LA Point of Sale

When Paul Yates, director of systems development, was tasked with upgrading the retail point of sale (POS) system across a UK retail chain, he focused on ensuring the longevity of the new retail point of sale system.

Working with a retail POS systems expert, he first identified the retail issues that needed to be resolved. The wish list for improvements included increasing the speed at which changes were rolled out to retail at the store level, improving stock identification at retail POS, and enhancing access to customer data collected at retail POS, both for reporting and marketing purposes.

Next, retail POS software and hardware enhancements were identified and sourced, before the program of replacement and training could begin.

As Yates explains, retail POS “system lifespan is not necessarily measured in years. I believe that the measurement criterion is its fit with our business needs. If a system is fit for those needs, then it has a lifespan – when there is no fit, its lifespan is over.”

What are the issues with your current retail POS system?

Identify the areas where your current retail POS system is failing your business. Do you need to integrate stock management between retail POS and a Web-based ordering system? Does connection between the retail POS and the back end occur in batches, and if so, does this cause issues when it comes to reordering stock? Is it possible for an online customer to order the last pair of shoes or item of clothing in his or her size only to find the item was sold in store during the day?

Once you have identified where your retail POS architecture is holding your business back, you can plan the changes that will have the most impact on your return on investment.
Do you need a retail POS system that will integrate with legacy hardware and software?
Look at your existing retail POS equipment and determine if it is suitable to carry forward into the new retail POS system. Are your bar code readers, chip and pin machines, and receipt printers platform-independent, or are they tied to proprietary retail POS software? Is your back-end office running accounting software that web-based retail POS systems will export to or integrate with?

Identify any legacy software or hardware that your new retail POS system must accommodate, and check with retail POS software and hardware suppliers that their products will be compatible before purchasing any retail POS software or hardware.
Is a web-based retail POS system better for your business?

Software as a Service (SaaS) is increasingly popular because it can reduce retail POS upfront licensing costs. Instead, fees are usually monthly and set, making it easier to budget for. Another bonus is that software upgrades are instantaneous throughout the system, meaning your retail POS software stays as up-to-date as possible. It is also robust, eliminating reliance on a single item of hardware, with connectivity from any Internet-enabled PC. That means, provided your retail POS hardware is industry standards compliant, it should be able to plug and play with your retail POS web-based hosted service.
When considering whether moving your retail point of sale system to a web-based hosted service would be more cost effective, and future-proof your retail point of sale, check whether the retail point of sale portion of the software connects and synchronizes with the back end office in real time or near real time.

If the retail point of sale software connects in real time, does it have an offline mode? If it does, your apparel retail chain will be able to continue selling clothing, or shoe stores keep the footwear moving at the retail point of sale, even if your Internet connection lets you down. In most cases, a brief outage between retail point of sale and back-end office in a web-based retail point of sale software system will have little impact. However, you might want to consider keeping a back-up mobile broadband connection so that even if your landline goes down, your retail point of sale software stays up and running.
retail point of sale