|
SBS implements POS systems at first Courts
store in SA
SBS Africa has completed the
implementation of a point-of-sale system at Courts Megastore in
Fourways, the first South African branch of the UK-based retail
group, Courts Plc.
The rollout involved in the installation of POS software and
terminals, 13 Compaq servers, and integration of the POS system
with Courts' homegrown back-office system. Courts chose the
ActiveRetail Point of Service module from Ultimate Connection as
its POS software.
Jaco Marais, IT manager at Courts in South Africa, says the
company selected the ActiveRetail software for its POS system
because of its flexibility and because it could be easily
integrated with the custom-developed back-office system used by
Courts stores in Europe and the Caribbean. Courts operates from
more than 300 stores in 20 countries around the world.
In most countries, the retailer specialises in the sale of
slow-moving big-ticket items such as furniture, but the South
African operation also sells fast-moving lines such as small
household appliances. For that reason, Courts in South Africa
needed to find an alternative POS system to the standard adopted
by its parent company.
Says Marais: "We were already using SBS Africa to supply and
support our in-store hardware infrastructure. When we found that
SBS was an Ultimate Connection value added reseller, it made
sense to extend our relationship with the company to POS
software."
ActiveRetail is an integrated enterprise management suite for
the retail industry based on the Microsoft Distributed iNternet-based
Architecture (DNA). The product's Point Of Service module is an
offering that covers every aspect of retail store management.
Marais says that the POS software streamlines the sales process
in the store because information is only captured and processed
once. This avoids the error-prone and time-consuming duplication
of effort involved in data recapture.
Marais adds that Courts has selected the ActiveRetail software
as the POS system of choice for all of its branches in South
Africa. Courts will open a branch in the East Rand in March, and
plans to rollout another six stores over the next two years.
"The powerful price-ticketing and barcode scanning functionality
are among the most attractive features of the product. The
benefits of the POS system will really start to accumulate as we
open the additional stores.
"In time, the software will allow us to centrally manage
inventory, replenishment, customer information and other parts
of the business. We expect that we may look to replace some of
our current back-office systems with the ActiveRetail Solomon
product," says Marais.
Sonja Leoncini, director of channel development and sales at
Ultimate Connection, says that Ultimate Connection focuses on
the development of its software for the retail industry and
counts on channel partners such as SBS to sell, implement and
provide first-line support for its products.
"Channel partners need to complete a rigorous certification
programme, which assures customers that Ultimate Connection VARS
offer them the business and technical skills to successfully
implement and support the product," she says.
Kim Frack, senior account manager at SBS Africa, says that SBS
was one of the first companies in South Africa to sign up as an
Ultimate Connection channel partner. She cites the rich
functionality and openness of the product as well as the ease
with which it can be tailored to customer needs as the major
benefits of the ActiveRetail suite.
|
