Technical Committee Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
[Excerpt from January 2002 Version]
Q: Why should I care whether a POS product is in conformance with industry
standards?
A: Because a POS system is not a monolith. It is
typically constructed by combining three very distinct types of product
offerings, each of which may be supplied from a different set of competing
vendors:
- POS Devices (Scanners, Scales, Printers, …)
- POS Terminal (Hardware and OS)
- POS Application Software
Without POS standards the retailer is left with the unenviable choice of
buying all three components as a unified package from the same vendor, or of
deploying a POS application which has been hard-wired to support a specific POS
Terminal and/or a set of associated peripherals.
Requiring selected POS vendor products to be in conformance with appropriate
industry standards allows the retailer to mix and match components when
constructing a POS system, thereby removing the “single vendor lock” that has
proven so costly in the past.
In other words, POS standards are all about providing the retailer with
“choice” … the choice to select best of breed components, the choice to replace
a vendor whose product offerings haven’t kept pace with evolving technology or
one whose prices are no longer competitive.
This is why the development of all widely accepted POS standards has been
driven primarily by retailers and why ensuring conformance to these standards is
in the best interests of every retailer.
Q: What is UnifiedPOS and what is its value proposition?
A: The UnifiedPOS standard was created under the
auspices of the Association for Retail Standards (ARTS) to define a common
architecture for describing POS peripherals. The latest version (V1.6) defines
the model for accessing and controlling 23 distinct types of retail peripherals
by specifying a unique set of properties, methods and events for each. These
models are documented using the widely accepted Unified Modeling Language (UML),
and provide:
POS device manufacturers with the interface architecture they must support in
their device drivers (the software which actually communicates with the device).
POS application developers with the interface architecture they must use to
access and control each type of device (scanner, fiscal printer, scale, cash
drawer, etc.). This interface remains unchanged despite any variations in the
particular device configurations of the POS terminals where the application may
be deployed.
The end result for the retailer who selects UnifiedPOS compliant device
peripherals is that the POS application can be written independently of any
peripheral vendor or model number. Upgrading or replacing the peripherals no
longer impacts the application … a major advantage.
Press Release of UnifiedPOS 1.12 Release
For Immediate Release
Contact Kathy Grannis or Ellen Davis (212) 624-8470
grannisk@nrf.com or
davise@nrf.com
ARTS Announces UnifiedPOS Release 1.12
New York City, January 15, 2008 – The Association for Retail Technology
Standards today announced a significant new release of Unified Point of Service
(UnifiedPOS) 1.12, the international POS device connectivity standard. This new
release includes XML mapping, the foundation for future remote access capability
and support for data encryption, card and device authentication for magnetic
stripe readers to reduce fraud. Other changes in this release include: six new
device categories, systems management information and device statistics, new
methods to the fiscal printer and support for Sweden and the Swedish Krona.
“The inclusion of XML POS in this release positions UnifiedPOS to take
advantage of SOA and web services,” said Phuc Do, Senior Software Engineer at
IBM and Chair of the Remote Access POS work team that is developing the new
features of UnifiedPOS enabling remote and mobile POS environments by leveraging
various wireless technologies. “By incorporating XML, future releases will be
truly open, with no need for special implementation guidelines for different
platforms.”
UnifiedPOS continues to be the worldwide single specification for OPOS, POS
for .NET and JavaPOS, ensuring consistency across platforms and offering
retailers freedom of choice in selecting new software and hardware for the Point
of Sale.
“Representatives from UnifiedPOS member companies BearingPoint, Datalogic
Scanning, Fujitsu Transaction Solutions, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, NCR, OPOS-J,
Seiko Epson and Wincor Nixdorf contribute hundreds of hours of volunteer labor
each year,” said Harry McKinlay, representing Fujitsu Transaction Solutions and
the outgoing Chair of UnifiedPOS. “The committee is determined to continue to
meet the single specification objective for POS peripheral interoperability by
embracing new technologies, such as XML, that benefit retail IT.”
Demonstrations of POS Interoperability, including Web Services POS, will be
presented in the ARTS Standards Pavilion (booth 2155) at the NRF Annual
Convention January 14 and 15. Retailers and vendors are encouraged to stop by
and give input for further development of this standard. The new specification
with full update details is available
here.
The Association for Retail Technology Standards is an international
membership organization dedicated to reducing the costs of technology through
standards. Since 1993, ARTS has been delivering application standards
exclusively to the retail industry. ARTS has three standards: The Standard
Relational Data Model, UnifiedPOS and ARTS-XML. Membership is open to all
members of the international technology community—retailers from all industry
segments, application developers and hardware companies.
