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Total Number of Subscribers: 451 |
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Date:11th July 2008 |
Compiled by Mr. M. Sathya Kumar |
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EPOS and its
importance as Management Information System EPOS
System? EPOS is an acronym for electronic point of sale system.
Generally used in retail operations to itemize & summarize
sales. An EPOS (Electronic Point Of Sale) system is used for the
accurate taking and recording of payment for goods and services in a shop,
restaurant, hotel, or any other business that serves customers. An EPOS system saves a retailer having to price all goods on the
items themselves. It keeps a record of stocks and can be used to
ensure accurate re-orders. EPOS generates management reports giving
sales mix, margins, top sellers and can be used to check for theft either
from staff or through shoplifting. It can also link to a wide
range of other systems in your business making the day-to-day running of the
store a lot simpler. EPOS will increase your bottom line by enabling you to have
better control of the stock and your profit margins. The process
of scanning the product through the system cuts out the massive loss suffered
by retailers though inaccurate till operation. EPOS (Electronic Point Of Sale) which is really a computerized
till point. Either standalone for a small shop or networked into a LAN
(local area network) for larger shops. The HQ can also receive all the data over a WAN. All merchandise is bar-coded. At the till point the sale is
conducted by entering the product codes (or scanning the barcode if
applicable); the computer looks up the price, prints an "itemised"
till receipt, totals the sale, and provides till control over the daily cash
and other tendering types that are accumulated. At the end of the day the stock is deducted by the quantities of
merchandise sold. Re-order recommendations are produced where the new stock level
has dropped below a pre-set minimum threshold. The daily sales can be reported on, for takings, profitability,
discounting anomalies etc. The aggregated sales are accumulated for periodic analysis, so
that items that are selling can be sold to a maximum, and conversely the
"slow movers" can be weeded out. The periodic analysis also provides useful feedback as to where
the organisation's profits are coming from; where the company is over-stocked
in relation to current demand; and so on. EPOS also offers solutions in the area of Internet Payment and
transactions. Payment options include credit card payments as well as
accepting checks. They utilize an ASP model to process these transactions on
your behalf. They can also set it up so that the fees charged for processing
the transaction are charged to the user or absorbed by you as a cost of doing
business. EPOS functions EPOS reads the barcodes on products and makes the appropriate
charge. Every time you sell something, it adjusts your stock and can be
used to raise orders to replace actual sold stock. This helps
reduce out of stocks and stock holding at the same time. Reduced stock holding helps the cash flow in your
business. Once you have told your system what the cost and selling prices
are, it can work out your profit margin and it can also control your VAT and
your ledgers. What are the benefits of EPOS? POS Software Benefits Depending on your business needs and the POS software, you can
hope to gain several benefits from utilizing POS software in your
environment. Some of the benefits may include are:
These are just several benefits that you may achieve by
implementing POS software for your business. Since there are
several POS software packages available, it is always a good ideal to make
sure you've determined your POS requirements and implement a trial version
before you choose your POS software solution. * Handles payments quickly, To increase the value of OTC sales, we must
ensure that top selling lines and sales trends are identified, and that these
products are available on the shelves, in the right place, for the customer
to purchase. Using manual controls this is very difficult
to achieve, but using the specifically developed EPOS Sales Analysis Report * Provides sales analysis by quantity, value
or profit, covering the top or bottom of a selected range of products. Based on the sales history information held within the system,
accurate purchase orders will be generated. This will ensure that sufficient
stocks are reordered to satisfy projected demand, preventing any lost sales. * Lower Investment in OTC Stocks Stock levels of products which sell well will be kept under
control by using the sales analysis and automatic order generation
procedures. However products which are not selling, or where existing stocks
are too high upon installation of the EPOS system, need to be identified so
that action can be taken. By utilising the following procedures, optimum levels of OTC
stocks will be identified and maintained. * Excess Stock Report Within a few weeks of installing the EPOS system, this report
will utilized the sales history available to identify products where there
are excess stocks to satisfy customer demand. * Slow Sellers Analysis By identifying products which have not sold since a selected
date, we can evaluate the pricing, shelf position and relation to different
manufacturers products within the same department, and take the necessary
action to promote the sale of these products. * Automatic Purchase Order Generation In addition to ensuring that fast selling products are
automatically reordered, the EPOS system will also ensure that slow selling
items, or items with excess stock, are not unnecessarily ordered. * Increased Gross Margin Setting and maintaining optimum profit margins for each product,
accurate pricing and regular price updating, and of course price and cash
control at the till, all contribute to an increased gross margin. All of these procedures are controlled within the EPOS system,
using the following facilities. * Product Price Report Each product holds a current selling price, promotional offers
(if applicable), and the latest cost price. A required Profit on
Return (POR) can be pre-determined for each product group, and
the system will always recommend a new retail price which will maintain this
POR after any cost price change. Where individual price ticketing is still
used, the system will produce new retail price tickets for all products, or
shelf edge labels if appropriate. * Weekly Price Updates From EPOS The weekly update disc that EPOS distributes to all of its
users, includes all Price updates, ready for update to your live product
file, when any required re ticketing has been completed. All price changes
