Growing competition among
various retailers leads to constant
searching for new ways to win the business.
Various customer loyalty programs intend
to bring the customers back to the stores.
Recognizing this constant and growing
demand, Retail Hero pays lot of
attention to what retailers do in order to retain
and increase the customer loyalty. Some
traditional loyalty programs, such as
collecting and redeeming point (see
Hero Points ) are now a must in any
retail location. However, some retailers
go step further and follow the newest
industry trends.
One of such trends in retail customer
loyalty is employing named coupons
disguised as personal checks, redeemable
at the store location for a discount. As
the trend gains momentum, Retail Hero
has developed and released its latest
customer loyalty add-on for
Dynamics RMS called
Happy Checks.
With this program the store shoppers collect
points according to a flexible schedule
which is defined by the Retailer (it
includes as
possibility of different number of
points for different products,
departments and categories,
with various of exempt certain items). The
Retailer also defines redemption
thresholds, i.e. the minimum number of
points the customer must have to receive
the check, and the check nominal
value.
Once per week or month the Retailer
performs "check run" in which all
eligible collected points are converted
into printed "personal checks" (i.e.
coupons) which are
put into window envelopes and mailed to
the customers. As the checks have "Valid
Through" date, that entices the
shoppers
to come to the store and redeem the
"Happy Check" before it expires.
When the customer shows up at the store,
he or she brings along the checks they
received in mail (say, 3 checks by $5
each). At the till, these checks are
simply scanned by a barcode scanner and
entered as a dollar-value discount into
the transaction (in our case, $15 off).
Of course, the system records all issued
and redeemed checks and will not allow
using unissued number or to scan one
check twice. The system also allows full
reporting on customer history, issued
and redeemed checks etc. Another great
advantage that this loyalty program is
fully RMS HQ-enabled, i.e. it can be
used in a multi-location chain with
checks printed at HQ or locally at the
store and redeemed at each chain
location!
Please inquire with
Retail Hero about demo version and pricing for this
exciting new add-on for Dynamics RMS.
All Retail Hero's RMS customer receive
instant discounts on all our add-ons!
Call us today, do not let your customer
go to the competition!
Staff Writer
Some Things Should Never be Bought on
Price
BBC News, April 9 2008: “Oasis Budget Airline
Stops Flying. Oasis Airlines first flew in
October 2006, offering flights from London
to Hong Kong for as low as $100. It later
added the flights from Hong Kong to
Vancouver…” Apparently, the airline abruptly
locked the doors and engaged into liquidity
on April 7th, 2008 while “…there are
hundreds of people stranded including
children returning from the Easter school
holidays…” Some customers lost thousands of
dollars in pre-paid tickets for high-season
travels. Soaring fuel price and increasing
competition is blamed for the downfall…
When I read that, I paused for a second to
reflect on the fact. While
I’ve never travelled to Hong Kong I still
do understand that it is pretty far from
either
the UK or North America. With applying
simple logic I can tell that the airline ticket price
must more or less depend on the distance. Therefore I’m
wondering how a in-season ticket to Hong Kong may cost
about only 1/10th of an off-season ticket to
Australia when it is pretty much the same distance, at
least from the California’s coast? Do they use
80-years-old plywood biplanes to Hong Kong?
Donkey piss for gas? Trained monkeys for
pilots? I hope not! May be the owners are
just very decent human beings whose goal is
not to fill the pockets with profits - as
their "greedy" competition does, but to serve
the community in humility and self-denial?
Give me a break. I’d more believe in using trained monkeys
for pilots…
What were those airline customers thinking
about then while buying those $100 tickets?
I guess they just happily calculated how much they had
saved. But it could surely save them trouble if
they thought in a bigger perspective. One
should always think carefully when they
encounter something extraordinary cheap.
All flags immediately should immediately go up.
Why it is so cheap? Is it stolen? Is it made
of a mix of pure lead with grain of cyanide?
