A major restaurant chain uses serial cards
to prolong equipment life during a global POS system upgrade

When a major restaurant chain was rolling out a new POS system across its global locations, a key integration requirement was a robust and reliable serial card to enable connectivity with the more than 7000 kitchen printers already in use at the various sites. The POS systems, which run a third party software solution over an SCO operating system, transmit a range of data to the printers, including restaurant number, food items/orders, wait person, and inventory and delivery address information.

Although the POS systems were new, the kitchen printers (Axiom), which issue receipts and labels for takeout orders, had not reached the end of their useful life. Project managers therefore were eager to find a way to leverage the existing technology for years to come and avoid the cost and complexity of replacing them.

A key to the integration requirement was finding a card vendor that could provide the required features and functionality, including support for the POS systems’ SCO operating system and compatibility with the Axiom printers. The rollout was scheduled over a five year time frame, therefore the integrator needed a supplier with the capacity to meet the significant inventory requirements and the stability to guarantee supply and technology support over an extended period. From the initial stages of this critical project, it was discovered that the current card supplier they were using would not be able to meet the long-term demands of such a large scale rollout.

In exploring options, the integrator decided on the UltraPort 4, a Serial Card from Perle Systems. Perle was the only supplier that was able to fulfill the requirements and guarantee large volume supply of product. In addition, Perle was able to offer the comprehensive long-term service and support commitment that the company needed to ensure the ongoing success of the project over a number of years.

The new POS systems with the integrated UltraPort cards are being installed and used in the operation’s global locations. This large scale effort will see up to 7,500 units deployed over five years, which will be configured to connect with the three to four Axiom printers at each site. By enabling this connectivity to existing equipment, the company is able to prolong the life of its printers by at least five years and eliminate unnecessary replacement costs.