CASE STUDY Intel® Atom™ ProcessorMobile ComputingIT ManagementCommunications/Media

Delivering retail innovation

VASP is a media distributor in Portugal with over 9,500 retail sales stores in its network. Most of theseare small and medium businesses (SMBs) and sole traders that rely on VASP for technology to helpthem grow their businesses. Initially a logistics-only media delivery business, VASP has diversified,becoming a comprehensive IT provider and parcel courier. Currently responsible for the point-of-sale(POS) devices and IT support for approximately 1,300 retailers, VASP recently invested in tablet-based POS systems, powered by Intel® Atom™ processors, to complement its traditional POS portals.

Challenges• Contracting industry.Print media is flagging, so media distributor VASP needed to expand its business.• Helping customers. VASP wanted to help its customers grow their businesses by enabling themto offer new services via technology.

• Small retail. Many retailers are roadside stands and tiny kiosks, so using traditional stationaryPOS solutions can be difficult in terms of space and investment.

Solutions • Retail management. VASP supplies POS systems to 1,300 retailers across Portugal, from thedesktop-based HP RP7 Retail System* powered by Intel® Core™ processors to the HP ElitePadMobile* with Intel Atom processors.

• Innovative payment. VASP offers its POS retail solutions on a flexible rental basis so customerscan try the technology for varying time periods and pay weekly, making this useful technologyaffordable.

Technology results • Compatible technology. VASP is delivering reliable technology that works with MicrosoftWindows* 8 on an intuitive touchscreen interface.

• Enhanced security. Intel's built-in security helps give VASP reliable data protection technology.Specifically, Intel® Advanced Encryption Standards New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) acceleratesencryption and decryption speeds.1, 2

• Long life. These tablets have long battery life thanks to the low power consumption of IntelAtom processors, making them ideal for busy shopkeepers.

Business value • Going mobile. VASP is building the reputation of tablets in the retail space, offering mobile POSsolutions to enable efficient retail management for businesses of all sizes.

• Efficient business. Supplying automated Intel® technology-based retail technology to smallerbusinesses helps VASP customers to streamline their work, making time for more business-critical tasks.

• Successful diversity. Thanks to this project, the IT department has more than doubled and,according to VASP's internal analysis, the project has contributed significantly to revenues.

Portuguese media distributor VASP boosts retail services with tablet-based point-of-sale devices powered byIntel® Atom™ processors

“Intel® Atom™ processors haverevolutionized our retail IT

offering. Now, we can roll outtablet solutions with great

Microsoft Windows* compati-bility, superior processing

capabilities and, perhaps mostimportantly, low power con-sumption, which translates

into long battery life.”

Pedro Soares de Pinho, Chief Information Officer and

IT Manager, VASP

Media network VASP is one of the biggest press distributioncompanies in Portugal. The media industry isdecreasing worldwide, especially print publica-tions, and Portugal is no exception. VASP catersto around 9,500 retail shops, 2,000 of whichare gas stations and press outlet chains in bigsupermarkets. These retailers sell VASP news-papers and magazines but, with dropping sales,many were worried about finances and lookingfor ways to innovate their businesses.

“Maintaining a solid network of retail stores iscrucial, not only to us, but also to the greater

economy,” said Soares de Pinho, chief infor-mation officer at VASP. “Most of these shopsare small family businesses that are the back-bone of our nation. We wanted to help bolsterthese local retailers by providing new productsand services that could help them to grow theirincome. In 2012, we began distributing books.Now we have a fully-fledged parcel deliveryservice that has around 600 pick-up pointsthroughout Portugal called Kios Send and Re-turn*. Prior to that, we had already diversifiedinto IT services.”

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1 Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark and MobileMark, are measured usingspecific computer systems, components, software, operations and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You should consult other information and performance teststo assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combined with other products. For more information go to www.intel.com/performance

2 Intel® AES-NI requires a computer system with an AES-NI enabled processor, as well as non-Intel software to execute the instructions in the correct sequence. AES-NI is available on select Intel® processors.For availability, consult your reseller or system manufacturer. For more information, see http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-advanced-encryption-standard-instructions-aes-ni/

Intel does not control or audit the design or implementation of third party benchmark data or Web sites referenced in this document. Intel encourages all of its customers to visit the referenced Websites or others where similar performance benchmark data are reported and confirm whether the referenced benchmark data are accurate and reflect performance of systems available for purchase.

