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Transcript
INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE BY JOSH LENNOX The Store Systems Ecosystem POS flexes its muscles as the most important touchpoint for store-level customer-centricity and headquarters-level efficiency I t’s overstating the case to say that stores are becoming interactive customer access points modeled after the online shopping experience, but it only misses the mark because we are at the early stages of the transformation. Despite being premature it’s an important concept to consider because it’s a useful vision that helps explain the current state of store systems evolution. The poster child for this can be seen in the Apple store concept, with its mobile POS, virtual elimination of POS terminals and eyepopping sales per square foot. Apple Store success is the envy of the industry, and retailers like American Eagle, Victoria’s Secret, the growing Microsoft Store chain and others are taking clear steps to move in this direction. POS is a critical component in store-system evolution because it is the platform on which the entire store ecosystem is based. As store systems evolve, adding kiosks, digital signage, save-the-sale, endless aisle, 2-D barcodes and video analytics, so does POS evolve to adapt to the changes. With mobile commerce hitting its tipping point this year, an entirely new range of shopper activities is now taking place within the four walls of the store – product research, price comparison, product comparison, user reviews and social communication. The current shift to shopper empowerment makes many retailers nervous, while others embrace it as an opportunity to serve customers the way they want to be served. This Solutions Brief explores these developments and raises a bigger question: What if we are on the precipice of a realignment 20 OCTOBER 2010 rsb_1010_v3.indd 1 POS is a critical component in store-system evolution because it is the platform on which the entire store ecosystem is based of store systems and the end of POS as we know it? What if we are finally able to reduce “the tyranny of POS” as Steven Skinner of Cognizant refers to it? What if POS doesn’t dominate IT budgets during refresh cycles and POS terminals don’t dominate floor space on selling floors? What doors open up that were previously closed? RIS NEWS.COM 9/24/10 11:00 AM Since 1981 Cornell-Mayo Associates has maintained a 100 percent success rate in store system rollouts. We offer realINDUST RY P E R S P E C T IVE A D V E R TO R I A L world POS and technological innovation to premier retailers including Barnes & Noble Inc., Belk Department Stores, Borders Books & Music, Boscov’s Dept. Stores, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Stage Stores. POS from Mobile to Web Enhancing the Customer Experience through Technology Q What adaptation will POS make in the era of mobile commerce? The real question is whether a particular POS suite can adapt to current and future mobile devices. The POS application must incorporate a truly open design that is able to run on Windows®, Linux®, Apple iOS and AndroidTM devices with a single set of code. CMA has always provided this kind of open-ended approach, allowing us to be the first outside of Apple to deploy our solution on iPodTM, iPhone® and iPadTM. CMA’s software runs on all of the above, and in the future we will continue to support all other mobile platforms that retailers and consumers demand. How can retailers achieve benefits from implementing systems to checking and ordering inventory at other stores? Particularly in soft goods, out-of-stocks often occur because it is too expensive to stock adequate color/size combinations in all locations. It makes much more sense to view the inventory of the chain holistically, so that merchandise from anywhere in the chain can be made available to a customer at any location. If retailers can’t provide this, the results may include expensively deep inventory, unsold merchandise and more markdowns – or else out-of-stocks and lost sales. Given the constrained operating environments faced by retailers, this ability is a necessity for retailers, not a luxury. What’s the best way to execute orders online and pick up/return in the store? Real-time inventory, mapping capabilities to offer locationbased services, and a solid open communications infrastructure are all parts of the solution. The system must have a feedback loop and tight confirmation logic, because even with the most up-to-date and accurate inventory, the item may not be in the specified location. When this occurs, orders that cannot be ful- filled must be re-routed in a timely manner, and if necessary, split among multiple locations to provide the necessary level of service. All of this must happen seamlessly and in a short time frame in order for retailers to meet customer expectations. Couponing, loyalty rewards and other offers are now being sent and redeemed using mobile phones, with and without Bluetooth. How fast will store systems need to move to keep ahead of this development? A new generation of customers uses their mobile phones as repositories for information. Rather than carry paper coupons, they want to access offers directly from their smartphones, so retailers must deliver coupons and make loyalty programs available on these devices. However, they need to do it without alienating a large class of consumers who are not as comfortable with the technology. This means that offers must be made in both new and traditional ways, and the challenge is to seamlessly provide them to all customer groups according to their individual preferences. Special offers and promotions are more important now than ever. How can store systems become more revved up to provide better support for this critical marketing effort? Store systems need to be able to support the most complex mix-and-match offers that can be conceived. They need to support dynamic promotions tied to specific customers or groups of customers. They must be able to offer promotions that are built out of the sale in progress, based on the existing basket in flight. They should not try to sway customers with offers unrelated to purchases, but instead make offers for add-on sales based on what the customer is already purchasing. Customers are and will remain value-oriented. Retailers who scratch that itch will keep customers coming back for more. Since 1981 Cornell-Mayo Associates has maintained a 100 percent success rate in store system rollouts. We offer realworld POS and technological innovation to premier retailers including Barnes & Noble Inc., Belk Department Stores, Borders Books & Music, Boscov’s Dept. Stores, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Stage Stores. RIS NEWS.COM rsb_CornelMayoqa_1010_v1.indd 1 OCTOBER 2010 21 9/24/10 11:09 AM IND USTR Y PER SPE CT IVE We’re not there yet and won’t be for a few years, but it’s important to raise questions like these during a time of uncertainty when the rules of the game for retail and the technology that supports it are changing. Heart of t he St ore The POS terminal and its core software are not the only technologies residing in a store, but they are clearly the most important. After all, the ability to make a sale is the defining characteristic of retailing. But as Dick Mader, executive director of the Association of Retail Technology Standards notes, modern POS software maps into at least 32 other applications and services in the retail enterprise. Retailers not only need to make sales, they need to track them in reports using clean, accurate data. And these reports need to be available with near-real-time updates so that they can be used to guide store operations, promotions, merchandising and supply chains. Looked at over the last decade we can trace the evolution of POS from a purely transactional device to its current position as a critcal point of customer service, a touchpoint for building loyalty and satisfaction, and a source of data leveraged to empower sense-and-respond capabilities throughout the enterprise. In the RIS 2010 Store Systems Study retailers were asked to pick the top function they want in their next POS that they do not possess now. Topping the list is CRM, specifically the ability to offer personalization at checkout. Speed and convenience are essential characteristics, but the ability to identify your best customers, suggest upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and deliver unique coupons and offers is critical for retailers that want to grow same-store sales and market basket sizes. Other capabilities high on the new-function list were returns/refunds management, training, inventory visibility, security, giftphone card activation, employee portal, savethe-sale and mobile payment. The latter was especially prized by three retail segments – mass merchants, drug stores and food/grocery. 22 OCTOBER 2010 rsb_1010_v3.indd 3 Looked at over the last decade we can trace the evolution of POS from a purely transactional device to its current position as a critical point of customer service. PO S Upgrade s The 2010 Store Systems study also found about a third of retailers want to replace their POS hardware and software in the next 12 months, especially the convenience/gas, drug store, specialty soft goods and specialty hard goods retail segments. Interstate All Battery Center (IABC) recently deployed the Micros-Retail Xstore POS system in all franchise locations. The upgrade was intended to help facilitate IABC’s continued growth. “This is more than just a POS system upgrade,” says Matt DiBona, director of business intelligence and technology. “We are putting a foundation in place that will support and accelerate our rapid growth going forward. IABC retail locations are performing better than RIS NEWS.COM 9/24/10 11:01 AM POS As A Profit Center INDUST RY P E R S P E C T IVE A D V E R TO R I A L POS As A Profit Center POS To Enhance Profitability, Merchandise Optimization and Customer Marketing Q How is POS evolving to meet today’s increasing in-store digital and consumer needs? The number one reason customers don’t return to a store is that they ‘forget’ about that retail outlet. (Source: Bill Glazier, Glazier-Kennedy). State-of-the-art POS ensures memorable and favorable customer experiences. CSR’s can complete regular and custom orders faster, interact with customers more and not make errors. Every point of human or digitally interactive instore contact can be leveraged to meet customers’ current and perceived ongoing needs. Synchronized, real-time POS statistics are integrated with Purchasing. Management can respond to style changes and item trends fast. Goods sell with less markdowns for greater profit. Floor space is allocated to fast moving items while pruning slow movers. When staff know inventory counts are bullet-proof, less theft results. POS has an important customer-facing function. How can it best be designed to deliver speed, convenience and the best possible customer satisfaction levels? POS can become a marketing and profit-generating center. POS gives CSR’s, self-service POS kiosks, customer-owned mobile devices, or CSR’s with access to full-featured lightweight wireless mobile POS units, instant access to proven customer history and preferences. Reliable order and delivery status is one click away. CSR’s can knowingly sell, upsell, cross-sell, promote special programs and create high quality, highly targeted interactions between themselves and purchasers. Customers can serve themselves, if they wish. Customers can also make returns without an original sales slip. With full-featured mobile POS, CSR’s can do suspend or retrieve lane busting, complete secure credit and debit transactions, and accompany and assist customers. Full-featured mobile POS units given to CSR’s let them move inside or outside the store with ease, and be confident in the information they provide customers. CSR contact becomes a truly customer-centric, service-oriented experience. Customers know they will save time, be recognized and can more easily enhance their lifestyle pursuits. Shopping becomes tailored to their precise needs and wants. How can retailers achieve benefits from implementing systems to check or order inventory at other stores? Centralized, accurate information on demand is possible when fully-integrated multi-channel inventory management solutions update inventory enterprise-wide in true real-time. Inventory status can be trusted at the current store, other stores, online, or via other existing channels. The POS or CSR can tell customers exactly what, when and where merchandise is and exactly when it will be available. All goods can be seen, sold and profits dropped to the bottom line quickly. What adaptations will POS make in the era of mobile commerce? Customer-owned mobile devices provide highly useful, yet necessarily constrained, access to POS. Empowering CSR’s with sophisticated full-featured handheld mobile POS ensures CSR’s can interact and move with customers throughout the store, drive-through, adjacent mall area or parking lot. Inventory can be checked by product description or SKU. CSR’s can sign up and display customer loyalty ID, scan drivers’ licenses, do age verifications, and process payments. Full-featured mobile POS becomes a walking mobile returns desk where CSR’s can give customers bar-coded receipts when they enter the store. Customers can shop or proceed to the check out where the return receipt is scanned and their purchase recalculated or refunded. Full-featured mobile POS devices also boost staff productivity and ROI by doing ongoing inventory counts, receivings and shelf price verifications. A store system mobile-POS also dramatically reduces checkout counter footprint costs vs. a dedicated POS, and eases holiday shopping bottlenecks. Customers benefit and additional profitability is made possible. Magstar Total Retail is a robust, proven ERP solution designed by retailers for retailers. Comprehensive, fully-integrated and cost-effective for multi-channel chains or single specialty stores, Magstar’s clients notably improve their merchandising and maximize profits year-over-year. Magstar also offers Total POS, Total Mobile POS and Total Warehouse solutions. Contact Magstar at: 1-877-332-3335 or www.magstarinc.com. RIS NEWS.COM rsb_Magstarqa_1010_v1.indd 1 OCTOBER 2010 23 9/24/10 3:54 PM INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE ever, and the results demand a new system with functionality that will elevate every aspect of the business, from customer relationship management and quicker payment authorization to improved reporting and analytics.” Another recent Micros install is at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, which uses the Micros 9700 HMS as its pointof-sale platform to support all food and beverage operations throughout the stadium. The implementation includes 240 Micros Keyboard Workstation 270s and 26 new Motorola MC-55 handheld devices to facilitate in-seat service at the club level. The system also has the ability to accept loaded tickets as payment at the food and beverage POS terminals. Featuring a real-time loaded ticket interface, the Micros 9700 HMS allows Arizona Diamondback ticket holders