As the CEO of a supermarket chain, how can you reach all your employees quickly and reliably? Frank Berger, head of Edeka Berger—which has three stores and about 220 employees in Baden-Württemberg—has replaced his bulletin boards with digital wall displays featuring touchscreen functionality and notes: “This tool has made cross-location workflows much easier.” The project was implemented by the Austrian company Wesolutions Softwareentwicklungs GmbH in collaboration with its long-standing partner, the Munich-based added-value distributor Concept International, and its high-performance digital signage players from Giada.
The Starting Point: Unreliable Paper-Based Systems on Bulletin Boards
The previous analog solution—which relied on printed sheets and handwritten notes on bulletin boards in staff rooms—was relatively labor-intensive and unreliable: Anyone who wasn’t in the right place at the right time could easily miss important information. That’s why Wesolutions GmbH was commissioned to create a simple, effective, and reliable solution to communicate with employees simultaneously and precisely across all branches.
The Solution: Cloud-Based Management Software
Wesolutions Softwareentwicklungs GmbH is an IT company based in Graz, Austria, that has specialized in the development of digital signage solutions since 2011. Under the “Wesual” brand, it develops solutions for the digital presentation and centralized management of content used in various industries, including the restaurant and hospitality sectors, retail, and manufacturing. For Frank Berger’s supermarket locations, Wesual provided the appropriate digital signage software, which enables centrally managed content to be displayed precisely tailored to specific locations, individual user groups, or everyone—functioning as a digital bulletin board that can be updated simultaneously across all branches from headquarters at the push of a button.
The “Wesual Create” management software is cloud-based and ensures centralized, efficient management through the automatic synchronization of content with the connected displays. Split-screen and multi-screen applications are supported, as are Windows and macOS—thus, the Wesual software provides a flexible foundation for a wide variety of digital signage projects. A stable network connection is required only for setting up and updating the devices; after that, all content is stored locally and can be accessed offline at any time.
At Edeka Berger’s supermarket locations in Baden-Württemberg, the software is displayed on Wesual 43-inch wall-mounted touchscreens with a brightness of 450 cd/m² and Full HD resolution. Through employee logins and read confirmations, it’s also possible to quickly and clearly track whether the information has actually reached the right people and been noticed.
The benefits of the interactive Wesual information terminal at a glance:
- Always up-to-date notices and schedule-based content
- Clear distribution of information tailored precisely to specific user groups
- Each user can access the information relevant to them daily on their own
- Unread messages are displayed at a glance
- Integrated feedback function with individual read receipts for each user
- Many meetings can be replaced by digital circulars, saving time for managers and employees
- Resource-efficient and sustainable thanks to paperless communication
- Interfaces and new features can be customized as needed
The Hardware: Energy-Efficient Giada Long-Running Players
When it comes to hardware, Wesolutions relies on the expertise of its long-standing partner, Concept International, the exclusive distributor of Giada digital signage PCs throughout Germany. The information terminals in the supermarket locations are powered by Giada VM27 players. Concept installed the Linux system image from Wesolutions on the players, configured them, and delivered them ready to plug in. These micro-PCs have succeeded the Giada VM23, the previous entry-level PC for system integrators. They are equipped with Intel Atom Elkhart Lake processors that can easily hold their own against Core i processors: “Especially with Linux, the VM27 performs comparably well in terms of graphics performance, making it an affordable, energy-efficient alternative. Its long-term availability of at least eight years also ensures design and planning reliability,” says Mike Finckh, Managing Director of Concept International, explaining the device recommendation for the Wesual project.
The Giada VM27 is available in two versions: an entry-level model with an Intel Celeron N6210 dual-core processor and 64 GB of storage, or a higher-performance version with an Intel Pentium N6415 quad-core processor and 128 GB of storage. There is also the option to upgrade to even larger SSDs. Both versions feature Intel UHD Graphics that support 4K resolution and include both an HDMI and a DisplayPort.
Thanks to its compact dimensions (154 x 126 x 40 mm), the VM27 fits neatly behind panels or displays to save space. The micro-PC is fanless, making it completely maintenance-free and utterly silent.
The benefits of the Giada VM27 for digital signage projects at a glance:
- Powerful and efficient Intel Elkhart Lake platform
- 4K dual-display support
- Fanless, rugged design
- Compact form factor for flexible installation
- Excellent connectivity and industrial-grade features
Impressive in terms of price, performance, durability, availability, and service
The project with Edeka Berger has now been successfully implemented: “After incorporating our specific requests, the standard version of the Infoboard has become a very simple and intuitive tool that is accessible to all employees and significantly streamlines cross-location workflows,” summarizes Frank Berger.
Jonas Untermoser, co-founder and authorized signatory of Wesolutions Software GmbH, explains why he always enjoys working with Concept: “It’s important to me that we get hardware with a fair price-performance ratio that runs smoothly with our software and remains available for the long term. I don’t want to have to look for new hardware every year. And if there’s ever a problem, Concept always provides excellent support quickly and without any hassle. We were completely won over by the price, performance, durability, availability, and service.”
The clutter of notes on the analog bulletin boards in the staff rooms was unreliable and required a great deal of effort to keep up to date.
The interactive Wesual wall displays function as centrally controlled digital bulletin boards in the stores. The feedback feature ensures that the relevant information has actually been received.
At the heart of the digitized employee communication system in each supermarket branch is a Giada VM27, which Concept International configured specifically for the project and delivered ready to plug in.
Customer & Partner Information:
Wesolutions Softwareentwicklungs GmbH:
Edeka Berger: