SoluM, a leading manufacturer of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), has partnered with Epishine, a Swedish pioneer in printed organic solar cells, to introduce an innovative rail-based ESL system powered by light. Together, they deliver a groundbreaking solution addressing key challenges in sustainability, operational efficiency, and accurate price management while providing unmatched convenience and cost savings for modern retail operations.
Retailers today face increasing pressure to balance profitability, regulatory compliance, and improve overall usability and efficiency in their stores. Accurate pricing is essential for meeting these demands, preventing penalties and maintaining customer trust. Manual updates, however, are often slow, labour-intensive, costly, and prone to errors. SoluM’s innovative rail-based ESL system allows for seamless price updates and flexible product management. The rail design makes it easy to mount, move, and adjust ESLs along the rail, providing unmatched convenience for retailers. With in-house manufacturing facilities, SoluM achieves shorter development times, maintains high-quality control standards, optimises the supply chain, and maximises cost competitiveness.
Self-powered ESLs
Modern ESLs, with their expanded capabilities, contribute to retail efficiency but often require frequent battery replacements, increasing maintenance costs and environmental impact. To overcome these issues, self-powered ESLs, powered by Epishine’s organic, non-toxic solar cells, offer a game-changing alternative. The solar cells are optimised to capture indoor light, providing reliable performance even in low-light conditions. This makes them ideal for retail environments where light availability varies across shelves and durable materials are of most importance. The new light-powered rail-based ESL system by SoluM eliminates the need for disposable batteries. In large retail stores, which can hold over 50,000 unique items requiring ESLs, this innovation can save 50,000 batteries per replacement cycle—drastically reducing both maintenance costs and environmental impact.
Reducing battery usage
“Our collaboration with Epishine demonstrates our dedication to providing retailers with innovative and cost-efficient solutions,” said Sungho Jun, CEO at SoluM. “Together, we’re creating a solution that simplifies operations, reduces maintenance costs, and enhances efficiency, all while offering the added benefit of significantly reducing battery usage and environmental impact.”
“By integrating Epishine’s indoor solar cells into SoluM’s ESL rail systems, we’re offering a practical way to future-proof retail operations while reducing battery dependency and maintenance costs,” added Anders Kottenauer, CEO at Epishine.