NCR is still at the nexus of people and money. Born during the
waning days of the Wild West as National Cash Register, NCR is a
leading maker of ATMs. The company also makes point-of-sale (POS)
terminals, bar code scanners, and related printer consumables.
Other retail and financial systems offerings include check image
processing systems and self-service kiosks for hospitality, retail,
and travel applications. NCR's services segment provides
maintenance and support, as well as professional services such as
systems integration and managed services. NCR, which facilitates
more than 600 million transactions daily, does business in more
than 180 countries. About 54% of its sales are generated outside
the US.
Operations
The company's largest segment, financial services, represents about
52% of sales and includes ATMs and payment processing hardware and
software. Its retail solutions segment accounts for about 31% of
sales and includes POS terminals and bar-code scanners. The
hospitality and emerging industries segments -- which include POS
hardware and software for restaurants and sports/entertainment
venues and products and services for the manufacturing, travel, and
gaming industries, respectively -- bring in 11% and 6% of revenue,
respectively.
Geographic Reach
The US is NCR's largest market, accounting for 46% of sales, with
the Americas as a whole contributing about 55%. Europe and the AMEA
(Asia, Middle East, and Africa) region account for 31% of revenue.
The Asia-pacific region, plus Japan generated 14% of revenue.
NCR's only region with growing sales was the US in 2015, which a
7% increase. Sales fell elsewhere including a 10% drop in
Europe.
The company operates 27 research and development and
manufacturing facilities around the world. in Australia, Austria,
Brazil, China, Hungary, India, and the US.
Sales and Marketing
The company's products and services are marketed primarily through
a direct sales force, although it does, to a lesser degree, tap a
network of distributors and resellers.
Financial Performance
NCR reported revenue dropped 3% to $6.4 billion in 2015 from the
$6.6 billion in rang up in 2014. It saw declines in financial
services and in markets outside the US. The hospitality segment
grew 4% while retail and emerging industries were even with 2014
revenue.
The company swung from a $191 profit in 2014 to a $178 million
loss in 2015 on the fall in revenue and a higher income tax
bill.
NCR generated cash flow of $681 million in 2015, up from $652
million in 2014.
Strategy
In 2015 NCR continued the shift of its business toward
software-based consumer transaction technologies. It also
maintained a restructuring designed to allocate resources to focus
on businesses with opportunities for higher growth and bigger
margins. It is rationalizing its product portfolio and phasing out
older commodity product lines. The company had $62 million in
restructuring charges in 2015.
NCR stated that its long-term strategy is to be a global
technology solutions company that uses software and value-added
endpoints, coupled with higher-margin services and a focus on cloud
and mobile, to help our customers deliver on the promise of an
omnichannel experience. It is focused on evolving its software
business model, sales enablement, services transformation,
investing in innovation, and cultivating its culture and team.
Emphasizing its move to software-based products, NCR agreed to
sell its Interactive Printer Solutions Division to Atlas Holdings.
The division provides consumable products that include stock and
custom color-printed paper receipt rolls, pressure-sensitive
labels, impact inking and thermal transfer ribbons. In making the
deal, NCR said the division no longer fit into its portfolio. The
deal was to close in 2016.
In 2015, NCR rolled out its cloud-based ATM software, called
Kalpana. While the ATM still dispenses hard currency, its running
on software residing in an NCR data center. Moving ATM operations
to the cloud is to reduce costs by 40%, speed up new services
offerings, and reduce the impact of malware.
NCR signed an agreement with Vidyo to use Vidyo video technology
in its interactive ATMs and other machines. The video systems
allows banks to offer face-to-face, if remote, teller service as
well as offer more services. Remote teller transactions lower
processing costs, speed up transactions, and increase product sales
and yet maintain a personal touch. Vidyo's technology offers secure
and scalable video communication.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestments
In 2016 NCR acquired CimpleBox Inc., a provider of simplified
Software-as-a-Service-based back office software to small and
medium size businesses such as restaurants and retailers. CimpleBox
software helps businesses reduce the time spent on manual
processes, consolidates data and scheduling, and gives managers
more insight into the business and day-to-day operations.
NCR acquired Digital Insight Corp., a leader in online and
mobile banking software, for $1.65 billion in early 2014. It also
recently acquired Alaric Systems Ltd., a London-based software firm
that provides secure transaction switching and fraud prevention,
for about $84 million. Together, the Digital Insight and Alaric
purchases extend NCR's existing capabilities in the banking
industry to form a complete enterprise software platform that will
deliver across all digital and physical channels - mobile, online,
branch, and ATM.