Retailers Can Save Millions with new Checkout Scale

Recent advances in weighing technology have created new ways for retailers to save millions of dollars. Behind every by-weight transaction is an antiquated technology that, if replaced, could greatly reduce the amount of money retailers needlessly give away in produce bag tares. Consumers and retailers alike can largely benefit from the new METTLER TOLEDO Diva scale -- a dual-interval scale, which increases weighing resolution.

Columbus, OH (PRWEB) June 13, 2007 -- Every day, millions of Americans walk through the automatic sliding doors of their local grocery store. They grab a shopping cart, glance at their lists and start weaving their way through a maze of produce and processed food. Eventually, they make it to the checkout lane, carts piled with milk, bread, cheese, tomatoes ... all the essentials, and then some. They place their items on the belt, let the cashier ring them up, and fork over their cash. Retailers pay very close attention to each step of this buying process, finely tuning their business processes and technology to squeeze every ounce of cost out of their system.

Fortunately, recent advances in weighing technology have created new ways for retailers to save millions of dollars. Behind every by-weight transaction is an antiquated technology that, if replaced, could greatly reduce the amount of money retailers needlessly give away in produce bag tares. So how can retailers start saving?

First, it is important to understand a few fundamentals about what is going on behind the counter. The majority of scales installed in checkout lanes throughout the country can weigh items up to 30 lbs in 0.01 lb increments. In accordance with the Bureau of Weights and Measures (W&M), every time a shopper buys tomatoes at the grocery store, the retailer is required to subtract the weight of the plastic bag, known as the tare weight, from the weight of the total purchase. This ensures that the shopper pays only for the tomatoes and not the plastic bag.

So what does this really mean? For one, the average weight of a plastic bag that holds those tomatoes is 0.0057 lb. But remember, the smallest value that the scale can weigh is 0.01 lb, or one increment on the scale. So while the actual weight of the bag may be only 0.0057 lb, the scale registers it as 0.01 lb. Thus, for every weight transaction involving a bag, the retailer subtracts an extra 0.0043 lb on top of the 0.0057 lb bag from the purchase. While it may seem extremely frugal to worry about an extra 0.0043 lb, this little weight adds up to a big price. A retailer with 200 stores, with 2000 weight transactions per store day, and an average price of $1.99/lb spends almost 3 million dollars a year on tare values of plastic bags.

Fortunately, consumers and retailers alike can largely benefit from the new METTLER TOLEDO Diva scale -- a dual-interval scale, which increases weighing resolution. Like the single interval scales discussed above, the Diva scale has a 30 lb. capacity, but unlike them it weighs in increments of 0.005 lb for weights up to 15 lbs., instead of the larger 0.01 lb. increment. This allows retailers to legally subtract a tare weight of only 0.005 lb, or one increment, from the total weight of the purchase, saving almost $1.5 million on tare weight per year for the average retail chain. "These dual-interval scales are already enormously popular throughout continental Europe, and retailers in the U.S. are starting to notice," says retail marketing manager Brian Hipsher of METTLER TOLEDO, "Any retailer who analyzes the immediate and real savings these scales offer can easily justify quick adoption."

The METTLER TOLEDO Diva scale greatly benefits any retailer who chooses to take advantage of its advanced weighing technology. While remaining in compliance with all W&M standards, the Diva scale allows retailers to remove a smaller and more accurate tare weight off the total weight of a purchase. This difference in weight can add up to millions of dollars in savings each year. The Diva scale offers undeniable advantages to the grocery business as a whole.

Like your parents used to say, pennies can add up ... and in this case, they add up to millions of dollars each year. The METTLER TOLEDO Diva scale is designed to give retailers the immediate ability to start saving those pennies. Maybe it's time for some change.

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