to pay for food and beverages using their ticket as a form of payment. Value is loaded on the ticket and the ticket is then scanned at the point-of-sale terminal to pay for the purchase. The interface provides complete sales information in real time with check and menu-level detail by guest, including the location where the items were purchased. Another stadium that recently completed a POS upgrade is EverBank Field, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars, which recently installed Radiant POS technology in concession stands, restaurants and retail operations. “Radiant’s innovative stadium and retail solutions enable us to provide the ultimate fan experience from the moment ticket holders first step into our stadium,” says Bruce Swindell, executive director of information technology for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Prior to the 2010-2011 season, the Jaguars outfitted EverBank Field with Radiant’s Quest POS software and hardware, including a wireless POS solution, within the stadium’s standard and premium concessions and three restaurants. In addition, the Jaguars will also outfit Radiant P1515 and P1560 wireless terminals running CounterPoint retail POS software within retail and souvenir operations. Using Radiant technology the Jaguars will 24 OCTOBER 2010 rsb_1010_v3.indd 4 The ability to identify your best customers, suggest upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and deliver unique coupons and offers is critical for retailers. have loaded-ticket functionality. This feature gives fans the ability to pre-load dollar amounts onto their admission tickets to use for food and beverage purchases during games. Marc Glassman, Inc., a 40-store deep-discount chain in Ohio that carries a wide variety of brand-name food, health, beauty and general merchandise products, recently installed UTC Retail’s gift card solution to make up for problems the retailer experienced during the 2009 holiday season. Gift card activation and re- demption have been ranked as top POS priorities in the RIS Store Systems Study for the past three years and have emerged as a major component of current store systems technology. A new home store chain in Ohio, Linens & More, plans to open 15 stores in the next 12 months. To ensure its store operations are well integrated with headquarters systems it will use the UTC Retail Merchant Enterprise Edition for POS and merchandising solutions and UTC Retail’s 2845 Series POS workstations. RIS NEWS.COM 9/24/10 11:01 AM POS As A Profit Center INDUST RY P E R S P E C T IVE A D V E R TO R I A L Upgrade for Cross-channel Success POS and centralized data drive shopper satisfaction chainwide Q POS has an important enterprise function. How can POS data best be used to deliver benefits to merchandisers, marketers, suppliers and the supply chain? POS has an important customer-facing function. How can it best be designed to deliver speed, convenience and the best possible customer satisfaction? The POS needs to collect and transmit rich data in order to feed the network of corporate systems. An explosion of available bandwidth allows the POS to also consume data and continually interact with these other vital systems in a truly integrated fashion. Merchants get real time sales data and marketers can effectively leverage a single view of the customer. Further, the POS can instantly locate desired items across the enterprise and even reach out further into the supply chain to ensure that a customer doesn’t leave the store without purchasing a desired item. The customer doesn’t directly interact with a POS. However devices like pole displays and pin pads are valuable tools to message the customer. The cashwrap is the retailer’s last opportunity to create a positive impression that blends with the store environment. The hardware must be reliable and configured well for the space. The software must allow the associate to focus more on servicing the customer and less on operating the devices. By choosing a software vendor that is also well-versed in hardware capabilities, the retailer can use the vendor’s knowledge to create an integrated, customer-pleasing experience. As a leading software developer, hardware VAR, and IBM Business Partner, MICROS-Retail can aid in the selection of hardware that is attractive, dependable, and appropriate to the retailer’s needs. How can retailers achieve benefits from implementing systems that allow them to check and order inventory at other stores, perform save the sale functions, and serve endless-aisle? There are three primary ROI drivers. The first is with a direct sales increase. By ensuring that the item the customer is looking for can be sourced, purchased and ultimately delivered builds business and increases customer satisfaction. The second is through improved inventory management. Fear of losing sales can sometimes lead to over buying. This capability allows the retailer to minimize risks of inventory miscalculations. The third ROI driver is in operational efficiency. Working to ‘save the sale’ without access to integrated systems is