PAK Supermarkets, Europe's largest Asian supermarket chain, has installed Dedicated Micros' Advanced Point of Sale (APOS) interface system which not only offers state-of-the-art surveillance, but also provides valuable management transaction data by integrating checkout activity with the CCTV images.

Purchase information from each checkout is transmitted to a central control room via a hard wired TCP/IP network, which is combined with video footage from cameras at each checkout to capture the customer in action and ensure stock levels, security and spending habits are carefully monitored. This allows management to keep track of who is buying what and enables stores to better control and plan their layout as well as help in developing marketing strategies.

"With the new system, every product that goes through the till can be monitored and analysed," explains Terry Eaglen, Dedicated Micros Fusion Accounts Manager. "It gives store management the chance to see exactly what is being bought with both the till transaction and video footage being combined, not just overlaid on the video footage, but being read, and managed as part of our highly sophisticated metadata handling process."

Khalid Hussain, Managing Director of PAK Supermarkets, said: "This is a fantastic system…In addition to integrating point of sale data, the technology also provides a wide spectrum of security benefits beyond the scope of a more traditional installation."

The APOS system is already in use at several other retail chains including Selfridges, Marks and Spencer and KFC.