The phrase that pushed three of our 2026 migration customers over the edge was identical: “Your renewal quote is locked in until 2029.” If you are reading this, you have probably heard a version of it. The good news, and the part SoluM account reps will not volunteer, is that nearly every SoluM master agreement signed in North America since 2021 contains a 90-day termination-for-convenience clause buried in the services schedule. We have helped twelve US retailers exit SoluM contracts inside that clause over the last fourteen months, and the migration to ZKong takes about six weeks for a 12-store regional chain when sequenced correctly.

Step 1: Read Your Contract Before You Talk to Anyone

Pull the master services agreement, the SaaS schedule, and the hardware purchase order. The 90-day clause typically sits in section 12 or 13 of the SaaS schedule under “Termination” and reads something like “either party may terminate this Order Form upon ninety (90) days written notice.” The hardware itself is yours, free and clear, the moment your purchase order was paid, regardless of what your account rep implies. Cloud platform access (SoluM SSP) is what you are actually terminating.

What you are not terminating is the right to keep using your existing labels. The 2.4 GHz hardware does not phone home to SoluM after cutover, so there is no kill switch. This matters for the recycling decision later.

Step 2: Export Everything From SoluM SSP While You Still Have Access

Before you give notice, export the full data set. SSP allows CSV exports of the label-to-SKU mapping table, the store/zone/aisle topology, and the user roster. Export per store, then per template. The template export is the one most retailers forget; rebuilding 40 templates from scratch on a new platform adds two weeks to the project that you do not need to spend.

Specifically, you want: the LabelID-to-SKU map (one CSV per store), the template ZIP for every template variant, the gateway/AP topology with MAC addresses, the user list with role assignments, and the last 90 days of refresh logs. ZKong’s onboarding team imports those files directly into the ZKong Cloud platform; the LabelID map is what makes the cutover non-disruptive.

Step 3: Order ZKong Hardware in Parallel, Not in Series

The biggest avoidable delay is treating hardware procurement as the step after contract termination. It is the step before. ZKong USA stocks Nebular Series BWRY labels (1.6″, 2.13″, 2.9″, 4.2″, 7.5″) and the Lark gateway in our New Jersey warehouse, with 5-7 business day delivery to anywhere in the lower 48. Order the hardware the same week you give SoluM notice; it lands while you are still on the SoluM platform.

Per-label pricing for a 12-store, 1,500-SKU-per-store deployment in 2026 lands around $4.20 for 2.9″ BWRY and $5.80 for 4.2″ BWRY at that volume, plus roughly $180 per Lark gateway with about one gateway per 4,000 sq ft. A 12-store chain with mixed sizing typically writes a hardware PO between $128,000 and $165,000.

Step 4: Cutover Store by Store, Not All at Once

Big-bang migrations look efficient on a Gantt chart and fail in real life. The pattern that works for chains under 50 stores is one store per week, starting with the smallest. Cutover day for a single store is six to eight hours of physical work with a four-person team: two pulling the SoluM labels, two installing the ZKong replacements. Because the LabelID-to-SKU map was imported during step 2, ZKong labels paired in the warehouse boot up with the correct price and template the moment the new gateway sees them.

Run both systems in parallel for 48 hours per store. Keep the SoluM gateways powered until you have verified two full POS price-change cycles on ZKong. Pull SoluM gateways on day three. Total downtime where the shelf shows no electronic label: zero.

Step 5: Recycle the SoluM Hardware (and Recover Some Cost)

SoluM labels contain enough silver and copper that R2v3-certified e-waste recyclers will pay roughly $0.08 to $0.12 per label for bulk lots over 10,000 units. For a 12-store chain that is 18,000 labels and a recovery check around $1,800. Retail Digitals coordinates the pickup at no charge for migration customers; the recycler issues a Certificate of Destruction that satisfies most retailer ESG reporting requirements.

Do not throw them in a dumpster. The ESS battery cells are non-hazardous in the US but are reportable under several state e-waste statutes (California, New York, Washington, Illinois) once you exceed 100 units in a single waste stream.

Step 6: The Cost Comparison That Actually Matters

For a 12-store, 18,000-label deployment, here is what the five-year total cost of ownership looked like for one Northeast grocery chain that migrated in Q3 2025. SoluM renewal: $312,000 in SaaS fees plus $48,000 in support fees over five years, with a contractual 6% annual escalator. ZKong post-migration: $54,000 in cloud platform fees over five years (no escalator, no per-label SaaS), plus the one-time $148,000 hardware spend. Net five-year savings after migration costs and labor: $156,000.

The wedge is not the hardware. ZKong and SoluM hardware costs are within 8% of each other at volume. The wedge is the absence of an enterprise SaaS contract on the ZKong side. ZKong USA sells the platform as a flat per-store-per-month fee with no per-label component and no minimum-term lock-in beyond 12 months.

What the Six-Week Timeline Actually Looks Like

Week 1: Contract review, 90-day notice delivered to SoluM, hardware PO placed with ZKong USA. Week 2-3: SSP exports, ZKong Cloud tenant provisioned, templates rebuilt and approved. Week 3: Hardware arrives, warehouse pre-pairing begins. Week 4-5: Store-by-store cutover, two stores per week with one weekend rest. Week 6: Final store, SoluM gateway pickup, recycling pickup, project closeout.

The 90-day SoluM notice runs in the background; you are off their platform on day 42 and stop paying SaaS on day 90. The 48-day gap is the only sunk cost in the project, and for most chains it is dwarfed by the year-one savings.

If you are sitting on a SoluM renewal quote right now and want a side-by-side TCO model for your specific store count and label mix, the ROI calculator will get you to a defensible number in about ten minutes. For a contract review and migration plan tailored to your existing SoluM agreement, contact us and we will get you a sample termination letter and a hardware quote within two business days.