Recommended equipment: what a showroom needs

A showroom ordering setup does not need an exotic equipment fleet. Hardware shows up in four places: a mobile terminal for retail staff, a mobile label printer for the pickup code, a barcode scanner for checkout, and a screen (a PC and a TV) for the order board. Below, each one comes with its role in the showroom, the models we recommend and what to look at when choosing. How the terminal fits into the daily work is covered on the consultant terminal page.

We do not list technical specifications that have not been verified: check exact parameters (connectivity, protection rating, print width) on each product card at our partner sites. The links below lead straight there.

The consultant terminal

A consultant works next to the customer, not at a desk. With a terminal they scan a sample or a price tag, see the price and stock by warehouse, enter the quantity in the right unit (m², pieces, packs), pick the customer and create the order. Without a mobile terminal for retail staff, all of that would stay on a fixed computer, far from the shelf.

How to choose a terminal

• Start from the number of consultants and the budget per terminal: the base series (TC22, TC27) usually covers showroom work, and the higher series (TC53e, TC58e) is for specific reasons.
• Check what network the showroom has (Wi-Fi) and whether staff need to work outside the building.
• Scan a few real samples and price tags with the chosen model before ordering the whole batch.
• If you wonder whether a tablet or a phone would do, read terminal or tablet for a consultant.

The full range is in the Zebra mobile terminals catalog.

The pickup code printer

Once the order is created, it gets a short unique code with a barcode. With a mobile printer, the consultant prints the code on the spot, next to the customer, without walking back to a desk. What the code is for and how it travels is explained in the article on the pickup code. A mobile label printer covers this; for what is printed at a fixed point (labels, price tags) there are desktop printers.

How to choose a printer

• Decide first where printing happens: at the consultant (mobile) or at a fixed point (desktop, ZD421).
• Check the print width and how the printer connects to the terminal on the product card.
• Work out how many you need: one per consultant or a few shared ones, depending on how people move around the floor.
• Pick labels and ribbon to suit the printer model, not the other way round.

All mobile models are in the mobile printers catalog; fixed-point ones are under desktop label printers.

The checkout scanner

At the till the cashier scans the printed pickup code and the order appears with all its items and prices: nothing to look up by hand. For a fast flow, a presentation-style barcode scanner for checkout fits well, since it reads a code held in front of it without any button presses.

How to choose a scanner

• A presentation scanner is handy when codes are shown quickly, on paper or on a screen.
• On the product card, check which codes it reads (1D, 2D) and how it connects to the till.
• For a selection guide, read how to choose a checkout scanner.

Browse the range under presentation scanners.

The screen for the board

The order board shows each order's code, name and stage on a TV, and when an order is assembled a full-screen message appears. You do not need special hardware: any PC or mini PC with a browser and a TV with an HDMI input is enough. Open the /tv address on the TV, enter the code it shows in the admin area, and the screen remembers the connection.

How to choose the screen

• A TV that is clearly visible from the waiting area and the till, with HDMI.
• A mini PC or PC that starts on its own and stays on the network.
• A mount that does not get in the way of customers walking through.

More on setup in the TV order board. General guidance on the board screen is also at wms.md/echipamente.

Read next

• How we implement the solution: stages and training
• Terminal or tablet for a consultant
• Request a demo