We are a systems integrator working mainly in the Swedish market. Our company Cub Systems was formed in 2003. Prior to that we worked at Datalogic, which is one of the largest manufacturers of ID products in the world—today they are number three. We also have had much experience working with other Swedish companies in production and hardware, as well as terminals. We have quite a lot of experience working with portable computers, particularly with a focus on the retail industry. I would say that 80% of the terminals we work with are for the retail industry. We have major accounts in Sweden, which we have worked with for quite a long time.

Our customers are mainly retail companies. We also work with organizations such as a company that inspects vehicles. They do things such as making sure the brakes are ok and testing cars. This company uses terminals as a major application. I think this is a key issue for our company—we are very good at systems integration, especially making applications for terminals. We have also launched a new communications platform called CUBComm that serves as a connection between the hardware, the unit application, and the overall system.

What are the most popular applications for Argox products in your part of the world?

The most popular application is for ordering. We are currently launching a new application for a company called Hall Miba, which wholesales car care products to gas stations and car companies. They will provide a terminal to each of their customers for ordering products. When the customer places an order they walk around, scan the products they desire, key in the amount, and then connect the terminal to the docking cradle, which uploads the order to a website on a PC. This allows the customer to communicate all the information from the scanning terminal to the web application, which goes directly to Hall Miba’s order system. They then prepare the order and ship.

The second biggest application we’re working with is a type of a self scanning application, which is basically do-it-yourself. For example, a professional carpenter comes into a store to purchase items for renovating a house. The carpenter takes the terminal and walks around the store. He chooses an item, scans it, and enters the quantity. When he goes to check out, he hands the terminal over to the clerk. The clerk puts it in a cradle and docks the information into the application, which prints out the invoice or receipt. We also offer other applications such as for inventory management.

For the barcode business in your markets, what changes do you expect over the next 5 years?

We are definitely going to see more online communication using wireless access points that connect directly to a database. You will also see more web-based applications and also more mobile phone applications transmitting data over the internet using GPRS/Edge/UMTS. For example if you are online you can see information on a server, such as an item you want to buy or sell and if it’s in stock or not. This will definitely change the market. Of course we will see more Windows-based units on the market, which is both good and bad.

In the future I think you will definitely see much shorter product life cycles, especially for Windows terminals. New versions will be available after only one and a half or two years.

When did you begin doing business with Argox? How did it start?

About two years ago we heard about Argox from a former colleague down in Australia, who knew Perry and his team up here. We were looking for products that weren’t well represented in Sweden. We bought various sample units, and found some that we could work with. So two years ago we visited Argox, and that is how it all started.

What has impressed you most about doing business with Argox?

I would say our business relations are fantastic. They answer all of our questions. If we find something that doesn’t work the way it should, it only takes one day or two days and they come out with a new version, software update, or whatever. They are very good at taking care of and supporting us. It is very impressive.

I also think they are good in the way they ship products. I find that we don’t have to wait long to receive them. Argox really is customer-focused. I was talking with our technical guys to ask about questions we should bring up to Argox. Our technical staff wanted to point out that they are really satisfied with the support they get from the team here.

What do you think of their current sales team?

I think it’s good. It’s difficult when you are working on the other side of the world. We don’t really have a day-to-day connection. We send emails. Candy is very fast in replying and we are satisfied. That goes for the whole team. They are very customer-focused. We really appreciate that and we can compare that with other suppliers that we work with in Europe.

Do you have any suggestions to help Argox improve their products and services?

Seeing it from our experience and point-of-view, I think we can give comments on what could be better, or on what doesn’t work sometimes, or perhaps on the driver routines. We often have comments on new products, and how they could improve and be even better. We have been testing, especially the terminals, sometimes the drivers don’t work as they should. We are not using the program generator they have. We are writing it from scratch, and some of the routines do not work as they should. But as I mentioned, it is seldom a problem since we get such a good response from the team over here.

It would be nice if some of the Argox team could come over to Sweden to see the environment that we work in and the applications. They could see the applications first-hand and receive comments directly from customers. That would be a good thing.