for RPM based products are identified separately. * Profit Audit Report Regular monitoring of the contribution to gross profit from each
product can be achieved easily with this routine. This will highlight lost
profit, which otherwise may have gone undetected. (Alternately the routine
can be used to identify excessive selling prices which are likely to stop
sales.) * Price and Cash Control at the Till Because the current selling price for each product is held
within the system, then each time the product is sold it will be sold at the
correct price. This removes the possibility of under-ringing at the till
(either intentionally or accidentally). * Reduction in Theft and Shrinkage One of the major problem areas for all retail outlets is
that of theft, in some form or other. Using a manual system, without a
detailed audit trail of product sales, (by assistant, date, time and till
number), and regular stock verification, theft is very difficult to identify
at an early stage. Merely by implementing a EPOS system, and advising staff of the
types of controls and information available to management, it should reduce
the temptation of theft. What it will also do is impose controls which will
identify stock shortages by individual product at an early stage, enabling
management to take appropriate actions. This is achieved via the following
routines. * Immediate and Accurate Stock Recording and
Update All aspects of the EPOS system which affect
stock levels do so immediately. This means that the stock level recorded by
the system should always be equal to the actual stock level, making it simple
to balance and verify. * Printing of Stock Count Verification
Sheets By printing out stock verification sheets,
on a rotating departmental or group basis, the system will ensure that all
stock is counted on a regular basis. * Stock Count Posting The system will verify the actual stock
level counted against the system held stock level and report any
discrepancies, by quantity and value. * Detailed Till Audit Trail / Enquiry The EPOS system maintains a detailed audit trail of every
transaction, which can be printed or displayed at any time. The system will
even allow you to display the latest sale completed, on the back office
control computer, so you can verify that an expensive item taken from the
shelf has actually been processed as a sale. * Saving of Annual Stock Valuation Fee Not only does an annual stock take by an external organisation
cost money and disrupt normal trading, many pharmacy managers remark on the
potential inaccuracy of the valuation. The EPOS system will provide an immediate
and accurate Year End stock valuation, or indeed a stock valuation at any
time, by using the following routine:- * Stock Valuation Report By ensuring that the system stock levels are
accurately maintained, then the Stock Valuation Report produced by the system
can be relied upon for accounting purposes, thus removing the necessity for
an annual stock take/valuation carried out by external contractors. In addition, because the system maintains the Retail Price,
Latest Cost and Average Cost for each product, the stock valuation can be
produced based on any of these costs. * Reduction of Branch Spending Direct With
Suppliers For a multiple branch pharmacy group, the problems of
controlling stock levels and supplier reordering are multiplied. Each
pharmacy manager has to be relied upon to maintain optimum stock levels and
not to over order with suppliers. If the Head Office also has warehouse facilities so that branch
requirements can be satisfied from internal warehouse stocks, then an
appropriate picking list can be produced for each branch's requirement. INTERNAL BENEFITS * Use EPOS software to provide sales
information o This can help you focus on more profitable
lines, * Add software modules to improve
efficiency o Adding Electronic Funds Transfer
(EFT) capability to your system means that every time a sales transaction is
recorded, * Link your EPOS terminal to other
systems o By connecting EPOS to back-office systems
such as your accounting package, you can increase control over your business
and improve profitability. Many EPOS packages will export data to popular
accounts packages such as Sage. * Link your EPOS system to your website
o This provides online customers with rapid,
up-to-date stock information. If stock runs out, EPOS can update the site to
show that it is unavailable and warn potential customers that there will be a
delay in delivery or offer an alternative. THE SUPPLY CHAIN BENEFITS * Integrate EPOS with your stock control
system o This allows you to keep stock information
up-to-date in real-time and streamline your supply chain processes. Your EPOS
system can automatically determine which products are fast-moving and when
they need replenishing. * Link your stock-enabled EPOS terminal
to your suppliers' web sites, extranets o This provides them with access to
real-time stock information, allowing them to manage their own purchasing
more efficiently. * Gather information on the movement of
your stock o From the point of purchase, information on
how stock is moving can be fed through to the warehouse and purchasing
department, enabling you to move towards automated purchasing and restocking.
* Provide suppliers with tracking sales
and purchasing data Giving suppliers information on
your customer purchasing habits and your marketing helps them factor your
order demands into their plans. * Integrate data from EPOS with data from
handheld scanners o This means you can track bar-coded
products on the journey from your suppliers to the warehouse to the store to
the final point of sale. You can then identify where goods are being held up,
compare the performance of different suppliers and their delivery times - and
improve on the results. * Source-marking o Partners in fast-moving supply
chains should consider source-marking (i.e. article numbering and bar-coding)
according to international standards. This will allow them to track and
analyse all their goods at any point in the supply chain process. Need of an EPOS system To some extent it depends on turnover, but most convenience
businesses will benefit from EPOS. Does your business require the ability to customize a Point of
Sales (POS) system to improve business and transaction efficiency? Need the
ability to improve control of inventory, customer information and point of
sales detail? Utilizing POS software may be the solution you've
been looking for. You will find POS software in just about any type of * restaurants, What Is POS Software? Software * Total Control Total Control is a comprehensive back office system that gives
the tools to manage the data provided by retail and hospitality Epos systems.
It provides powerful reporting, product and price file maintenance,
style, size, colour capabilities and Epos system configuration facilities
giving the user total control of the business. * CRM based Software The system enables the smaller operator to compete on equal
terms with the majors and attract business from them. Low cost magnetic cards
are used to capture information on the customer when the card is swiped
through the terminal. POS Software utilizes individual components such as * Touch screen display, POS SOFTWARE CAN AUTOMATE * Daily sales transactions, Choosing the right EPOS system EPOS particularly benefits organisations with a large throughput
of goods to a large customer base. The larger the organisation the more
sophisticated the EPOS solution should be , but it may not be
necessary for smaller organisations to invest in complex solutions. * Software packages linking EPOS to your
accounting system Need to buy additional modules for extras
like Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), label printing or remote access. This approach
can be cheaper and more flexible than buying an off-the-shelf system, but you
may need advice on setting it up. * Outsource EPOS to a third party
specialist This is only just becoming available in the
UK. An Application Service Provider (ASP) will 'rent' you specialised
software and provide a secure, internet-based link to your system along with
consultancy and management. The ASP can host and integrate your EDI system
and deal with any technical problems. You will need a broadband connection. * Customised EPOS solutions Consultants and software specialists can
customise / design an EPOS solution and integrate it with existing hardware /
software and your web site. This is likely to be cost-effective for companies
with a large retail or hospitality outlet, SOPHISTICATED EPOS SYSTEMS FOR SOPHISTICATED BUSINESSES Cash registers are great for most businesses, but when you've
got thousands and thousands of items for sale, it's time for something a
little more sophisticated. EPOS CONTROL FUNCTIONS * Start of Day o The system will prompt for a new session
is staring. Sign On 1. Product, Price and Discount Entry This allows transaction to be stored temporarily and recalled
for later completion. Control settings allow this to be limited to one
cashier or multiple layaways can be allows with automated or manual
numbering. For use with sales ledger or credit accounts, the system
automatically allocates the sales ledger account number as the reference. To retrieve previous layaways the reference can be entered
directly or searched for by number or customer. Launching other Applications Pay point can be set to automatically launch or manually launch
third party applications including internal macros. The till remains in
static until the other application is completed. Tendering Payment. On pressing the Total key, the bill total and balance due will
be updated. This can be paid in a number of different preset tender types by
selected from the keyboard, screen or menu. This including Cash, Cheque,
Credit Account (if used in conjunction with an Accounts package e.g. Sage
Line 50/100), Voucher etc. This can be in full or part payment. A sub total
of each tender type made is printed on the customer receipt. EFT Pay point EPOS software EFT solution allow retailers to process
payment electronically. This includes Debt, Credit and Cash Back payment
transactions. It validates cards on-line and allows for the end of day
reporting and reconciliation with your bank. At the end of day payments are
polled to your nominated bank account . Commedia are accredited with all
leading credit, and debit card acquirers. End of Day End Session This closes the trading account on the current session, and
allows cash declaration to be performed. Multiple sessions can be held on the
system until consolidated using the end of day function. This end session
generates a total report on:- o Floats and lifts This is performed after the End session and the starting and the
starting cash float is removed. After counting and declaring the money in the
drawer the system will generate a variance report against expectation to
screen and print. This declaration can be set to be blind if required. This closed the trading on the till and prints a consolidation
report on the day's session. The report summaries totals:- EPOS is an acronym standing for (Electronic Point Of Sale) and
the terminology used to describe a system of processing sales transactions
electronically. EPOS systems can be integrated into existing computer systems in
a variety of different ways. In its simplest form an EPOS system consists of
an electronic point of sale cash register linked to a computer that is used
to process sales and maintain stock. More sophisticated EPOS implementations
can link an EPOS cash register with barcode scanning into complex back end
databases used to control stock levels in conjunction with suppliers
distribution warehouses. EPOS can also be used to provide preferential
customer loyalty rewards and link in with online e-commerce stores for stock
level management. Where businesses have a central distribution point, a large
amount of stock, and multiple sales outlets EPOS really comes into its own.
Without EPOS it is virtually impossible to manage stocking levels, and ensure
each sales outlet receives the right amount of the right products. To manage
such a scenario would be very labour intensive and prone to error, leading to
inefficiency and unhappy customers. With a good EPOS system, the central warehouse is always aware
of the stock levels carries by each outlet. The EPOS system can monitor usage
rates and trigger re-orders when there is a sudden surge in demand for a
particular product range. In short EPOS is an indispensable tool for the management and
control of stock for retail outlets Article
by a faculty member of a reputed management institute. |
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