Point of Sale Technology goes far beyond the simple cash register and figuring out how much change to give to the customer these days. Retailers are discovering how a combined point of sale (POS) system increases productivity and makes all record keeping for the business so much easier. Here are some of the ways that new POS technology can help your retail business to control stock and increase profits by reducing staff time on stock control. If you don’t have the stock the customer wants available, you may lose sales, but a good and efficient stock control system will ensure you never again lose a sale due to lack of stock.
Increase Efficiency for Staff
By combining your stock control system into the point of sale technology, you increase staff efficiency. Instead of having to go out to a storeroom to check if the size the customer has requested is available, the customer service representative can simply press a button and discover what sizes of a particular product are in stock. The POS system can help your staff answer customer enquiries efficiently, as well as reduce the amount of time in the storeroom, instead of serving customers.
The POS computer includes the POS inventory software, so your staff always have an up to date inventory. As your customers buy each item, the inventory software automatically updates as the staff register the sale on the POS computer. This reduces the need for lengthy weekly reporting to know what to stock to order. With the POS computer including all the information staff need, it makes it an easy and efficient reference point for your staff, increasing efficiency in serving your valuable customers.
Keep Records of Stock across National Stores
You can integrate the POS system your retail store uses across all the stores in Australia. This means you can keep accurate records of what is in any one of your retail stores at any time. Staff at one store can easily check with if another store has the desired item in stock and can then request that item be sent to their store for the customer. This increases sales as customers will generally leave a store that doesn’t have the item they want in stock, but if the staff can offer to provide the item within a day or two from another store on the national database, the customer is likely to agree to the sale. You can also easily generate reports on what stores are selling what, making overall management of the retail chain much easier.
Order Stock as You Sell It
An important function of the POS inventory software is the ability to automatically order stock as you sell it. You can set up the system to order the stock, or to create a list of sales and suggested order list for a staff member to review and action the order. The simplicity of the inventory software and the integration with POS computer means that the inventory automatically updates when staff ring in a sale. You have an up-to-date list of your inventory at any time.
Make Stocktake Easy
The inventory software makes the necessary bi-annual stocktakes extremely easy. You simply print out the reports from the inventory manager and cross-check this against the actual stock. Since the inventory software updates when ordered stock arrives and again when the stock sells, the only discrepancies you could have in the stocktake are from thieves.
A good POS system using the latest technology, such as integrating the inventory software with the POS computer increases staff efficiency, makes serving customers easier, and provides easy ways to keep track of and order your stock. Remember that without stock, you can make no sales, so stock management has to be a key function of any retail store.
