Cei Systems
Cei Systems is an Italian designer and manufacturer of touchscreen POS systems, fiscal recorders, handhelds, and cloud management software, serving Ho.Re.Ca SMBs across Italy via direct offices and authorized dealers, now a subsidiary of Gruppo Buffetti.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1986
- HeadquartersTurin, Italy
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Cei Systems does
Cei Systems s.r.l. is an Italian point-of-sale (POS) solutions provider founded in 1986 by Vincenzo Siliato and Giorgio Raviola, headquartered in Grugliasco (Turin). The company designs, manufactures, and distributes touchscreen POS terminals (T15, TFT14, Smart Touch, System Cash), telematic fiscal recorders and printers (Big Plus RT, PRT 80FX RT, Dado RT, K3 F RT), handheld order devices (ATZ4), automatic change-giving cash drawers (Glory CI5/CI10X/RK100), self-service totems, and accessories including RFID loyalty cards — all produced at its Grugliasco facility. Software offerings include SmartManager and Manager for real-time analytics and remote multi-location management, plus the Cei Food app for digital ordering. The company also resells Pudu Robotics service robots (BellaBot, KettyBot, PuduBot 2, HolaBot) under the CEI Robot brand for restaurant delivery and customer interaction. Hardware and software are engineered in-house, including a proprietary radio communication system designed to avoid interference between terminals and peripherals.
Cei Systems monetizes primarily through one-time hardware sales complemented by software licenses (SmartManager, CashManager, Manager), professional services (installation, training, technical support with phone coverage into late evening), and accessories. Pricing is quote-based with installment plans offered via the agent network; small retail configurations can start in the hundreds of euros. The go-to-market is a hybrid direct-plus-channel model: company-employed commercial representatives in Turin, Milan, Rome (three branches), Viterbo, and Genoa run on-site demonstrations and installation, while a nationwide network of authorized dealers and resellers reaches smaller SMBs. Primary customers are Italian Ho.Re.Ca operators — restaurants, bars, pizzerias, pubs, gelaterias, tobacco shops, and small retailers — supplemented by beach establishments and self-service venues.
The company has consolidated rapidly since October 2024, when it was acquired by Gruppo Buffetti, a diversified Italian business management software group. In mid-2025 CEI acquired A.T.A. Srl (Rome) and Arioni Genova and opened branches in Viterbo and Genoa, extending its territorial footprint while maintaining its specialization in Italian fiscal-compliance-driven hospitality POS. Partnerships with DocuMI (electronic invoicing via YouDOX) and SumUp (card payments) integrate third-party services into the CEI platform. The firm holds ISO 9001:2015 and CSQ certifications and is authorized by the Agenzia delle Entrate to verify and supply fiscal instruments.
Cei Systems firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cei Systems
- Legal name
- Cei Systems s.r.l.
- Website
- https://ceisystems.it
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1986
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Cei Systems is an Italian designer and manufacturer of touchscreen POS systems, fiscal recorders, handhelds, and cloud management software, serving Ho.Re.Ca SMBs across Italy via direct offices and authorized dealers, now a subsidiary of Gruppo Buffetti.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Cei Systems is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Turin
- HQ country
- Italy
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices7 records
Markets served
Cei Systems business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales: Sale of point of sale terminals, cash registers, handheld ordering devices, fiscal printers, change drawers, scales, scanners, and other peripherals. Hardware is produced in-house and sold as one-time purchases with perpetual ownership.
- Software Licenses: Point of sale systems come with integrated management software. The company offers software management solutions like SmartManager and CashManager for real-time data analysis and remote management.
- Professional Services: Technical assistance, installation support, and training services. CEI Systems provides technical support by phone until late evening every day of the week, plus on-site assistance.
- Accessories and Peripherals: Sale of accessories including RFID cards for loyalty programs, protective covers, scanner devices, customer displays, and paper/receipt rolls.
