Managin Director of Cybertill writes 'How to Select an EPoS System'
Selecting the system Retailer, know thyself As in so many areas of life, there is nothing to beat self-knowledge. The first ingredient of a successful EPoS purchase is some soul-searching to establish the type of retailer you are and the way in which you envisage your business developing. Audit your market and your technology and ask yourself if you are keeping up. Don't just look at the problems you are experiencing today. Test any prospective purchase against current issues, and then look beyond them to those that may arise 3-5 years down the line. Bombard yourself with questions and be honest in your answers. - What is your objective? - What business problems will this new system solve? - What is your current level of inhouse expertise? - What kind of help would you need to run this system successfully? From this, you can start to build a definitive list of requirements. Every retailer wants business efficiency and increased profits from any investment so it's a good rule of thumb to judge your future purchase against four fundamental, 'more or less' criteria: Risk - will this system introduce more or less risk to my business? Income - will I generate more income or will the cost outweigh the benefits? Time - will the new system require more or less time than I spend on my manual processes or on my current system? Expense - will I spend more or less in running costs than I do now? Realistic expectations Remember that a software system will highlight both your strengths and your weaknesses. If there are problems in your business, it won't necessarily make them go away. It's important to have realistic expectations but, if you've never used an EPoS before, how can you judge what is realistic? An IBM study found that 3% of turnover is usually lost via a non-EPoS till, through a combination of unintentional mis-keying and staff fraud. Our experience, now with hundreds of clients, reveals the following levels of improvement that come from use of EPoS, based upon our 'Software as a Service' deployment model. Firstly, stock holding can be reduced by an average of 30%. This comes from gaining (often for the first time) absolute clarity on what's selling (and therefore the ability to get rid of what's not selling) and an ability to make sure that required stock is always available. With a good EPoS, you can know your product and know your business. An EPoS system will certainly help you to increase turnover. Here, our clients report an average gain of 10%. Armed with the ability to analyse what you sell and to collect customer information, you'll have the tools to develop good customer relationship management based on customised promotions, prices and communication. When it comes to gross profit, an increase of 4% to 8 % is to be expected. This comes from a variety of means, including being able to use your accurate sales data to negotiate better supplier terms. Take your time Buying an EPoS system isn't simple and it isn't fast. It takes time to select, to implement and to really start to achieve business benefit. It's not a 'plug and go' solution so you need to dedicate time to getting the best out of it. Realise that the investment of your time is a more significant cost than investment in the system purchase. Plugging the gap If you are not starting from a blank sheet of paper but have an existing system which you're planning to upgrade, take a hard look at the gaps you need to plug but also make sure you retain all the positive elements that are working for you. Implementing an EPoS system is not something to be undertaken lightly or frequently. Aim to future-proof your purchase so you don't have to do this again in 2 years' time. It's rarely easy to predict the pace at which your business will develop, so make sure you invest in a system that is easily scalable, for example where the addition of a new store causes minimal system disruption. Support Many EPoS systems have similar capability. What makes the difference between a good system and a great system is invariably the rapport between client and supplier. The calibre of training, support and customisation you may need come down to the level of expertise and experience that your supplier can bring to bear. Do your homework and make sure that your supplier is stable, financially viable and very experienced. Confirm that you share a common business culture and agree how your relationship will be conducted. Then talk to as many of their clients as is practical and get a feeling for how support will work on a day-to-day basis. Paying the price A small note of caution about system cost and negotiation. By all means bargain hard but, at the end of the day, make sure you achieve a good deal for both parties. We've picked up the pieces with many clients who had negotiated a former supplier down to an unrealistic price and were let down by the support and service they subsequently received. Once again, in