawaii).
Digitized or electronic shelf labels are already common in local stores across Europe. Electronic shelf labels allow for quick, real-time price updates on the shelf via a mobile app, versus the time-consuming task of store associates walking aisles to change paper tags by hand.
The usage of ESLs lines up with the agency’s fiscal year 2025-2029 strategic plan, “Accelerating Our Momentum into the Future.”
Commenting about the new labels, DeCA Europe Area Director Tracie Russ stated, “We’re excited to be the first overseas commissary to implement this innovative technology that enhances the way we conduct pricing changes in our commissaries.
“ESLs ultimately makes us faster, more efficient and improves the customer shopping experience. More importantly, it also supports DeCA’s pricing strategy to provide the best savings possible, up to 25 percent, to those serving abroad.”
PAPER VS. TECHNOLOGY
The Ramstein AB Commissary has thousands of products on its shelves, and before ESLs, each product had an individual paper price tag. Store workers had the never-ending daily task of continually updating paper labels due to frequent price changes from vendor price reductions or special sales.
“Printing paper labels that required store personnel to walk the aisles and replace labels on shelves with updated prices was inefficient and not the best use of resources,” said Shelton Davis, director, DeCA’s Information Technology (IT) Program Management Directorate.
“Electronic Shelf Label technology provided a solution to update prices automatically,” Davis said, adding that promotions are part of the benefit of using ESLs.
“Promotions also contribute to price changes at all stores, creating a lot of manual labor in the store,” Davis said. “Also, if the prices shown at the product location on the aisle — which may be lower — does not match the scanned price at point-of-sale — which may be higher — these are times DeCA loses money as we will honor the lowest price.”
Another feature of electronic shelf labels are product descriptions. Davis notes that barcodes on the new labels can provide useful details other than the price.
Also, according to Russ, store associates are now able to turn their attention to serving patrons. “We have 99-percent price accuracy in the store everyday using ESLs,” she said. “Our eligible patrons are getting the latest savings and more customer-focused support from our store associates.”
THE FUTURE The Ramstein AB Commissary serves as a testing ground for future ESL implementation across other stores in Europe and in the Pacific Area.
“If successful, DeCA would like to establish a plan to potentially roll out to Europe and Pacific stores; however a deeper analysis is needed to establish defined dates for the future,” Davis said.
Not only has Ramstein AB converted to ESLs, but the store, along with the stateside commissary at Langley AFB, Va., were converted to newer tri-color ESLs, which Davis said allows for “even more timely product information and savings to be available to our patrons.
“That’s really the promise of what these shelf tags can do.”
Source: DeCA
Edited by Larry Lapka