Or is it because someone is so desperate to
sell the product at any price because they
can’t sell otherwise? If so, what good is in
it for me? Can't my incredible savings turn
into some devastating losses?
It seems that it doesn’t occur
to many people that according to Adam Smith,
in order a business must be
making money in order to keep running. The
received profits are re-invested which in turn results (not
always, but hopefully) in better products
and services. Re-investments are also directed
into training the staff, implementing newer
and better technologies and making the
processes more effective and less costly. If
there are no profits there’s nothing to
re-invest. Even in the age of trading
virtual money earned in “Second Life” for
carbon credits it doesn’t take a major in
Economics to understand that the old laws
still apply.
And the main law is simple: if the company
is making no money it eventually goes out of
business. When? Any second – you don’t know
when.
Now, it may be OK to buy cheap
jeans or sunglasses on sale at bottom-rock
prices because, honestly, you don’t care if
the manufacturer will be around tomorrow or
in a minute from now. However, it is NOT OK
for anyone to buy on price something which
is considered to be a long term investment
or even a product with future delivery. To
be honest, to do so is just plain stupid.
Let’s take technology as an example. When
you buy a computer you look at the prices
and think for yourself: “I’m smart and I
do know how to shop. I’ll go online, find
the cheapest computer possible and order
it”. When it arrives at the door you notice
that it has only 30-days warranty. As it
took 35 days to receive it, it’s already out
of it. OK, not the cheapest. You go and buy
from some more respectable vendor. It comes
with 1 year “limited” warranty, which means
that if the hard drive fails, you got to
ship the PC to the manufacturer and get back
in few weeks. It may be OK for a computer
used for playing “Online Poker”, but
doesn’t seem to be a compelling option for a
PC on which you run your
business. For a business computer you need
something very robust which comes with
onsite service and lengthy full warranty. Of
course, such a thing costs more – but that’s
the price of insurance that will keep your
business running if the technology lets you
down.
Let’s talk about software. You need a piece
of business software (such as a POS system
for a Retailer). You go to the
manufacturer’s site and find that the price
is such and such. Now, you also find that the manufacturer only
sells the software through authorized
resellers called VARs (Value Added
Resellers). They are called so for good
reason – because they do not just push boxes
, but employ trained staff who will
answer questions and help with any aspect of
the software. In order for them to develop
expertise in the product, the manufacturer
gives them (them, not you) margins so
they can make profit which may be
re-invested into training and business
building. Now, you go online and find a
reseller who sells the software with huge
discount.
By just using logic you figure they probably
don’t make any money on the sale. But it’s
cheap! You’re happy to cheat the system and
save couple dollars.
However, before you reach for the credit
card, you should really think of
consequences. As you know they’re making no
money on the sale, how much expertise do
they have in the product? Will they be able
to support you if you run into a problem or
have question? Will they not even go
bankrupt before you receive your product but
after your card was charged?
OK, you may think that you don’t need any
support as you got a nephew (a high-school
computer whiz) who will take care of the
software. Well, does your nephew know your
business as well as you do? Does he have any
experience with POS software or related
retail business procedures?
Let’s try to see the “I got nephew” logic
work in other life examples. When you get
seriously sick, you don’t go to a nurse for
diagnosis and prescription, do you? You go
to a trained doctor. The nurse may help in
administering the prescription when the
diagnosis is clear and a treatment plan is
in place, but it takes a doctor to make the
diagnosis and lay out the plan.
When you want to secure the title of your
property you may go to a notary pubic just
to witness the signature. But then you’re
completely on your own with the issues
regarding legality of the document itself.
If you want security and and peace of mind,
you should go to a trained, bonded,
professional lawyer. Of course it is more
expensive! But the lawyer can provide such
guarantee and security because they’ve been
making
money which has been invested into training,
research and building expertise over the
years./p>
Is the point clear yet? There are some
things which you should never buy on price.
