Fast4shop: The New Aseptic Retail Standard Built on RFID
On a mission to bring speed, hygiene, and smart control to everyday shopping, starting with Pharmacies, expanding everywhere!
We have all stood in line at a Pharmacy, waiting to pay for something as simple as a face cream or a vitamin bottle. No one ahead of you seems in a hurry. The staff is juggling billing, stock checks, and customer questions. What should take two minutes stretches into ten.
It is a small frustration. But for David Lladró, it was the kind that stuck.
As Chairman of the Board at Futurian and the head of his family office, David had the rare freedom to turn observations like this into opportunities. In 2016, he started exploring the tech sector with one goal: to build a business portfolio that reflects long-term value, thoughtful innovation, and real-world impact.
The journey began with research. He spent years learning the ropes of tech investing, meeting with Venture Capital leaders, and co-investing in promising funds. But it was never about following trends. It was about finding the right moment to lead something meaningful.
That moment arrived when he crossed paths with Javier Ferrer Alós, a technologist with bold ideas for the retail world. David saw potential not just in the products, but in the purpose behind them. Together, they launched Futurian to build retail solutions that could truly change how people shop.
Their attention soon turned to Pharmacies, as Javier is not only a computer scientist but also a pharmacist. During the COVID pandemic, he took on the challenge of creating new retail technology that would reduce sources of contamination from contact. In fact, he created a patent in this direction (Airepi, https://airepi.com/). This led to the emergence of a new paradigm, “Aseptic Retail“, which David loved.
The Pharmacy sector had been slow to adopt retail tech, and what David and Javier discovered was surprising: despite high foot traffic and a wide range of fast-moving products, Pharmacy operations remained mostly manual. Inventory was time-consuming. Theft prevention was clunky. Customer checkout lacked speed and ease, and they did not want to install the usual touchscreen self-checkouts (SCOs).
For David, this is the kind of innovation that matters, which is about solving everyday problems in ways that feel simple, helpful, and long overdue. That mindset, part investor, part builder, is what sets him apart. And it is what makes Futurian’s story one to watch.
A Visionary’s Journey into Tech-Driven Retail Innovation
Managing a Family Office provides one with the opportunity to define their investment strategy and policies, all within the framework of their company’s corporate culture, vision, and values. For David, it is a passionate job that allows him to create the business portfolio he desires.
After 2–3 years with this practice, they met their partner at Futurian, Javier, a technologist, computer scientist, and pharmacist who was working on different projects and products to improve the paradigm shift that the Retail sector wanted to face. Specifically, Javier was investigating a new paradigm he called Aseptic Retail. They loved this opportunity and decided to establish FUTURIAN to create a company and a team that would begin to develop products and solutions for the Retail sector.
Together, they created a vertical solution, Fast4shop for Pharmacies, targeting the retail sector where this new healthcare-focused approach was most needed. By leveraging RFID technology, the solution enables Pharmacies to offer fast, self-service payments from an advanced SCO terminal, complete inventory control in a matter of minutes, software integration with any enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and the most advanced anti theft control. For the first time on the market, the system deactivates three technologies—RFID, AM (acousto magnetic), and RF—directly at the contactless SCO terminal. All transactions processed through the SCO are entirely contactless. Customers do not need to touch anything to complete their transaction, which is done in seconds, thereby eliminating the risk of cross-contamination, as documented in scientific publications on touch screens.
It is efficient. It is smart. And it works.
An important feature of Fast4shop is that it can easily export it to other Retail segments such as cosmetics and perfume shops, gas stations, fashion, etc.
Pioneering Hygiene-First Retail in Pharmacies
As David and his team advanced their vision for tech-driven retail through Fast4shop, one insight stood out clearly: innovation in retail is incomplete without addressing public health. This led to the development of what he defines as the Aseptic Retail paradigm, a model built not only around speed and efficiency but also on the urgent need for safer customer interactions in physical retail spaces.
There is scientific evidence that touchscreens (TUI: Touch User Interface), widely used in public spaces, are a passive vector for the cross-contamination of pathogens such as the flu virus (Influenza), especially in the context of seasonal epidemic outbreaks. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that seasonal flu causes between 290,000 and 650,000 annual deaths globally, with healthcare costs amounting to billions of dollars.
