Home Depot Invests $60 Million in Handheld Devices
Feb 09 2010
Retail Wrap >>

Home Depot Inc. will hand over 10,000 portable devices to its store associates in 2010 to help them stock shelves, locate inventory, make telephone calls and check out customers throughout the store. The $60 million investment will be Home Depot's biggest capital expenditure this year.

"If you compare us to a world-class retailer, from a technology perspective, 1991 is kind of where we are pegged," Matt Carey, Home Depot's chief information officer, told Bloomberg News. "This is the first big customer-service tool we've given our associates in a very long time."

The technology includes mobile-telephone calling, walkie-talkie communications among employees, and inventory management in a single device, Mr. Carey said. Previously, Home Depot managed inventory by using computers powered by motorboat batteries on rolling carts. In testing the devices last year, Home Depot found that employees spent less time finding products within a store and researching the amount in stock or availability at another store. By clicking an icon on the screen, Home Depot workers can tell customers when an out-of-stock item will be replenished. Or employees can use the device to call other Home Depot stores and ask them to hold merchandise. An attachment to the device processes credit and debit cards, allowing purchases to be made away from the checkout registers, similar to transactions at Apple's stores.

At least five of the handheld gadgets will be distributed to each of Home Depot's 2,000 U.S. stores this year, starting in the first quarter.

Home Depot's handhelds are similar to those used at Lowe's in enabling associates to track inventory and locate items. Lowe's employees can start customers' purchases throughout the store, with cashiers completing the transactions by typing in the shoppers' phone numbers.

Source: www.retailwire.com, February 2010