Spotlight Interview with KIOSK

Tom Weaver, VP of Sales and Marketing for KIOSK, talks about the company and business in general.

ON THE FLY

KIOSK Information Systems has innovation on call

KIOSK Information Systems in Louisville, Colo., a leader in the design and manufacture of self-service kiosks, charts its course by tailoring innovation to customers’ needs.

The 14-year-old company is also, by the way, “kicking butt, growing at 30 percent to 40 percent over last year,” said Tom Weaver, KIOSK’s vice president of sales and marketing. Part of the reason, he said, is the company’s singular niche. “I don’t think anybody does exactly what we do. The way we manufacture and design product is unique. There are very large companies that sell kiosks, but their philosophy is more along the lines of, ‘Here’s what we build, we hope you like it and that it works for you.’ Our philosophy is more along the lines of, ‘Tell us what you want and we’ll build it for you.’”

While there are “some smaller versions of us out there for sure, as far as people who have the reference base and the history, I think we are unique,” Weaver continued.

Privately held KIOSK’s single-minded focus has proven another plus, Weaver said. “This is all we do. We don’t claim to be a jack-of-all-trades-and-master-ofnone. We’re hardware guys, and we’ve never strayed from that.”

Major clients include TIO Networks, the first network of financial services locations built specifically to serve the growing cash-preferred consumer base, HP photo stations and the U.S. Army Recreation Program, for which the company builds e-mail and gaming stations.

“We build Internet stations that double as gaming stations so a soldier in his barracks can send e-mail or video e-mail to mom and dad and log on to play the hottest Xbox and PlayStation games online. We’ve done over 400 units to date,” Weaver said. Another client is Vanguard, which owns both Alamo and National car rental agencies.

“We are not and never will be software developers, but we try to combine a total solution for our customers by working with our software partners,” Weaver said. KIOSK takes a very consultative approach to kiosk design. Weaver said most products start with a prototype, proceed to the pilot stage and then — if successful — to deployment. “If we can’t get them past the pilot stage, we never get to deployment.”

As a result, Weaver explained, “We kiss a lot of toads. We’re chasing down a lot of deals that may only turn out to be one-, 10- or 50-unit deals with the hopes that they will be successful. But you can’t just throw it against the wall and see if it sticks; you have to be engaged. You have to take a consultant’s role in the process, make sure they know what they are evaluating, what their success criteria are and how they are tracking that.”

From a manufacturing standpoint, he said, KIOSK has to be able to ship on the fly. “We have to be able to build 10 of something and shut that line down, then build 100 of something and shut that line down, then build 1,000 of the next thing. It’s different than building an ATM, where you’re producing 100,000 of the exact same product all year.”

“On the fly” appears to be a good place to be.

From SelfServiceWorld magazine

Dell Success Story

In a just published case study, we learn how Dell hardware and the Dell OEM Industry Solutions Group help KIOSK Information Systems customers help themselves.

Think inside the box

Dell hardware and the Dell OEM Industry Solutions Group help KIOSK InformationSystems customers help themselves

They help you buy tickets, print photos, check e-mail, and pay bills. And better yet, they never talk back. They are kiosks, and the self-service booths made by KIOSK InformationSystems (KIOSK) help whisk customers through lines at airports, amusements parks, and the Department of Motor Vehicles. In fact, the KIOSK kiosks do much more, including supporting human resource functions, offering quick ticketing, accelerating order entry, providing store directories and retail advice, facilitating bill payments, serving up directions, and aiding security at checkpoints—all of which have helped propel KIOSK to the top of the kiosk industry.

With a customer roster that includes Pepsi- Cola, McDonald’s, FedEx, Wal-Mart, Citibank, Disney, Sony, Borders, Mercedes-Benz, and the United States Postal Service, it is no exaggeration to say that the Louisville, Colorado–based company has become the king of kiosks.

