Questions about POS orchestration.
Concrete answers.

4 million transactions a year. 2,000+ stores across three countries. Zero reconciliation errors since 2019.

SMARTS is the middleware layer between a retailer's cash register and every service at the point of sale — parcels, promotions, gift cards, loyalty, mobile top-ups, prepaid cards, bill payments. The retailer integrates once. Cashiers learn one workflow. New services go live without touching the register, without re-certifying the POS, and without installing additional hardware.

The category is sometimes called POS orchestration middleware, a retail integration layer, or POS service orchestration. We have been doing it in production since 2019.

A convenience store today might handle six parcel carriers, three gift card suppliers, a loyalty program, and a manufacturer promotion scheme. Without middleware, that is ten separate integrations — ten sets of API credentials, ten training manuals, ten reconciliation headaches. Add a new carrier next quarter, and it starts again.

SMARTS replaces all of them with one connection. One cashier workflow. One reconciliation engine that balances the books automatically. When a new service provider comes online, it activates across every connected store without a single change at the register.

The platform integrates with the major POS systems used in European convenience retail, including GK Software, TC POS, and Scheidt & Bachmann. The middleware abstracts the differences between register systems — services work consistently regardless of which POS is running underneath.

No. The platform is fully cloud-hosted. No servers in the store, no VPN tunnels, no hardware to manage. The register loads the SMARTS application over a standard HTTPS connection. The only requirement is internet connectivity and a modern browser environment on the POS. Everything else — service provider communication, reconciliation, reporting — runs in the cloud.

Payment processors handle card authorisation and settlement. Loyalty platforms manage reward programs. SMARTS operates underneath both — it is the integration infrastructure that connects payment, promotion, loyalty, and logistics services to the register through a single POS connection.

We do not process the payment. On loyalty, we are flexible: the platform can sit beneath an existing loyalty program as the integration layer, or run the program directly through the SMARTS Loyalty module. Either way, all the services work together in real time at the register, and the books balance at the end of the day.

European convenience retail — high-frequency, high-transaction-volume store formats where consumers buy daily essentials, pick up parcels, and redeem promotions. The platform is live across Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg, operating in kiosks, convenience stores, service stations, and food service outlets.

Each module handles a distinct service domain. All share the same POS connection.

SMARTS Gateway is the foundation. It manages the transaction basket, orchestrates purchases and refunds, and handles communication between the register and all service suppliers — parcel carriers, mobile top-up providers, prepaid card suppliers, lottery, bill payments. Every other module builds on Gateway.

SMARTS Boost handles manufacturer-funded promotions triggered in real time at the register. When a coupon is scanned, the system validates it against the customer's actual basket — right product, right quantity, right conditions — before applying the discount. No manual coupon management. No store-level configuration. Brand partners manage their own campaigns through the API.

SMARTS Tender handles gift cards, payment vouchers, and stored-value instruments. Physical and digital. Activation, redemption, balance management, and automatic reconciliation — including scheme-restricted tokens that only work for specific product categories.

SMARTS Loyalty integrates retention programs directly into the checkout flow. Stamp cards, points, tiered rewards, digital coupons. When a loyalty card is scanned, the system processes it immediately — no separate confirmation step.

Gateway is required. Tender, Boost, and Loyalty activate on top of it. Adding a module requires no new hardware and no register re-certification.

Start with Gateway. Add modules when they are useful. Each activates on the same POS connection without disrupting what is already running. There is no requirement to deploy all four.

Every carrier — DHL, DPD, UPS, Planzer, 7Days — has its own scanning protocol, label format, and reconciliation logic. A store with six carriers would normally need six separate workflows and six sets of training materials.

With SMARTS Gateway, there is one workflow. Scan the parcel. The system identifies the carrier, applies the correct protocol, and tells the cashier exactly what to do. A new carrier onboards into the same workflow. The cashier never needs to know the difference.

See SMARTS Gateway →

When a coupon code is scanned, SMARTS Boost checks it against what is actually in the basket. If the right products are there in the right quantities, the system returns discount line items that the register applies automatically. Coupons can be removed before finalising the transaction. The system can also generate vouchers for printing as part of the response.

Brand partners configure their own coupon schemes — discount values, validity windows, usage limits, eligible products — and can update them at any time without involving the retailer or the SMARTS operations team. Deployment to hundreds of stores takes minutes, not the three to four weeks a legacy system would require.

A customer hands over a CHF 20 gift card for a CHF 35 purchase. The system validates the card, deducts the CHF 20 automatically, reports the remaining balance, and waits for a second payment method. No mental maths. No manual override.

SMARTS Tender handles the full lifecycle — activation, balance tracking, redemption, and automatic reconciliation. It also supports scheme-restricted tokens: a lottery-only gift card, for example, will only pay for eligible items in the basket. The system calculates the eligible amount automatically and reports what was actually charged.

Yes — and the same service catalog is available on both staffed and unattended devices.

For registers with a cashier, SMARTS embeds directly into the POS screen. For self-checkout kiosks, vending machines, and other unattended devices, a REST API gives the operator full control of the customer journey without the SMARTS interface. Same platform. Same services. Same reconciliation.

The cashier or customer selects a service through the SMARTS interface — a gift card, a parcel action, a mobile top-up. The system sends the item details and price back to the register. The customer pays through the retailer's normal payment flow.