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade
association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of
distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet,
independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as
the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents
an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24
million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2006 sales of $4.7
trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100
state, national and international retail associations.
Press Release of UnifiedPOS 1.11 Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kathy Grannis or Ellen Davis (202) 783-7971
Email: grannisk@nrf.com or davise@nrf.com
ARTS Announces UnifiedPOS Release 1.11
New York, NY, January 15, 2007 – The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) today announced the release of Unified Point of Service (UnifiedPOS) 1.11, the international POS device connectivity standard. This new release contains significant enhancements to support self service check out and fiscal printers required in many countries outside the USA.
ARTS is very pleased that UnifiedPOS continues to be the worldwide single specification for OPOS, POS for .NET and JavaPOS, ensuring consistency across platforms that offers retailers freedom of choice in selecting new software and hardware for the Point of Sale. “Representatives from UnifiedPOS member companies BearingPoint, Fujitsu Transaction Solutions, IBM, Microsoft, NCR, OPOS-J, PSC, Seiko Epson, Sun Microsystems, Symbol, and Wincor Nixdorf contribute hundreds of hours of volunteer labor each year,” noted Paul Gay, representing Seiko Epson and a core member of UnifiedPOS. “The committee is determined to continue to meet the single specification objective for POS peripheral interoperability by embracing new technologies that benefit retail IT.”
Future releases of UnifiedPOS will support remote peripheral devices such as line busters and cart-mounted scanners. WAMPOS, the first specification for remote, browser-based connectivity, will be available soon as volume two of UnifiedPOS 1.11. This new Volume will grow over the next few years and become the Remote Access POS specification encompassing Web Services and XML implementations to operate within service oriented architectures (SOA).
“Microsoft is deeply committed to standards to provide developers, partners and retailers a rich user experience, productivity gains and significant performance improvement," said Ilya Bukshteyn, director, Windows Embedded Marketing, Mobile and Embedded Devices Division, Microsoft Corp. "Our next release of Point of Service for .NET version 1.11, available later in the quarter, will include support for the Unified POS v1.11 specification, offering greater POS peripheral and application compatibility.”
Conceptual demonstrations of Web Services POS (WS-POS) will be presented in the ARTS Standards Pavilion (booth 2155) at the NRF Annual Convention January 15 and 16. Retailers and vendors are encouraged to review these demonstrations and provide direction to the developing standard. The new specification with full update details is available at
www.nrf-arts.org.
The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) is an international membership organization dedicated to reducing the costs of technology through standards. Since 1993, ARTS has been delivering application standards exclusively to the retail industry. ARTS has three standards: The Standard Relational Data Model, UnifiedPOS and IXRetail. Membership is open to all members of the international technology community- retailers from all industry segments, application developers and hardware companies.
www.nrf-arts.org
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2005 sales of $4.4 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations.
www.nrf.com.
Press Release of UnifiedPOS 1.8 Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Scott Krugman/Ellen Tolley (202) 783-7971
E-Mail: krugmans@nrf.com or
tolleye@nrf.com
ARTS
announces UnifiedPOS release 1.8
New York, NY, January 11, 2004 -- The Association for
Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) today announced the release of UnifiedPOS
release 1.8. The newest version provides significant enhancements for connecting
peripheral devices to Point of Service terminals with added support for
SmartCard Reader/Writer devices that are enjoying increased popularity for
payment and loyalty applications.
In addition, the newly adopted Reduced
Space Symbology (RSS) has been added to the POS Printer device class and the Bar
Code Reader device class. RSS bar codes are integral to a myriad of new POS
product-marking applications, including the new coupon printing requirements
that are being endorsed by the Uniform Code Council. Also added to this release
is the ability to support the forwarding of peripheral device usage statistics
to an application in a defined structure using XML message tags. This allows for
easier application development of programs to help support improved maintenance
and consumables monitoring of POS peripherals such as printers, MSR readers,
Barcode Scanners and other POS peripheral products.
“UnifiedPOS release 1.8 has been
revised to keep pace with the latest technology being used by retailers and to
ensure UnifiedPOS will continue as the most widely utilized ARTS standard,” said
Richard Mader Executive Director of ARTS. “The fact that this 1,200-plus page
specification is maintained by an all-volunteer committee of the leading POS
vendors speaks volumes about its benefits. Companies like Fujitsu Transaction
Solutions, IBM, NCR, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Epson and Wincor provide
hundreds of hours of expertise free to benefit the retail industry and save many
hours of proprietary development.”