KIOSK now enjoys a significant market share—despite the fact that the company competes against formidable industry stalwarts IBM and NCR. When asked to describe the success of KIOSK in an industry replete with behemoth competitors, Tom Weaver, vice president of sales and marketing, says, “Our competitors tend to rely on the Henry Ford philosophy: customers can have anything they want—as long as it is black. By contrast, we design kiosks based upon what our customers really need. We build everything from the inside out. Typically, we meet with customers, talk to them about functionality, and then give them multiple options for how a kiosk might perform and what it might look like.”

Download kiosk case study pdf

Europe Kiosks

KIOSK InformationSystems announces the opening of sales and manufacturing facilities in the U.K.

Louisville, Colorado -- KIOSK InformationSystems, the leader in self-service kiosk solutions announces the opening of manufacturing facilities in the U.K. Peter Snyder has been appointed Managing Director for the new operations based in Scotland.

Snyder will be responsible for establishing and expanding new opportunities within existing and new market segments for KIOSK InformationSystems - Europe.

"We currently have a very strong business segment outside the U.S. and with the addition of manufacturing, service and support here in Europe, we expect to accelerate our business in key sectors such as digital media, airlines, gaming and financial services", said Snyder.

Tom Weaver, VP of Sales and Marketing commented, "With the addition of Peter in Europe and our new manufacturing capabilities, we will be able to not only better serve our current customers but also be in position to take advantage of opportunities that exist in the UK, as well as across all of Europe and the Middle East.

Contact Information

KIOSK InformationSystems - Europe
Peter Snyder
Managing Director
Mack Technologies Building
Central Blvd, Central Park
Larbert FK5 4RU Scotland
Voice: +44 (0) 1324 550526
Fax: +44 1324 5505120
Email: pete@kiosk.com
Website: http://europe.kiosk.com

About KIOSK InformationSystems (KIOSK):
Founded in 1993, KIOSK is the established leader in the design and manufacturing of indoor and outdoor kiosks, public Internet stations and other electronic self-service informational terminals. Recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States, KIOSK's growth over the last nine years has earned the company a place on the Inc. 500 list and on both the Colorado Fast 50 and the nation's Technology Fast 500 by Deloitte & Touche. KIOSK maintains production facilities in Colorado, USA and in Scotland. KIOSK has provided innovative kiosks for a who's who of corporate clients including McDonalds, Citibank, IBM, Disney, Borders, Mercedes Benz and Conoco, as well as numerous government agencies and universities. Having produced thousands of kiosks for over 900 different applications, including human resources, interactive and transactional retail, and security applications, KIOSK has the most in-depth experience and expertise in the kiosk industry.

KIOSK Wins Seven Awards

KIOSK Takes Home a Record Seven Awards at 3rd Annual KioskCom Interactive Kiosk Excellence Awards

KioskCom Announces Winners in the 3rd Annual KioskCom Interactive Kiosk Excellence Awards.

Louisville, CO, June 11 -- KioskCom LLC, organizers of KioskCom 2003, the Premier Conference and Exhibition on interactive self-service technology announced the winners in the 3rd Annual KioskCom Interactive Kiosk Excellence Awards contest held recently in Las Vegas. KIOSK InformationSystems is pleased to note KIOSK received 7 awards in various categories.

Pete Snyder of KIOSK InformationSystems shares their award for the Best Kiosk Application in Financial Services with software partner Info Touch Technologies Chairman & CEO, Hamed Shahbazi

“The Interactive Kiosk Excellence Awards honor, recognize and promote the best interactive self-service kiosk implementations over the past year.

All of the submissions were excellent, and the finalists demonstrated why they were selected in our on-site final usability testing. Each and every applicant – and especially the finalists – should be very proud of their accomplishments. They were all excellent, and determining the winners was much harder for the judges this year than in the past,” says KioskCom Executive Director, Lawrence Dvorchik. “The winners set the standards of excellence for future interactive self-service technology implementations.”

In the Best Human Resources Application, KIOSK was the overall winner with the Wal-Mart Job Kiosk project.