Investment in the business technology
(either the “technology” means just one POS
computer for a small mom-and-pop shack or a
total IT solution for a large national chain)
is one of them: a retailer just can’t afford
buying technology on price alone… Unless of
course they want to find themselves flying
in a plywood plane driven by a monkey when
the donkey’s piss is about to end and they
are still 10,000 miles away from the
destination…
Staff Writer
Seven Uses for Your Old
Cash Register
One
Your old cash register is sufficiently heavy to
keep a solid metal door ajar. The pale yellow
plastic with caked-on dirt and worn-out keys may
be unsightly, but that is easy to mend with a
creative mind and a can of spray paint. Gloss
black or silver always looks good on a doorstop.
If you’re feeling particularly flamboyant, try a
bright Ferrari Red. Now that’s a real doorstop.
Two
Flood it with orange juice. Whoops, sorry boss.
It appears we’ll have to upgrade to a POS bundle
from Retail Hero with a touch-screen, 17 inch
customer display, and the best possible software
package for the retail industry! My bad…
Three
Make a time capsule out of it. The slots in the
integrated cash drawer may be used for storing
trinkets that represent the cash register’s era.
We suggest your favorite Rush mix tape, a stereo
cassette player, a care bear, a can of hairspray
and your old hacky sack to get you started. Many
years down the road, you’ll be able to dig it
up, hit ‘tender’ and show these strange goodies
to future generations.
Four
Lock it alone in a room with a few lethal
weapons and let it die honorably. We suggest
this particularly to power tool vendors,
kitchenware sellers and hunting gear outlets.
Five
Put it on the shelf in your antiques section and
take bets on how long it will stay there. Oh,
the irony when it finally goes through your
checkout stand.
Six
Use it as a high-security lunchbox. If you’re
tired of your colleagues pilfering your food,
lock it in the cash drawer and hide the key. Now
you’ll be able work in peace, knowing your lunch
is untouchable. Not only that, but your
co-workers will be stunned by your incredible
cunning.
Seven
Make it into a toilet paper dispenser. Put it in
the washroom and stock it with toilet paper
instead of till tape. Make sure you remove the
printer cartridge first – nobody likes their
toilet paper adorned in purple ink.
Disclaimer: This guide is intended as a
joke. Please note that Retail Hero does not
encourage any of the aforementioned activities.
Retail Hero will not accept responsibility for
property damage, injury, dismemberment,
decapitation or violent and/or gruesome death
resulting from said activities. Attempt only at
your own risk.
Staff Writer
In This Month's Issue...
-
Retail Hero Unveils Happy Checks!
-
Choose Your New POS
- Some Things Should Never be Bought on
Price
- Why RFID?
-
What is Digital Signage?
-
Seven Uses for Your Old Cash Register
-
Top Ten Reasons to Buy Dynamics RMS
Choose Your New POS
HP POS System
rp7500
Entry-level ePOS computer with all necessary
peripheral devices needed for typical retail
operations. The bundle starts at as low as
$1,500 ! (software extra)
Designed with a
Retail Business customer in mind, the new
Hewlett-Packard rp5700 unit
is a great, economical solution for Dynamics
RMS. It comes with 3 year on-site parts and
labor warranty
Partner Tech PT8800
Integrated POS Unit
Partner Tech's
PT8800 integrated POS unit
provides the most versatility and efficiency
for heavy-load little-room retail venues,
such as fast food outlets, coffee shops,
snack bars etc. Together with
Dynamics RMS and Retail Hero's
Catalog View it will make an ideal POS
system for such retail environment.
The customers who
purchase both hardware and Dynamics RMS
software from Retail Hero can receive 10%
discount on any Retail Hero Dynamics RMS Add-in (Hero
Points,
Q-rewards,
PIC-ME,
Visual Catalog,
Back
Order Presto and others). Hardware upgrades such
as touch-screen LCD, RAID-mirrored hard drives,
backup system are also available - please call
and ask!
The costs for implementing RFID are still too
high for most mainstream applications, but they are
falling. While the costs and risks might be too high
to deploy in a production environment, the benefits
are proving more apparent and many should be
conducting research projects to begin determining
the potential ROI.
