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How to Implement an EPOS System
Before implementing an EPOS system, or any system for that matter, you need
to be very clear about why you are doing it and what you expect to achieve
by implementing it. You should also have your targets documented so you can
review the planned performance of the EPOS implementation project with the
actual.
Step 1: Decide the main aim of the EPOS system implementation:
- Will you be using the EPOS system to improve stock control?
- Are you hoping to use the EPOS system to facilitate the integration of
sales information with your other business processes?
- Do you need to aggregate sales from an offline store with those
from you online store?
- Do you wish to capture and analyse more sales data to assist
with marketing and planning?
- Are you hoping the EPOS system will make it easier to work
more closely you’re
your business partners?
Step 2: Quantify the benefits of you expect to achieve from implementing the
EPOS system i.e. how much money will be saved by improving the efficiency of
sales transaction processing?
- How much do you expect your sales turnover to increase by?
- How much will you save from any reduction in requirement for sales order
processing personnel?
- What savings are you expecting from managing your stock more efficiently?
Step 3: Decide how the EPOS system will be utilised within your business
and the extent that it will be used. For instance:
- Will the EPOS system be integrated / interfaced with your stock
control system and your account package?
- Will you be requiring EDI integration
or the use of the EPOS system's data on your website?
- Will you be making
the EPOS data available to the other businesses in your supply chain?
Step 4: Do you intend the EPOS system to be integrated with the systems of
your supply chain partners?
If you do want to integrate your EPOS system with your supplier's system then
you need to know what system they have, what data you want to share and what
formats are compatible between the two systems. You may require external help
if you are planning integrating different systems.
Step 5: Establish the benefits of an EPOS system across the supply chain
- Are you seeking to deal with suppliers who as a result of managing their
stock more efficiently are able to offer faster turnaround times for supplying
stock?
- Are you looking to use customer profiles so as to enable you to target
customers more accurately and thereby optimise your sales?
Step 6: Evaluate the EPOS solutions and options available to you.
- Are you comfortable passing potentially valuable sales data to a third
party for processing (i.e. to an ASP)?
- What budget are you working to and what is the intended usage of the EPOS
system?
- The skills you have available to you in-house will also influence the
EPOS route you decide.
- There are a number of industry-specific EPOS solutions – maybe these
would be more appropriate (even if more expensive).
- Ensuring that the EPOS system you select uses open standards such
as XML will help to future-proof your decision by making it easier
to
integrate with any
subsequent business systems you may invest in.
Step 7: Final preparation of the EPOS system roll out.
Wherever possible it is a good idea to seek expert advice as the vast majority
of companies looking to implement an EPOS solution will not have the requisite
EPOS knowledge and expertise available in-house. The implementation of EPOS
systems can be undertaken gradually if need be, this should be reflected
in your EPOS implementation project plan. Your project plan must also take
into
account the training of the EPOS system's users so that you get the most out
of it and reduce data errors and so forth.
Systems integration within your business and with the systems that your supply
chain partners use is no small undertaking, but with proper planning and project
management and the guidance from an appropriate expert the implementation of
your EPOS system should be smooth and the benefits it yields could be huge.
We are here to help if you need any advice, expertise, bespoke software design
or EPOS equipment – contact Point of Sale.org.uk if you need any help.
If you would like help or a quote for anything EPOS-related then please contact Point of Sale.org.uk now for a fast response and a helpful service.
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