- Electronic Invoicing Integration: Partnership with DocuMI for electronic invoice creation, signing, transmission, and 10-year compliant storage through YouDOX platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Basic point of sale configuration starting price for small outlets |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Cei Systems product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cei Systems designs, manufactures, and supplies point-of-sale hardware and software for the Italian hospitality and retail markets. Its offering covers touchscreen cash registers, handheld ordering devices (palmari), and certified fiscal printers, bundled with management software and a cloud-based remote management platform for centralized administration of deployed terminals.
Product overview
Cei Systems is a point-of-sale solutions company founded in 1986, specializing in hardware and software products for the food & beverage and retail sectors. The product portfolio centers on touch screen point-of-sale terminals (T15, TFT14, Smart Touch, System Cash) integrated with electronic fiscal recorders (Big Plus RT, PRT 80FX RT, Dado RT, K3 F RT) for Italian tax compliance. Complementary hardware includes automatic change-giving cash drawers (Glory CI5, CI10X, RK100), order management handhelds (ATZ4), self-service totems, barcode scanners, scales, and customer-facing displays. Software offerings comprise SmartManager and Manager for analytics and remote management, Cei Food app for digital ordering, and order printing systems. The company also offers AI-powered service robots (BellaBot, KettyBot, PuduBot 2, HolaBot) for restaurant delivery and hospitality automation. All products are designed and manufactured at the company's Grugliasco (Turin) headquarters and are compatible with each other for long-term expandability.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Touchscreen POS terminals (Touch series) Touchscreen electronic cash registers built for Italian hospitality and retail operators, integrating sales, payment, and fiscal compliance functions. Sold through Cei Systems' Italian dealer network.
- Handheld ordering devices (Palmari) Mobile handheld terminals used by waitstaff in Italian hospitality venues to take orders at the table and transmit them to the kitchen and POS system.
- Fiscal printers (stampanti fiscali) Certified fiscal receipt printers compliant with Italian tax authority (Agenzia delle Entrate) requirements, supplied to retail and hospitality businesses for legal receipt issuance.
- POS management software Software suite for managing POS operations including sales, inventory, and reporting, paired with Cei Systems' hardware terminals.
- Cloud-based remote management platform Cloud platform that allows centralized remote management, monitoring, and updating of Cei Systems POS terminals deployed across multiple customer sites.
- Solari SuperEasy Named product within Cei Systems' cash register portfolio, sold to Italian retail and hospitality operators through the company's dealer network.
- NEXT POS terminal Named POS terminal model in Cei Systems' hardware portfolio for Italian hospitality and retail customers.
- MFC POS terminal Named POS terminal model in Cei Systems' hardware portfolio for Italian retail and hospitality operators.
- Easy POS terminal Named POS terminal model in Cei Systems' hardware portfolio for Italian retail and hospitality operators.
- Fasy fiscal printer Named fiscal printer model in Cei Systems' fiscal hardware portfolio, designed for Italian tax compliance receipt issuance.
Quantifiable outcome
- Cost recovery within a few months due to reduced operational costs
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cei Systems
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Cei Systems technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
Cei Systems partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, flagship, minor and core.
- Arioni GenovastrategicHistoric reality in providing technological solutions for retail and automation in Genoa, joining CEI Systems. Part of territorial expansion project strengthening CEI presence in North-West Italy.
- A.T.A. SrlstrategicHistoric reality in Rome operating in retail technology and automation sectors, joining CEI Systems network. This partnership strengthens CEI's presence in the Rome area and brings long experience, strong territorial roots, and aligned company culture.
- Gruppo BuffettiflagshipCEI Systems entered the Gruppo Buffetti, a leader in business management software development and digital services. This integration represents a significant growth milestone, creating a stronger combined entity. Buffetti brings extensive experience in management software that complements CEI's POS hardware expertise.
- CNA TorinominorPartnership with CNA Torino (Confederazione Nazionale dell'Artigiano) for electronic receipt education. CEI participated as speakers at territorial meetings organized by CNA to explain electronic receipt regulations and technical aspects.