UnifiedPOS is a key selection
criterion in the recently-released ARTS RFP Standard for purchasing Point of
Sale applications and hardware. It helps protect the retailer’s investment by
separating the application from the hardware, thereby allowing retailers to
change either hardware or software with significantly less programming expense.
UnifiedPOS is a vendor neutral and
operating-system independent POS hardware-to-Application Programmer Interface
standard. It may be installed as OPOS on Windows platforms or JavaPOS on
Windows, Linux, Unix, and Solaris platforms.
The UnifiedPOS documentation provides
separate Appendix Chapters to guide the developer in the implementation of
Applications written in a Java or Windows languages such as Visual Basic or
Visual C++ . In the future, a new Appendix will be provided to document how
UnifiedPOS can be used in a Net programming environment.
The Association for Retail Technology
Standards (ARTS) of the National Retail Federation is an
international membership organization dedicated to reducing the costs of
technology through standards. Since 1993, ARTS has been delivering application
standards exclusively to the retail industry. ARTS has three standards: The
Standard Relational Data Model, UnifiedPOS and IXRetail. Membership is open to
all members of the international technology community- retailers from all
industry segments, application developers and hardware companies.
For
more information contact ARTS or 202-626-8140.
For more information on UnifiedPOS or
to download a free copy of the standard visit
www.nrf-arts.org.
Announcement of UnifiedPOS 1.7 Release
The following appeared in the STORES magazine, July 2002, page 68.
ARTS UPDATE
ARTS Announces Availability of UnifiedPOS Release 1.7
New version completes dream of a single consolidated specification
BY RICHARD E. MADER
In August 1998, a group of retail industry IT leaders met at NCR in Dayton,
Ohio, to seek agreement for a common specification for OPOS and JavaPOS. Their
goal was to provide retailers with “freedom of choice” in selecting POS
peripherals. UnifiedPOS was chartered and, while it has been available since
January 1999, the latest version, Release 1.7, completes the dream of a single
consolidated specification. (The new specification is available at
www.nrf-arts.org.)
Release 1.7 completes the consolidation of the OPOS, JavaPOS and UnifiedPOS
specifications into one easier to use version of more than 1,100 pages,
including individual chapters for implementing the specification in either OPOS
(Windows-based) or JavaPOS.
The single specification also provides clarity by adding easy to understand
diagrams for most devices, and it ensures consistency between the two
implementations via a single reference guide that decreases the chance of
non-conformance which adds time and cost to device installation.
Release 1.7 incorporates two new device categories: Check Scanners and Motion
Sensor. The Check Scanners category enables retailers to quickly implement check
image scanning at the POS to reduce bad check losses and take advantage of
processing checks as debit cards which reduces processing costs and offers
customer convenience. The Motion Sensor category permits easier installation of
these security devices by allowing connection to the POS terminal. Wiring costs
and disruption can be greatly reduced.
Enhancements in Release 1.7 include:
- Enabling the printing of bar codes by POS printers;
- A completely reworked USB PlusPower connector description;
- Updated class diagrams for the line display, POS printer and keylock;
- The addition of code page mapping support to line display, pointcard
reader, POS printer and remote order displays used extensively in the
fast-food segment;
- An almost complete rewrite of the OPOS and JavaPOS implementation
chapters to fully support elimination of the need to maintain these two
previously separate specifications.
For the technically inclined, enhancements include: event registration
diagrams, language specific common properties summary tables, language specific
programmatic name/class names tables, code page mapping technical information,
the addition of the original OPOS control programmers guide and APG change
history to the OPOS appendix, and the addition of the original JavaPOS
programmers guide change history to the JavaPOS appendix.
The historical significance of UnifiedPOS 1.7 is ample reason to look back at
the Dayton meeting attendance list and express our thanks to those attendees for
a vision which is now a reality.
I’m pleased to note that six of the 14 original attendees are still active in
supporting UnifiedPOS.
Sears, ICL (now Fujitsu Transaction Systems), NCR and Microsoft continue to
support UnifiedPOS with representation from other individuals. Joe Smialowski
has transferred his talented executive skills to the financial industry, and I
bet David Evans (retired) still takes pride every time he hears or reads of the
benefits UnifiedPOS has brought to the industry he served for so many years.
Congratulations to everyone!
Richard E. Mader is executive director of ARTS, a
division of the National Retail Federation.
Press Release of UnifiedPOS 1.6 Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Scott Krugman/Sarah Scheuer (202) 783-7971
krugmans@nrf.com or scheuers@nrf.com
ARTS Announces Release of UnifiedPOS, Version 1.6
Washington, DC, August x, 2001 -- The Association for Retail
Technology Standards (ARTS) announced the release of version 1.6 of the Unified
Point of Service (UnifiedPOS) device interface specification.