often difficult and time consuming. Integrated order management through the POS will make both sourcing and fulfillment operations significantly more efficient. Loyalty programs are morphing into loyalty marketing. How can store systems adapt to help provide better data and benefits to help improve this sophisticated marketing approach? The POS becomes another communications channel to the customer, not just a means to collect transaction information. By integrating with the loyalty program in real time you can deliver personalized messages designed to sell more and improve service while the customer is in the store and most responsive. An integrated POS can also facilitate reward fulfillment. This both streamlines operations and will reinforce the value of the loyalty program in the customer’s mind. Jeremy Grunzweig, Vice President of Operations, Store Systems Group, MICROS-Retail. MICROS-Retail, the retail solutions division of MICROS Systems Inc., is the leading provider of comprehensive, best in class solutions for the worldwide retail and direct markets, enabling merchants to deliver on the customer experience while optimizing operational efficiency across all channels. RIS NEWS.COM rsb_Microsqa_1010_v1.indd 1 OCTOBER 2010 25 9/24/10 11:11 AM I NDUSTRY PE RSPE CTI VE Mobile P OS Line busting technologies use lightweight handhelds like the Motorola MC75 to help retailers deliver service to customers inside or outside stores. The Magstar Mobile POS can do everything a fixed unit can do, from transaction entries or stock enquiries to complete credit/debit payments. Associates can do customer purchases, inquiries and returns. They can do sign-ups for loyalty programs by using customer driver’s licenses and access purchase histories. When not used as a linebuster these handhelds can also do inventory counts, inventory receiving and shelf price verification. Another new technology pushing into stores today is POS for the iPod Touch, which was first launched by Cornell-Mayo. The Omniexpress software offers full point-of-sale functionality, the ability to accept credit and gift cards, and to wirelessly print or e-mail receipts. It combines Cornell Mayo’s Omnistore POS application with the intuitive interface of Apple’s iPod touch. The lightweight mobile computing solution includes a scanner and magnetic stripe reader (MSR). It weighs 7.4 oz. (including iPod) and easily fits into a sales associate’s hand. It features full POS functionality identical to the capabilities of POS registers and runs the same code as CMA’s POS applications for cash registers and other devices The major issue now facing retailers is that shoppers increasingly see stores as just one part of a multi-channel shopping experience. As a result, store systems must seamlessly integrate with other channels and provide services equivalent to the rich, interactive experience available online. Retailers need to adopt a customer-centric approach to store systems, providing employees with technologies that, for example, allow them to search “endless aisles” of products to save the sale even if the item the shopper wants is out of stock in the store. Another force added to the mix is the growth in number and sophistication of consumer mobile devices. Shoppers are leveraging mobile Internet devices to take more control of their purchasing experience. New mobile 26 OCTOBER 2010 rsb_1010_v3.indd 5 Apple’s Impact on POS and Store Systems By Jim Crawford Apple’s launch of the iPad was a major consumer event, but it is also an interesting and potentially game-changing development for the role of customer service technology in the retail store. Many bloggers commented on the Square, a small device which plugs into the headphone jack on an iPhone and turns it into a credit card reader. The idea that a relatively inexpensive consumer device could replace mobile point of sale readers was revolutionary enough, but the iPad takes that same potential to a new level. Here’s why. • Beautiful customer-facing display. Unlike handhelds (which are too small), laptops (which are the wrong form factor), and kiosks (which are fixed in one location), a tablet-type display offers the perfect model for a sales associate to assist a customer. The iPad display offers an easy interface for assisted selling, product configuration, even e-commerce purchases, where the retail staffer can actually help the shopper from the device. • Long (enough) battery life. Apple claims 10 hours with WiFi on. Keeping a pair of them in use would likely cover most 24/7 operations, and in anything less than the busiest retail stores they should make it through a normal day’s usage. • They’re cheap. The price point of the tablet device is low enough that it doesn’t need to be retail hardened. Want increased reliability? Just buy a spare and keep it in the back room. • Instant configuration. Let’s imagine the inevitable happens and a customer’s kid “accidentally” smashes an iPad. Rather than requiring IT support to bring the spare online, the “light configuration” mechanism of iTunes means that it is minutes, not