- DocuMIcorePartnership for electronic invoice management integrated into CEI point of sale systems. DocuMI provides the YouDOX web platform for electronic invoice creation, digital signature, transmission to SDI (Sistema di Interscambio), and compliant 10-year document storage. AgID accredited conservator ensuring regulatory compliance.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Cei Systems competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- RCH Group: Italian POS hardware and software vendor specializing in cash registers, fiscal printers, and retail/hospitality solutions. Closest direct peer to CEI Systems, with overlapping product lines (fiscal telematic recorders, touch POS), similar customer segments, and same Italian fiscal regulatory compliance focus.
- Custom Group: Italian manufacturer of POS hardware, fiscal printers, and self-service kiosks serving retail and Ho.Re.Ca. Directly competes with CEI on telematic fiscal recorders, touch-screen POS, and integrated payment hardware within the Italian market.
- Ditron Networks: Italian provider of POS systems, fiscal printers, and cash registers with strong presence in retail and hospitality. Overlaps with CEI in fiscal telematic hardware and software integration for Italian SMBs.
Broad incumbents
- Olivetti: Historic Italian technology incumbent offering POS, fiscal hardware, and document management solutions. Broader portfolio and deeper enterprise reach than CEI, but directly competes on fiscal cash registers and Italian retail/Ho.Re.Ca deployments.
- NCR Voyix: Global hospitality and retail POS incumbent with installed base across restaurants, hotels, and multi-site operators. Competes with CEI in larger hospitality venues but lacks CEI's deep Italian fiscal-hardware specialization.
- Oracle MICROS: Enterprise-grade restaurant and hospitality POS platform serving global hotel and restaurant chains. Indirectly competitive with CEI for larger Italian hospitality accounts and represents the cloud/software alternative to CEI's on-premise stack.
Emerging players
- Toast: US-based cloud-native POS platform for restaurants combining hardware, software, and payments into a SaaS bundle. Competes for the same Italian SMB restaurant customers CEI serves, but with a fundamentally different subscription/cloud economics model.
- Lightspeed Restaurant: Cloud POS solution for hospitality and retail with strong European footprint. Targets the same Ho.Re.Ca SMB segment as CEI Systems with a subscription-first, mobile-friendly value proposition.
- TouchBistro: iPad-based POS system for restaurants with international presence. Targets independent restaurants and small chains, directly competing with CEI for Ho.Re.Ca wallet share outside Italy.
Regional players
- Posiflex Technology: Taiwan-based POS hardware manufacturer with global distribution and touch-screen terminals comparable to CEI's T15 line. Competes in adjacent European markets as an OEM hardware supplier, complementing rather than replacing Italian POS vendors.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cei Systems social profiles
Digital presenceCei Systems compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Cei Systems financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cei Systems leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Cei Systems subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Cei Systems funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cei Systems M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cei Systems
What does Cei Systems do?
Cei Systems designs, manufactures, and supplies point-of-sale hardware and software for the Italian hospitality and retail markets. Its offering covers touchscreen cash registers, handheld ordering devices (palmari), and certified fiscal printers, bundled with management software and a cloud-based remote management platform for centralized administration of deployed terminals.
Is Cei Systems a public or private company?
Cei Systems is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Cei Systems founded?
Cei Systems was founded in 1986. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Cei Systems based?
Cei Systems is headquartered in Turin, Italy, in the Europe region.
How does Cei Systems make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are software Licenses, professional Services, accessories and Peripherals and electronic Invoicing Integration.
Who are Cei Systems's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are RCH Group, Custom Group and Ditron Networks. Broad incumbents are Olivetti, NCR Voyix and Oracle MICROS. Emerging players are Toast, Lightspeed Restaurant and TouchBistro. Posiflex Technology is listed as a regional player.
Does Cei Systems have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cei Systems.