At the same time, various studies have detected fecal bacteria, Staphylococcus, and Listeria on analyzed touchscreens in fast-food restaurants, demonstrating their ease of transmission. The scientific recommendation is clear: Touchscreens must be eliminated from sensitive public spaces like airports (the main gateways for pandemics) and, critically, from Pharmacies.
David’s self-service and contactless self-checkout system, specifically designed for Pharmacies, SCO f4s (Self Checkout Fast4shop), addresses this problem by creating the first POS based on RFID technology that is completely “contactless” and without a touchscreen. This is not a mere convenience, but a proactive public health measure that significantly mitigates the risk of contagion, preventing cross-contamination.
The measurable impacts of this implementation are as follows:
❖ Improved sanitary safety: By eliminating tactile interaction, the transfer of pathogens is minimized, enhancing the safety of both the customer and the staff.
❖ Enhanced Pharmacy image: The Pharmacy is positioned as a modern, innovative, and public health conscious establishment, attracting consumers concerned about hygiene. The UK’s GPhC (General Pharmaceutical Council) already sets standards that ensure a safe and effective environment.
❖ Operational optimization: Beyond hygiene, Fast4shop decongests structural queues at the counter, allowing pharmacists and assistants to dedicate themselves to higher-value-added clinical services.
Overcoming Challenges in RFID Migration
To fully realize the vision of hygiene-first retail in Pharmacies, there is a critical need to modernize the technology underpinning day-to-day operations. One of the most significant shifts lies in moving from traditional barcode-based inventory systems to RFID-enabled solutions. While both technologies serve the goal of product identification, they address different challenges and can work together in complementary ways.
Traditionally, the manual management of a Pharmacy’s inventory, which can range from 7,000 to 40,000 items, using EAN-13 barcode scanning is costly, tedious, and error-prone. Administrative errors in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems can affect a significant percentage of product references, accounting for 24 percent of the unknown loss, which itself represents 0.9 percent of total turnover.
This is compounded by unknown losses from internal and external theft, at 17 percent and 54 percent, respectively, according to the 2022 Barometer of Commercial Distribution Theft in Spain, with data compiled by NIQ (Nielsen Consumer LLC). This results in incorrect restocking, either due to overstocking or understocking (administrative errors and theft).
Fast4shop overcomes these barriers with an innovative solution:
❖ Ultra-fast physical inventory
❖ Unprecedented traceability at the single-product level
There is a highly beneficial synergy between RFID and QR identification (SKU / SCO / WMS) and the universal barcode (LOT / POS / ERP). The identification of non-prescription products in a Pharmacy using RFID and QR is not intended to replace the barcode (the domain of ERPs) but rather to expand its resolution to the single product level (the domain of WMS like Fast4shop). As such, the transition is natural, user-friendly, and highly anticipated.
Touchless Self-Checkout
While RFID transforms the back-end with speed, accuracy, and traceability, its impact becomes even more tangible at the customer-facing level through Fast4shop’s Self-Checkout system, SCO f4s. David explained that SCO f4s is built around the principles of the Aseptic Retail paradigm, which prioritizes hygiene, speed, and simplicity, especially in health-focused environments like Pharmacies.
For non-prescription products, the influence is direct and quantifiable:
❖ Unprecedented speed and ease of use: SCO f4s simplifies the purchasing process by eliminating the need for touchscreen interaction and identifying products omnidirectionally. This results in transactions completed in under 15 seconds, a highly valued factor for customers. There is no technology gap for older people: it is quick and easy.
❖ Drastic reduction in queues and increased customer satisfaction: The speed and ease of use lead to a reduction in queues.
❖ Improvement in customer loyalty: It allows the Pharmacy to regain customers who previously chose other channels due to long waiting times.
For prescription medications, the influence is indirect but equally vital for workflow efficiency and the improvement of healthcare. David referred to it as “The counter for those who need it“: By automating non prescription product transactions, SCO f4s decongests the main counter lines. This allows pharmacists and assistants to dedicate their time to providing higher-value clinical services and specialized advice.
Transforming Pharmacy Inventory Management
The same RFID technology that simplifies checkout is also transforming inventory management behind the scenes. Fast4shop’s RFID-based system introduces accuracy, efficiency, and real-time visibility into Pharmacy operations, solving long-standing challenges around waste, losses, and stock control.
