Sweating your assets - getting the most from your EPOS

Vista Retail Support hosted a breakfast roundtable at Claridges on September 10th 2009 for a select group of retailers to share their experiences and discuss the IT challenges they face daily.

A group of key retailers came together to discuss the big issues and challenges they are currently facing on a day-to-day basis.

Cost of ownership

Dave Wilson, Head of IT Services for Dunelm Mill, shared his experiences of managing point of sale systems for maximum availability, quality and cost control. This provided a platform for the retailers present to share their own experiences of the role technology is playing within their respective businesses.

Big issues

Retailers are expecting a fast ROI on any technology investment. At board level, organisations want to know the total cost of ownership and the IT department needs to know the lifetime of the technology in the business and the benefits it will provide. Also, the payback period is getting shorter for businesses, with many retailers expecting an ROI within 18 months. Companies are expecting the data to drive the business and these expectations are constantly increasing, putting further pressure on the IT department.

Counting the hardware cost

One of the challenges faced by retailers is damage, usually unintentional, to hardware in store. Typical problems include kiosk card readers wearing out and customers damaging Chip and PIN devices as they don’t understand a) where the card goes or b) which way the card goes in. Moreover, the card readers are often not fixed and end up being damaged when they fall on the floor.

Some retailers have found a way to resolve this problem is by putting the Chip and PIN terminals on a stand. The assistant then takes the card from the customer at the point of purchase and inserts it into the device for them, only handing it over to enter their PIN number.

Retailers have also experienced issues with the scanners that are used at the POS. If goods don’t scan when they are first passed over the barcode reader, then staff often make the mistake of pressing the scanner hard against the barcode, which only results over time in damage to the scanner.

Several retailers also explained that problems occurred when both scanners and Chip and PIN units are left exposed in the sun. Whenever the equipment is tampered with it often has to go back to the manufacturers and more often than not the manufacturers will claim that the equipment is out of warranty.

Fashion retailing experiences a range of hardware issues. One of the biggest problems in this arena is the issue of dust in equipment, which causes PCs and other devices to fail or overheat. Overheating is also caused by staff storing papers or manuals next to PCs, blocking their fan grills.

Some retailers who sells small accessories such as jewellery often find a rogue earring can bring a piece of kit to a halt if it gets caught inside.

Energy efficiency

Businesses therefore say that it is crucial to find a partner who understands the retail industry and not just the technology that is being delivered. Retailers need reliable hardware that will deliver good service over a lengthy lifetime. Also more and more companies are looking for energy efficient hardware and retailers have to be wary of energy efficient suppliers who are jumping on the bandwagon who don’t fully understand the technology.

Much of the old equipment is less efficient in terms of power so when equipment is being replaced it needs to be more environmentally friendlier. Overall, there is increasing pressure on IT teams to be greener.

The buck stops at IT

The prominence of IT is increasing in the business and often the buck stop at the IT department when problems emerge within the business. Information obtained at the POS can be used to improve understanding of the customer and also help raise the profile of the brand. The IT department is now expected to be more business savvy and the IT department has to find a balance between having a presence in store and in the head office to ensure everyone is kept happy.

Lacking experience

Several retailers feel that some maintenance companies lack the experience to deal with EPOS equipment in the retail and hospitality environment and suggest that they partner with a retail expert.

The roundtable event provided an important and useful platform for retailers to share ideas and discuss the issues that they face.