Users of Release 1.6 will experience significant enhancements to the previous
interface.
- Fiscal printer now supports the European requirements for the Euro
conversion scheduled for January 1, 2002. This includes special requirements
for Bulgaria and Romania.
- Line Display has been enhanced to support, blink rate, cursor types,
defining glyphs and reverse video to support use of Internet graphics on the
sales floor by many retailers.
- A major step towards consolidating the three specifications, UnifiedPOS,
OPOS and JavaPOS with two new chapters describing implementations for OPOS and
JavaPOS, significantly reducing the workload of those utilizing both. The
UnifiedPOS specification supports Linux and other operating systems in a
JavaPOS implementation.
“The Technical Committee has done a truly outstanding job with Release 1.6,”
said Harry Levy, Executive Vice President of The Men’s Wearhouse and Chairman of
the Unified POS Administrative Committee. “The industry owes a round of applause
to Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc., Epson, RCS, IBM, Wincor Nixdorf, NCR and
all companies who have worked to make 1.6 a significant accomplishment.”
“The changes and enhancements in Release 1.6 are critical to many developers
and retailers, and Epson is proud to be both a supporter and a participant in
the ARTS UnifiedPOS Initiative,” said Bud Weist, Director, Sales and Marketing,
Epson’s S.D. Group.
“Wincor Nixdorf is excited to see the release of Unified POS, version 1.6 in
the further development of a worldwide standards for integrating peripherals
into POS appliances,” said Heinrich Endeward, head of Retail Services for Wincor
Nixdorf. “The enhancements made in the support of a standard definition for
fiscal printers, the Linux platform, and full-screen customer displays will
enable retailers to extend their business capabilities and better address the
needs of their customers on an international level.”
“IBM endorses the UnifiedPOS V 1.6 standard because it gives retailers an
open standard to better choose solutions that fit their unique requirements,”
said Jocelyn Furniss, Director, Worldwide Marketing of IBM Retail Store
Solutions. “We are pleased to have taken part in establishing the 1.6 version of
the specification and intend to continue our investments in both JavaPOS and
OPOS peripheral support and in working with retailers to provide the best
possible POS solutions.”
Work has already begun on Release 1.7 targeted for completion in January
2002. With the anticipated distribution of Release 1.7, UnifiedPOS will no
longer publish the separate OPOS and JavaPOS specification documents. Future
change requests should be submitted directly to the UnifiedPOS committee for
consideration. This Release will complete the consolidation and with the new
OPOS and JavaPOS implementation chapters, users of either platform preference
will be able to find complete support in the single UnifiedPOS specification.
UnifiedPOS is an open standard. The specification is available on the ARTS
web site, www.nrf-arts.org. Requests for
enhancements are welcome from anyone following the process described on the
Site.
The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) of the National Retail
Federation is a retailer-driven membership organization dedicated to creating an
international, barrier-free technology environment for retailers. ARTS was
established in 1993 to ensure that technology works to enhance a retailer's
ability to develop store level business solutions and avoid situations that
limit a retailers' ability to implement change while providing industry
standards designed to provide greater value at lower costs.
Press Release of UnifiedPOS 1.5 Release
For Release 6:00 a.m. PDT
September 28, 2000
New Application Programming Interface Published by the
Association for Retail Technology Standards
OPOS, JavaPOS to support new UnifiedPOS 1.5 Standard
SAN DIEGO – September 28, 2000-The Unified Point Of Service (UnifiedPOS)
release 1.5 was announced today by the Association for Retail Technology
Standards (ARTS). UnifiedPOS is an operating system independent and
language neutral application interface to POS Peripheral device
specifications. The release defines 21 classes of peripherals, such as
printers, scanners, keyboards and displays, used in the retail store POS system
environment. With this Version 1.5 publishing, Unified POS becomes the
umbrella specification for both OPOS and JavaPOS, and is already implemented in
those specifications, in their simultaneously announced 1.5 versions.
“Each application interface specification will be a compliment to each
other,” said Richard Mader, ARTS Chairman. “With all three specs
released at the same time, and both OPOS and JavaPOS meeting the UnifiedPOS
specification, it shows substantial industry unity.”
The UnifiedPOS release 1.5 supports many of the features and functionalities
requested by retailers and vendors through the ARTS web site as well as
recommendations from participating organizations such as OPOS-J (Japan). “With
international cooperation, the new release includes the PointCard from Japan,
and OPOS-J (Japan) agreement to use UML type documentation enables this new
release to feature a more unified documentation style and create a more
standardized documentation structure,” said Mader.