David explained the improvements that SCO f4s brings as follows:
❖ Ultra-fast inventories: SCO f4s allows inventories of 7,000 to 40,000 non-prescription products to be carried out in just 30 to 180 minutes, using a handheld RFID terminal or an unattended RFID robot, without the need to close the store or scan each product’s barcode one by one. This efficiency stands out compared to the hours or days required by traditional manual methods.
❖ Unprecedented traceability at the SKU level: Each product has a unique Electronic Product Code (EPC) recorded on the RFID chip and the same SKU encoded in the QR code on the Fast4shop label, allowing for previously unattainable product-level inventory visibility in the pharmaceutical sector. Fast4shop adds WMS 4.0 (Warehouse Management System) functionality with SKU resolution, which ERP systems lack, enabling full traceability at the product level (origin-sale-consumer-date/time) and expiration date control, which is relevant for cosmetic and nutritional products.
Reduction of administrative errors: Traditional ERP and manual data entry systems accumulate administrative errors that can account for up to 24% of unknown stock loss, contributing to incorrect restocking and, in the worst case, stockouts. Fast4shop mitigates these errors and ensures unprecedented inventory consistency in Pharmacies.
❖ Minimization of waste and optimization of resources: Fast4shop minimizes the risk of overstocking, obsolescence, and waste. This ensures that only necessary inventory is maintained, reducing the waste associated with unsold or expired products.
Seamless ERP Integration Through Fast4shop’s Universal Interface
The RFID-powered transformation of inventory management does not end at faster stock counts or better traceability. What brings it all together is Fast4shop’s ability to communicate directly with a Pharmacy’s existing ERP system, ensuring that every movement, from shelf to sale, is reflected instantly and accurately. This is made possible through Fast4shop’s published Universal Interface, designed to integrate with any ERP system through two main platforms:
- API (Application Programming Interface): For programmatic communication and real-time data exchange (for example: retrieving an item, checking stock in the ERP, consulting a loyalty customer).
- sFTP (secure File Transfer Protocol): Provides a secure channel for data transfers that do not require real time synchronization, in a batch process of less than 2 seconds (for example: sales transactions, warehouse transfers, printing RFID tags, changes in prices, taxes, and item descriptions).
This interoperability ensures an automatic and fluid communication, which allows for:
❖ Automatic sales updates: Each transaction in the f4s SCO is recorded in the Pharmacy’s ERP, identically to how it would have been carried out on a manual POS at the counter.
❖ Automatic generation of RFID tags: Tags are created with the entries in the ERP for each product at the SKU level. The Fast4shop tags, with the RFID’s EPC and the QR code with the unit SKU data, are related to the reception, date-time, and product.
❖ Customer integration: Customer information obtained through the free-to-download Fast4shop Loyalty App (on Android and iOS) for Pharmacy customers is updated to the ERP, using the installation QR visible on the f4s SCO.
❖ Warehouse transfers: Transfer movements between the Pharmacy’s warehouses are sent through the Fast4shop Inventory App (on Android).
Fast4shop, with its published Universal Interface, adapts to an ERP whose architecture works locally, as well as to more advanced ERPs that run in the cloud, under a SaaS model.
A Smarter Approach to Pharmacy Security
David explained that Fast4shop sets a new standard for Pharmacy security, one that works in sync with daily operations instead of getting in the way. Unlike conventional anti-theft control systems, Fast4shop protects inventory while keeping the customer experience smooth and uninterrupted. Its key advantages include:
❖ Triple integrated anti-theft system: The f4s SCO is the first of its kind with RFID that deactivates the alarm of any of the three types of EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) tags: AM (Acousto-Magnetic), RF, and RFID. This allows it to adapt to the EAS technology that may have been previously installed in the Pharmacy.
❖ Automatic deactivation at the time of payment: The f4s SCO automatically deactivates the anti-theft tags at the time of payment.
David further added that the effectiveness of Fast4shop’s anti-theft control system is supported by its ability to address the main causes of loss in the retail sector.
