References
Polygon developed the first-generation loyalty terminal, designed to strengthen customer bonds at the dm drugstore, back in 1998. It allowed customers to access their Payback cards or to print out vouchers directly at the terminal.
The plan was to develop a new generation to continue optimising the operating concept of the tried and trusted terminal, while giving it a more ergonomic style.
The customer specified that the new terminals should be absolutely barrier-free, which posed the main challenge in development. Polygon implemented its in-house height adjustment system for displays, which offers users an ideal operating position. Children and wheelchair users encounter no difficulties whatsoever when operating the terminals. The innovative addition of a 32" touch display in portrait format ideally complements the height adjustment system. A wing door to facilitate servicing and the trusty 'panel technology' were also used in the second generation. In this, the physical interfaces with the terminal's hardware are provided via easily replaceable front panels.
Polygon and its partners dealt with the entire process of design, engineering, IT development, prototype construction, series manufacture and rollout. 700 systems were delivered and installed in the dm branches. A number of other projects have emerged from the long-standing cooperation between dm and Polygon. For instance, Polygon developed and manufactured 1,200 shelf terminals to provide health tips at dm.
The first dm market opened in Germany back in 1973. Now dm operates roughly 2,900 markets in twelve European countries. It employs a workforce of almost 50,000 – roughly 34,000 in Germany  tasked with making shopping at dm an exciting experience. In January 2013, the Wirtschaftsblatt journal ranked the company 21st on a list of the 500 largest family-owned companies.
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