"Burger King as a current user of OPOS standards in our POS Systems
strongly endorses the continued development and refinement of the UnifiedPOS
standards,” said John Polizzi, vice president, MIS at Burger King Corporation.
“We believe that this will improve the cooperation between Retailers and
System Providers and result in improved products to support our operations and
service our customers. We will continue to support this effort through our
involvement in the UnifiedPOS program and requiring these standards be followed
in our future equipment acquisitions."
"IBM has been committed to customer choices in retail solutions for many
years, and has been investing in the establishment of UnifiedPOS as an API
standard for Point of Sale since its conception,” said Mike Pierce, vice
president of IBM Retail Store Solutions. “Retailers want investment
protection, as well as flexible enhancement possibilities for cost-effective
solutions for the future. That also is IBM's commitment, so we are delighted to
be cooperating with ARTS-NRF in establishing a unified API strategy for
integrating innovative technologies for the industry. We will continue to
support both the JavaPOS and OPOS standards for our products."
While Release 1.5 is a major enhancement to the previous revision (1.4) of
the specification, it strives to maintain backward compatibility. It
includes new device classifications including the Point Card Reader Writer, used
in Asia Pacific to identify customers and store their loyalty points, and POS
Power, a device class to help monitor and react to terminal mains power
fluctuations. The new specification documentation will ease future efforts
to incorporate forecourt devices and develop a comprehensive compliance program.
New feature enhancements to existing devices include:
- MSR Track4 read capability
- POS Printer functions for both side printing, color printing, and special
paper handling functionality for “Mark/Sense” paper
- Bump Bar
- Cash Changer
- Cash Drawer
- Credit Authorization Terminal
All revised UnifiedPOS documentation has been enhanced through the use of
Unified Modeling Language (UML) for clarity and standardization. Release
1.5 is the first step in the process of moving the standards in the direction of
conformance testing. The benefit will be testing the devices to ensure
they conform to the specifications and provide greater confidence that
interchangeability of peripherals can be accomplished and thereby protect the
retailers’ hardware and software investment.
The joint announcement of version 1.5 releases by UnifiedPOS, OPOS and
JavaPOS continues to demonstrate the cooperation of competing vendors and
retailers to meet in the standards groups with the overall goal to lower the
cost of POS hardware and software and provide support for Rapid Application
Development methodology. The Committee that developed release 1.5
includes Epson, Fujitsu-ICL, IBM, Microsoft, NCR, PCMS DataFit, Sun
Microsystems, and Wincor-Nixdorf. While working on the UnifiedPOS
specification many of the same committee members from USA, Germany, Japan and
the United Kingdom also upgraded OPOS and JavaPOS.
"OPOS, based on a commitment to the retail industry to driving POS
systems costs down, has been the leading standard since 1994. We're
excited that by making this joint announcement supporting a unified set of
application interfaces, we're strengthening that original commitment in the
spirit of cooperation," said Tom Litchford, retail industry manager for
Microsoft Corp. "Retailers and ISVs alike should continue to reap the
rewards through lowered acquisition and development costs, as well as the
freedom to mix and match POS hardware from multiple vendors."
"As a standard, JavaPOS has enabled the development of truly portable
applications to give retailers more technology choices and options for thin or
thick client architectures,” said Bob DeLaney, group manager of world wide
market development for Sun Microsystems, Inc. “The JavaPOS
community has been committed to enabling the power of Java development for the
point of sale. Sun has been a proponent of a unified API to assure maximum
usefulness for retail, and we are happy to be participating in the release of
these concurrent specifications."
Since its inception in July of 1998 UnifiedPOS has been a Retail Industry
example of vendor and retailer collaboration for the benefit of the total
industry. UnifiedPOS release 1.4 was made available in January of 1999
after only six months of development. Initially the specification was
developed from the existing OPOS and JavaPOS 1.4 versions to unify these two
similar but competing standards. Release 1.5 satisfies the goal of
specification before implementation.
About the Association for Retail Technology Standards
The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) of the National Retail
Federation is a retailer- driven membership organization dedicated to creating
an international, barrier-free technology environment for retailers. ARTS
was established in 1993 to ensure that technology works to enhance a retailer's
ability to develop store level business solutions and avoid situations that
limit a retailers' ability to implement change while providing industry
standards designed to provide greater value at lower costs.
For additional information, contact
Richard Mader, National Retail Federation, arts@nrf.com
Mark Martin, Waggener Edstrom, markm@wagged.com, 503.443.7000
Last updated:
2015-02-09
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