Building Profitability into Every Pharmacy
Although seamless ERP integration forms the digital backbone of Fast4shop, profitability remains the outcome that truly matters to Pharmacies. David explained that to ensure long-term business value as RFID technology continues to evolve, Fast4shop has been designed around three essential pillars: cost anticipation, operational efficiency, and scalability.
In a market shaped by fixed prices for medicines, it is the profitability of non-prescription ParaPharmacy products that plays a vital role in widespread adoption.
❖ Anticipating the reduction of RFID costs: Futurian has strategically committed to RFID technology, anticipating the progressive reduction in the cost of RFID tags (cheaper conductive inks, such as graphene-based ones).
❖ Design focused on operational efficiency: The solution is designed to generate significant savings and increase a Pharmacy’s profitability from day one:
➢ Loss control: Inventory monitoring and improved loss control with a handheld RFID terminal or an unattended RFID robot.
➢ ERP stock discrepancy control: The accuracy and reliability of a physical inventory via WMS-RFID are superior to an ERP management inventory based on human procedures.
➢ Staff efficiency: Frees up pharmacists and assistants for higher value-added tasks.
❖ Inherent scalability for all Pharmacy sizes:
➢ Flexible ERP integration: Integration with on-premise and cloud-based ERP systems adapts to the needs of independent Pharmacies and large chains.
➢ Functionalities for Pharmacy chains: For Pharmacy chains, SCO f4s offers a dedicated API for warehouse management and daily activity KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). In addition, the WMS application is multi-Pharmacy, multi-warehouse, multi-SCO, and multi-language, allowing for centralized and optimized management at a large scale.
Fast4shop’s Vision for Retail 4.0
Building on its focus on profitability, Fast4shop’s strategic vision, as described by David, aligns with the Retail 4.0 paradigm, which brings together technologies such as RFID, QR, NFC, sensing technology, computer vision and Artificial Intelligence (AI). While the company’s primary solution, SCO f4s, focuses on operational efficiency and hygiene for Pharmacies, David recognized the complementary potential of AI and computer vision within the retail ecosystem.
These technologies, particularly in advanced security and loss prevention, can operate as an additional layer of protection. An example is using AI to analyze suspicious gestures captured by video surveillance cameras. Nevertheless, current research shows that vision-based solutions for anti-theft control are not yet fully autonomous and still require constant human supervision to validate alerts and ensure their effectiveness.
Empowering Pharmacy Staff to Prioritize Patient Care
While technology and system design play a key role in driving profitability, David emphasized that sustainable business performance also depends on how effectively Pharmacy staff are enabled to do what they do best, care for patients. According to him, the feedback from Pharmacy teams after implementing Fast4shop has been very positive. It has enhanced their ability to focus on clinical services and patient care, which in turn has contributed meaningfully to the overall growth of the business.
❖ More time for specialized care: David mentioned that Pharmacy staff have noticed Fast4shop frees up their time by automating non-prescription product transactions. This allows them to dedicate their efforts to higher value-added clinical services, such as dispensing medications, managing prescriptions, and providing personalized pharmaceutical advice. He added that the concept of ‘the counter for those who need it’ is fully materialized.
❖ Reaffirming the professional role: He cited Pharmacist Juan Vindel, a pioneer in the adoption of Fast4shop at his Pharmacy in Alcobendas (Madrid), who emphasizes that staff have adapted very easily and recognizes that the system helps them provide better customer service at the counter.
❖ Positive impact on business performance:
➢ Improved customer experience
➢ Increased customer loyalty and sales
David explained that Fast4shop not only optimizes operations, but also re-evaluates the human capital of the Pharmacy, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on what is truly important: the health and well-being of the patient, thereby driving sustainable business growth.
At Futurian, David stated that they envision Fast4shop not as a simple product, but as a strategic reinvention of pharmaceutical retail. Their commitment to innovation and the search for solutions to sectoral challenges have positioned the company at the forefront. With SCO f4s, David and his team are inviting the pharmaceutical sector to join the Retail 4.0 revolution, incorporating Self-Checkout and WMS RFID for non-prescription products in the retail space. This solution is added to other online sales channels in full deployment, such as Click & Collect, so that Pharmacies can position themselves as pioneers in this momentous transformation.
Fast4shop satisfies customers’ desire for a “contactless, fast, and hygienic” shopping experience.