Once payment is confirmed, the register signals SMARTS to commit. The platform activates the product with the service supplier and returns any vouchers or receipts for printing. This post-tender model — meaning activation happens only after payment is confirmed — is what protects the retailer. No activation without payment. No risk to the books.

The opposite direction. Refunds run in pre-tender mode — the reversal is processed and confirmed with the service supplier before it appears on the register. By the time the cashier sees the refund, it is already guaranteed. No risk of a failed reversal after the customer has walked away.

The queue never stops. The books always balance.

If a carrier API goes down or a gift card activation times out, SMARTS makes the customer whole immediately. The sale completes. Automated rollback processes handle the reversal in the background, retrying until the supplier confirms. No failed transaction leaves a customer out of pocket. No upstream outage stalls the register.

Every transaction — parcel scan, gift card activation, promotion redemption — is matched, verified, and reconciled automatically against the retailer's financial systems. Three-way matching: carrier or supplier data, transaction data, and financial records. All aligned. Zero reconciliation errors since 2019.

Two mechanisms. Cancellation reverses a confirmed transaction — the customer changed their mind, or the cashier voided the sale. Rollback handles uncertain outcomes — a timeout, a server error, a failure in a later step. The system determines whether a rollback is actually needed. If the operation was never completed, nothing happens. Operators and partners can trigger rollback on any error without risking duplicate reversals.

Real-time, both directions. SMARTS can request the full basket contents at any point during a transaction, and the register notifies the platform whenever items are added, removed, or the sale completes. Every module — coupons, loyalty, payments — always works against the current basket state, not a stale snapshot.

Five phases. Evaluation — review documentation, select modules. Setup — obtain test credentials, connect to the QA environment. Development — implement the message handling between register and platform. Testing — end-to-end validation including error recovery and rollback scenarios. Go-live — switch to production credentials.

Typical effort on the cash register side is one to two months, depending mostly on the POS vendor's ability to support a modern browser environment on the register. The retailer or integration partner works against a dedicated test environment before any production traffic flows. No changes at the store level until everything is validated.

Read the documentation →

For the ePOS path (staffed registers): web development experience — JavaScript and browser messaging. For the Partner API path (self-checkout and headless devices): standard REST API experience with JSON. Both paths require familiarity with POS transaction flows — basket management, payment processing, voucher handling, and error recovery.

Nothing changes at the register. New providers integrate on the SMARTS side. Once onboarded, the service is available across all connected stores through the existing workflow. No store-by-store rollout. No additional development. No cashier retraining.

On the cloud side, without touching the register. The POS integration stays stable. Cashiers see no change during updates. The middleware absorbs all platform evolution — feature additions, protocol changes, provider updates — without requiring anything from the retailer's IT team.

Standard retail peripherals already connected to the register — barcode scanners chief among them. The platform requests device access only when needed during a transaction and releases it immediately after. No dedicated SMARTS hardware required. The retailer's existing register equipment is sufficient.

Transaction volumes, carrier distribution, promotion redemption rates, gift card lifecycle data, loyalty program performance. Available through the SMARTS Admin Portal, with dashboards for real-time operational status, campaign intelligence, and audit-ready exports.

Since 2019. Seven years of continuous operation across 2,000+ stores in Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg. Over 4 million transactions annually. 70+ integrated service brands. 100% platform uptime.

Zero unplanned outages of the SMARTS platform since deployment. This refers to the middleware layer itself. When external services experience downtime — carrier APIs, supplier systems, network interruptions — the platform's automated retry and reconciliation mechanisms handle it.

Over 70, across all four modules. Parcel carriers (DHL, DPD, UPS, Planzer, 7Days), mobile top-up providers (Salt, Sunrise, Lycamobile), prepaid card suppliers (Paysafe, Cornercard), lottery (Swisslos), gift card suppliers, and manufacturer promotion partners. New brands onboard through the same integration layer.

Integration begins with a POS connection to the SMARTS cloud platform. Five phases from evaluation to go-live, typically one to two months of effort on the cash register side. No minimum store count. No additional hardware. No register re-certification. Modules activate progressively — start with the services that deliver the most immediate value.

The platform is built for multi-market deployment. Expansion requires POS integration with the local register system, service provider onboarding for the local market, and workflow localisation. The core orchestration, reconciliation, and reporting capabilities are market-agnostic.

As locker networks expand across Europe, multiple carriers increasingly share the same pickup and drop-off points. DHL is building carrier-neutral networks (DeinFach, OneStopBox). DPD grew its network 63% in 2024. Carrier-neutral orchestration means the store handles all of them through a single workflow — the location becomes a universal service point, not a carrier-specific hub.

The POS system is the hardware and software at the register — scanning, pricing, payment, receipts. Middleware is the layer between the register and the external services consumers interact with at the point of sale. The POS does not change. The middleware connects it to new capabilities — parcels, promotions, gift cards, loyalty — without modifying the register itself.

Switzerland's revised Tobacco Products Act eliminates virtually all passive tobacco advertising — billboards, print, open displays. One of the remaining legal paths for tobacco brand engagement is consent-gated digital promotions at the register, where age-verified and explicitly opted-in consumers receive targeted offers. This regulatory shift makes POS-level promotion infrastructure relevant for tobacco and FMCG manufacturers operating in the Swiss market.