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New offeringsIn 2009, the VASP IT department took care of250 users. Now it supports more than 2,000users across Portugal and is still growing dueto high demand. From offering traditional POSportals to its retailers, it upgraded to Inteltechnology-based POS devices two years agoand has been extending its offerings to tablet-based POS systems powered by Intel Atomprocessors for the last six months, in a projectnamed Kios Kube*.

“It takes drive to create change, as well as goodcommunication and proper rewards for earlyadopters, but we’ve had excellent experienceswith our customers because they see the ben-efits in implementing new technologies,” saidSoares de Pinho. “We already use Intel technol-ogy in our data center and internal laptopsand workstations, so we prefer new projectsto be supported by Intel technology as well.In setting up this new project, it was crucialfor us to be able to trust the technology, sowe invested in the HP ElitePad Mobile POSSolution powered by Intel Atom processors.Our relationships with HP, Softvoice, and Sagemeant that we could build a comprehensiveproject to fit our needs.”

Currently, VASP offers traditional PC-based POSdevices including the HP RP7 Retail System,powered by Intel Core processors, as well asthe new tablet devices. In most cases, tabletscomplement current POS usage for retailersthat are more advanced, so VASP is confidentothers will follow suit. By investing in mobile-based Intel® solutions, VASP can confidentlyscale its business growth and add value tomany retail customers. Being able to offermobile solutions is a solid base on whichVASP can build future services, since it is sucha flexible, business-ready form factor.

Getting mobile VASP’s main aim in branching out to deliver ITsolutions was to provide IT awareness and pro-fessional, efficient retail management to shopsacross Portugal and establish a framework fordeveloping other services and solutions. Movingto a mobile POS solution was the first step. Ithas radically changed the way VASP does busi-ness, opening up a new customer segment andpositively impacting profitability.

Both Softvoice and HP worked with VASP tofind the perfect retail solution and, with Sage*Retail Software, VASP has a solution that allowsretailers to easily download VASP’s invoicesand delivery sheets to automate transactionsand create extra time for more important tasks.The Intel Atom processor’s low power consump-tion means these devices can run for a longtime. Other tablet features specific to Intel tech-nology-based tablets add security and efficiency.For instance, Secure Boot allows users to restartthe device more safely, and Intel AES-NI offersfaster data encryption.

Currently, 1,300 clients are using a POS solu-tion from VASP, with more testing these devicesto see how they fit into daily work. VASP offersa rental service with a financial model with avery low cost for up to three years, chargedon top of the weekly invoice the retailer regu-larly pays, for example for the delivery ofgoods. This makes it a flexible and affordableoption for many smaller businesses.

Future growth Offering small retailers a mobile POS solutionwith the goal of sustaining growth has bene-fitted VASP in a number of ways. The businesshas succeeded in creating a framework to launchnew products and services across its retail

Lessons Learned Investing in tablet POS devices poweredby Intel® Atom™ processors has created astrong customer base for VASP. Now it hasa strong foundation for offering new ser-vices that will help its customers grow.Previously, VASP was worried about thefuture. Since it has diversified its businessand embraced technology, the businessis thriving.

customers. The increased activity has meantthat the IT department has grown significantly.“The project is a great success,” said Soaresde Pinho. “Over 1,300 shops are now con-nected to us, which is more than 17 percentof our customer base. It is fantastic that thismany retailers have invested in our Intel tech-nology-based solution over such a shortspace of time, and we hope to increase thissignificantly moving forward.”

Indeed, VASP continues to grow thanks to itsopen-minded approach to business siloesand technology. Thanks to the success of thisfirst IT project, VASP is the only service providerof Sage Retail Solutions to cover the wholecountry and is now supporting other lines ofretail shops outside its own network.

“We are very proud of our growing and diverserange of services, including Kios Send and Re-turn,” said Soares de Pinho. “The Kios servicesare definite proof that this solution empoweredVASP to achieve a new era in its relationshipwith customers and the retail market segment.However, we are not going to stop here. Wehave more services being prepared to reachthe marketplace early next year and are work-ing on several other new projects.”

Find the solution that’s right for your organi-zation. View success stories from your peers,learn more about tablets for business andcheck out the IT Center, Intel’s resource forthe IT Industry.

VASP supports retail technology with Intel®technology-based POS solutions, from traditionalPCs to tablet devices