When 2,000 people have little time at lunch, checkout simply has to work. That’s exactly why Partner Tech Europe developed a tailor-made self-checkout solution together with migrolino for the store at Prime Tower in Zurich.
Fast shopping, built properly: migrolino launches Partner Tech self-checkout at Prime Tower
Von André Rüttinger | Lesedauer 6 min
Zurich-West, Prime Tower, lunchtime. Lots of people, short breaks, busy paths. Anyone shopping here does not want to stand in line for long. Places like this show whether self-checkout really works in everyday store life.
With the migrolino store at Prime Tower, another pilot in the joint rollout between migrolino and Partner Tech Europe has gone live. The goal was not simply to “install SCOs.” The goal was to create a solution that fits the store, reduces theft risks, relieves staff, and gets customers through their shopping faster.
Self-checkout for places where every minute counts
Convenience stores work differently from traditional retail spaces. Here, it is often about the quick shop before work, during lunch break, or on the way home. At Prime Tower in particular, the pressure is high: around 2,000 employees work in the surrounding offices and companies.
“One special aspect of this project at Prime Tower was creating a solution that allows the roughly 2,000 employees working in the various offices and companies to get their lunch-break shopping done quickly,” says Carl Christesen, Brand Ambassador at Partner Tech Europe.
In concrete terms: checkout must not slow things down. It has to be intuitive, run reliably, and still work when many people want to move on quickly at the same time.
Why migrolino chose Partner Tech Europe
migrolino chose Partner Tech Europe based on the functional and operational requirements for the self-checkout solution — both for new stores and for modernizing existing locations.
Partner Tech Europe stood out above all with a solution that does more than classic scanning and payment. At its core is the company’s own SCO software, Otter. It brings features that really matter in everyday convenience retail:
- Crime prevention to reduce theft risks in a targeted way
- AI-supported age verification that significantly reduces manual approvals by staff
- Automatic recognition of unpackaged goods such as bread rolls, fruit, or vegetables through an AI-controlled picklist
These are exactly the details that make the difference. Because self-checkout does not only need to work for packaged standard items. It also has to handle the products that move through real stores every day.
Alfred, adapted for migrolino
When it came to the hardware, too, the goal was not to use an off-the-shelf solution. The starting point was Partner Tech’s SCO model Alfred. The solution was specifically tailored to migrolino’s requirements and integrated into the existing store concept.
As a result, the solution blends in perfectly visually. No technical eyesores. No device that looks as if it were added to the space as an afterthought. Instead, it’s a self-checkout system that’s an integral part of the space.
Collaboration that takes requirements seriously
“I would like to thank our customer migrolino for the excellent collaboration during the concept phase of the self-checkouts,” says Carl Christesen. “At this point, I would also like to give huge credit to the PTE team (in Germany and Lithuania), who were able to implement every wish and every requirement from the customer.”
That was the core of the project: listen, understand, adapt. Not starting with a standard solution and hoping it fits. But developing an SCO solution together with migrolino that meets the requirements on site.
From concept to training
Partner Tech Europe supported migrolino throughout every phase: from concept development to installation and implementation, all the way to staff training.
Here, too, the focus was on practice rather than PowerPoint. Following the “Teach the Teacher” principle, migrolino employees were trained so that SCO know-how stays directly within the company. That makes day-to-day operation more independent, faster, and more secure.
A project that shows what really matters
The migrolino store at Prime Tower shows very clearly what modern self-checkout solutions need to be today: fast, reliable, intelligent, and close to real store operation.
For Partner Tech Europe, the project is a strong example of how retail tech should work. Not as a technology showcase. But as a solution for the people working in the store — and for customers who simply want to get on with their day.
About migrolino AG
migrolino AG, headquartered in Suhr, is one of the leading providers in the Swiss convenience market. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Federation of Migros Cooperatives, migrolino operates a nationwide network of more than 380 locations at railway stations, petrol stations, and other high-traffic sites across Switzerland. Under the migrolino, mio, and gooods brands, the company offers a broad range of products for quick on-the-go shopping — from fresh convenience items and Migros products to everyday essentials. The shops are operated either by franchise partners or together with strategic partners such as Migrol, Shell, SOCAR, and Piccadilly. In addition, through migrolino-wholesale, migrolino has been offering logistics and service solutions to external partners since 2015.
