When considering an investment in store systems the following will enable a better return on the investment and improved customer satisfaction.. Of course all businesses will have different motivations for the investment decision and what is important to each will vary. But what are the considerations?
Security
Security will be fairly high on anyone’s list. We have the physical security centred on cash, then there is the security of the device and finally customer data security. Whilst this may technically not be an issue the customer perception might be very different e.g “you have my details on a mobile device that can be removed from store”.
Retail hardened
What this means in practice is equipment that will stand up to the sometimes rugged treatment a retail environment dishes out. Some of the terminals you see do not appear to be very robust and there is always a reason for a less costly terminal. I visited a Garden Centre recently and found that most of the EPoS terminals had parts missing; I would not consider these to be retail hardened. It is essential to make sure of the build quality, and how much testing has been undertaken in the design and manufacturing process.
Consistent builds
It will be important that over time as systems are replaced that the componentry will be consistent in its use of processors, otherwise it will lead to an increase in the number of ‘gold builds’ (where you have to get customisations on the software and hardware to manage the different hardware) and ever increasing support costs. It becomes increasingly important to select systems that have components that will deliver an extended life of 5-7 years as opposed to a normal PC where processors can change every 18 months.
Energy efficient
Whilst individually having an energy efficient system will not greatly affect the bottom line in terms of running costs on a single unit, across an estate there can be a significant impact. Systems that have energy efficiency will make a difference and generally be good for the environment, any contribution will be welcomed by environmentalists giving you another tick in the social responsibility box. What to do with the existing hardware
There is little point in storing systems to gather dust and take up storage. Make use of a responsible brokerage company to dispose of hardware, making sure that all environmental rules are adhered to.
For more information contact Chris Evans, email [email protected] , phone +44(0)7780454 330