Other Categories in which KIOSK received an award included:

• Best Kiosk Application in a Retail Environment: QuickPIX
  This is state-of-the-art Photo Kiosk with kiosk software by Touchpoint. Remote monitoring provided by Catapult, another product of TouchPoint.
• Best Kiosk Application for a Government Agency: US Postal Service
  This HR kiosk application provides employee benefits and services for the disconnected employee. This application uses Netkey for managing and monitoring.
• Best Kiosk Application in Financial Services: Cricket
  
• Best Kiosk Application for Travel, Hospitality or Entertainment: our Shibby/Stubby with Info Touch
• Best Hardware/Enclosure Design for a Kiosk Project: QuickPIX
• Most Creative/Best Use of an Input Device in a Kiosk Application: QuickPIX

For more information about the KioskCom Interactive Kiosk Excellence Awards Competition ( www.kioskawards.com) contact:

Lawrence Dvorchik
Managing Director, KioskCom
Lawrence at kioskcom.com
P: 212-885-2732

Newsweek Article on Kiosks

Here Come the Kiosks Newsweek

March 22 issue - Retail kiosks may be shrinking in size, but the kiosk business is getting huge. After a few years of so-so growth, worldwide kiosk sales hit $463.7 million last year, up more than 21 percent from 2002. The number of U.S. kiosks, now at 195,000, is expected to double in two years, according to Summit Research Associates.

Download PDF version
Online Article at MSNBC

KIOSK Appointment

KIOSK InformationSystems Appoints Tom Weaver Vice-President of Sales LOUISVILLE, Colo., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- KIOSK InformationSystems (KIOSK), a leading global provider of self-service technology, today announced the appointment of Tom Weaver as Vice-President of Sales and Marketing. Weaver will be responsible for leading KIOSK's worldwide sales as well as driving the company's product marketing initiatives. He will manage all sales as well as develop partner relations and distribution channel initiatives. Weaver reports to President Rick Malone.

"Tom is a classically trained Sales VP who brings a solution-centric approach that makes him the ideal candidate to lead our Sales," said Malone. "He brings a proven track record in building distribution channels, leading large and successful teams and a deep understanding of what makes our clients tick."

Weaver, 38, is a seasoned sales executive with nearly 20 years experience in sales and building sales networks. Prior to KIOSK, Weaver served as General Manager for wireless communications company AirTouch, where he managed the Sales, Customer Service, Engineering and Inventory departments. AirTouch later merged with Bell Atlantic, GTE and PCS PrimeCo to form Verizon.

Weaver's other roles include running his own company providing technical sales training and consulting. With a former startup software company his roles assisting in raising venture capital, and the hiring, training and deployment of a nationwide sales organization.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to further the growth of the industry leader in the rapidly growing self-service market," said Weaver. "I am confident that our focus on a solution based sales model, and the expansion of our national sales team will solidify our position as the market leader in this space."

Functions reporting to Weaver include all sales development, partner relations, distribution channels and marketing functions.

Weaver was just recently interviewed by the major online kiosk news website, KioskMarketplace.com , and you can read that interview in entirety by clicking here.

About KIOSK
Founded in 1993, KIOSK is the established leader in the design and manufacturing of indoor and outdoor kiosks, public Internet stations and other electronic self-service informational terminals. Recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States, KIOSK' growth over the last nine years has earned the company a place on the Inc. 500 list and on both the Colorado Fast 50 and the nation's Technology Fast 500 by Deloitte & Touche. KIOSK has provided innovative kiosks for a who's who of corporate clients including McDonalds, Citibank, IBM, Disney, Borders, Mercedes Benz and Conoco, as well as numerous government agencies and universities. Having produced thousands of kiosks for over 900 different applications, including human resources, interactive and transactional retail, and security applications, KIOSK has the most in-depth experience and expertise in the kiosk industry. Contact KIOSK at 303-466-5471 or www.kis-kiosk.com for more information on its complete line of kiosks and contract manufacturing capabilities.

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