days, before a spare becomes ready for use. Is it a perfect device for retail stores out of the box? No. But even in its current incarnation, the iPad offers enough functionality and some true game changers on the economics. Jim Crawford is executive director for the global retail executive council Shoppers increasingly see stores as just one part of a multi-channel shopping experience. applications are changing the landscape, enabling cross-store comparisons of shopping lists, online offers based on consumer preferences, and accessing in-store offers. As exciting as these possibilities are, they are also raising the pressure on POS and the entire store IT ecosystem. The next few years will be interesting to track as we move away from POS-centric store systems to stores that have customer-centric technology built on a fully instrumented, digitized, interactive and intelligent ecosystem. RIS RIS NEWS.COM 9/24/10 11:02 AM Since 1981 Cornell-Mayo Associates has maintained a 100 percent success rate in store system rollouts. We offer realINDUST RY P E R S P E C T IVE A D V E R TO R I A L world POS and technological innovation to premier retailers including Barnes & Noble Inc., Belk Department Stores, Borders Books & Music, Boscov’s Dept. Stores, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Stage Stores. Customer centric retailing at POS How POS data can greatly affect customer centric retailing Q POS has an important customer-facing function. How can it best be designed to deliver speed, convenience and the best possible customer satisfaction? POS systems should contribute seamlessly to the customer’s shopping experience and compliment the Retailer’s target marketing “Brand”. The POS system’s ability to capture needed product and customer data easily and correctly, while maintaining “cashier-customer” privacy, all while quickly and accurately processing the transaction is paramount to leaving a positive last impression on the customer. POS has an important enterprise function. How can POS data best be used to deliver benefits to merchandisers, marketers, suppliers and the supply chain? POS data is critical to the retail enterprise; smart retailers benefit from this data in many ways. Replenishment, Buyer performance, store execution, and inventory balance between stores to name a few of the more obvious. POS data also helps retailers understand customer patterns, individual shopping habits, advertising performance, conversion rates, and units per transaction.POS can also become a vehicle for delivering marketing messages such as coupons and bounce back campaigns. POS systems can suggest cross sale and upsale opportunities. How can retailers achieve benefits from implementing systems to checking and ordering inventory at other stores? A lost sale due to out of stocks is never acceptable. Out of stocks at the store level is the best way to send your loyal customers to your competition. Implementing systems that enable cross store inventory checks and the ability to process and fulfill that sales transaction is an integral part of POS system functionality. The ability to take back orders and special orders are two other ways that solid POS systems support an effort to drive conversion rates higher and minimize lost sales. Loyalty programs are morphing into loyalty marketing. How can store systems adapt to help provide better data and benefits to help improve this sophisticated marketing approach? Loyalty marketing is an extension of loyalty programs. Store systems need to include an evolved, easy customer capture ability that will integrate with a CRM/Analytics Engine to provide complete transaction data that can be acted upon in directly at POS. “Traditionally” Loyalty at POS has meant simply redeeming points or discounts based on the customer’s purchase history and level. POS systems need the ability to deliver marketing messages, print offers to increase visit frequency, remind loyal customers of next tier threshold, introduce new product lines and etc. Special offers and promotions are more important now than ever. How can store systems become more revved up to provide better support for this critical marketing effort? A solid POS system must be capable of supporting an ever changing need for new promotional methods. Bounce –Backs, Mix-Match Pricing, Level Pricing, Kitting, and Instant Rebates, just to name a few. The options are limited only by the imagination of the retailer. The ability to handle ever more complicated promotions at POS without manual cashier intervention is critical to a POS system and the protection of the customers shopping experience. UTC RETAIL is a leader in providing seamlessly integrated retail management solutions for small to mid-size specialty retailers. In addition to best-in-class software solutions, UTC provides a complete set of branded hardware solutions and comprehensive professional service offerings, providing retailers a single point of contact and accountability. For more information visit www.utcretail.com RIS NEWS.COM rsb_UTCqa_1010_v2.indd 1 OCTOBER 2010 27 9/24/10 11:12 AM