A2: Business

Xconomy.com reports on Verdi Erel Ergun’s web-based cash register system, called Own. Ergun – who owns the Burrito Joint in Ann Arbor and is a UM MBA student – developed the system to easily change menus, access sales, and integrate social media sites to customer loyalty programs. Ergun will launch the program in November and hopes it will help local coffee shops beat out chains: “If we can be innovative for coffee houses to start with on the loyalty programs … involving the loyalty cards with Facebook, involving them with Twitter, doing all that from the checkout system, then I think we’ll create a compelling solution that could work for other stores.” [Source]