HP Mobilizes Management, Information and Checkout with Wireless Retailing Solutions

Associate Mobility Offerings Help Companies Deliver Customer Service Anywhere in the Store

CHICAGO, Retail Systems 2002, June 26, 2002 -- Bringing wireless services out of the back room and into the storefront, HP (NYSE:HPQ) has launched a suite of wireless solutions specifically designed for retailing operations. Announced here at the retailing industry’s premier technology exposition, HP’s Associate Mobility solutions enable managers and employees to perform a wide variety of activities and transactions vital to retail sales and customer service operations.

"HP is continually taking mobility into new frontiers with our unsurpassed range of services, products and partners," said Jim Milton, managing director, HP Americas, and senior vice president, HP Enterprise Systems Group. "Retailers have been at the forefront of wireless applications for inventory control and management, but bringing this kind of ‘smart mobility’ to store managers and associates will help retailers bring customer service to a new level."

The HP Associate Mobility solutions operate on an IT backbone of industry-standard HP ProLiant servers and Evo desktop PCs, which wirelessly bridge via local area network or wide area network storewide and system-wide information systems and applications operated on HP iPAQ Pocket PCs in an associate’s hand. The solutions are based on Windows® operating systems to support a broad variety of in-store applications.

To suit each retailing customer’s unique business needs, HP will design or adapt a variety of applications, including:

• "Queue busting" mobile checkout capabilities, incorporating point-of-sale (POS) functions and credit card/signature capture;
• Fully mobile access for managers to their email, customer and merchandising information applications, providing them constant contact with their support systems even as they circulate in their store to work with employees and customers;
• Wireless alerts to management or associates, such as inventory level and reorder or backorder status, or fraudulent credit card notification that will instantly signal a manager via their iPAQ Pocket PC when and where a suspicious card is presented; and
• e-Learning, for training that helps store associates access and learn pricing, product information, store practices and checkout procedures, among many options.

"HP has built the Associate Mobility solutions to meet needs we’ve heard directly from leading retailers, all adding up to a wish for greater, more immediate customer care and ways to keep an interested customer engaged," said Robert Corbett, director, HP Retailing Solutions. "If the customer’s satisfied with the quality and timeliness of service and information they receive, the store will make the sale."

About HP

HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies, solutions and services to consumers and businesses. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. HP completed its merger transaction involving Compaq Computer Corp. on May 3, 2002. The company would have had combined revenue on a pro forma basis with the Compaq transaction of approximately $81.1 billion in fiscal 2001 and has operations in more than 160 countries. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.

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