Here is a quick checklist of several benefits that
can be achieved with RFID solutions:
1. Reduce warehouse and distribution labor
costs. Replace the point and read
labor-intensive operation of tracking pallets,
cases, cartons and individual products with sensors
that can track these items anywhere in the facility
with pin-point accuracy. This can reduce the high
labor costs and service fees of regular stock
management and store shelf inventory.
2. Reduce point-of-sale labor costs.
With RFID-enabled products, checkout can be
completed with a quick scan of all items in cart
helping to reduce point-of-sale labor costs. The
current scan-it-yourself component of self-service
checkout can be improved, helping to improve
adoption, reduce self-service checkout times and
reduce fraud.
3. Reduce inventory. Inventory
accuracy is important to helping eliminate
excess/missing inventory, losses and write downs.
With RFID, inventory errors can be reduced so that
the company can be assured that the inventory
indicated is the actual inventory available.
4. Improve forecasting and planning.
Visibility improvements throughout the supply-chain
can help to improve the forecasting capabilities to
help better track where inventory is and what is
happening to it throughout the supply chain.
5. Reduce theft. Losses due to
theft are estimated to cost retailers over $30
billion per year and are estimated conservatively at
1.5% of overall sales. With RFID, products can be
tracked through the supply chain to pinpoint where a
product is and eliminate inventory errors that can
cause shipments to go missing, or to better find
where and when in the process the product was lost.
Within the retail store, RFID can and has been
successfully deployed, particularly on higher margin
items, to help prevent theft.
6. Reduce out-of stock conditions.
When an item is out of stock the customer is often
left disappointed, either avoiding the purchase
altogether -- common in grocery stores where as much
as 4% of their revenue is lost each year due to
out-of-stock conditions -- or worse, the customer
moves on to a competitor in order to source the
product. Eliminating out-of-stock conditions via
better RFID product tracking and inventory
visibility and forecasting, such as alerting the
store staff immediately when the last item leaves
the shelf, can have an immediate top-line revenue
impact and have residual effects by improving
customer service and satisfaction.
7. Improve customer experience.
With RFID, items in a cart can be tracked and if a
high-tech cart or kiosks are part of the shopping
experience, offers can be made automatically related
to the items -- such as dynamic up-sell/cross-sell
of useful or necessary accessories.
adapted form TechTarget.com
What is Digital Signage?
What is Digital Signage? Digital
signage refers to a variety of technologies used to
replace traditional retail signs. Instead of static
print signs and billboards, digital signage is
composed of electronic signs dispersing content and
messages in the most targeted, interactive way.
Liquid crystal displays, plasma display panels and
scrolling message boards are a few of the more
common in-store devices used to project full-motion
video, sound and text. Digital signage enables a
retailer to control and display their messages
quickly and effectively.
The Digital Sign Network: Creating
a digital signage system involves building a network
of electronic devices that are controlled remotely
from a central location. These devices present
information via digital signage software to a
targeted audience. Digital signage devices in the
network may be plasma or LCD monitors, kiosks,
projection displays, HDTVs or other electronic
devices.
Benefits of Digital Signage: Using
digital signs in a retail environment has many
features and benefits not offered by static displays
and signage. Dynamic digital signage can grab a
customer's attention and influence their purchasing
decision right at the point of purchase. It also
eliminates the high cost of creating and
distributing print ad campaigns. Digital signage is
instant and offers the ability to change promotions
immediately for various products or particular
customers. Another advantage of digital displays
over static is that retailers can earn money with
their digital signage network by selling advertising
space to their suppliers. Whether it is intended to
build a brand, influence customer behavior or simply
provide information, the dynamic visual experience
created by digital signage should ultimately
increase sales. In order to achieve that goal,
retailers will need to design the appropriate
system.
source: about.com
Top 10
Reasons to Buy RMS
Microsoft
Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS)
allows retailers to respond rapidly to consumer
demands, proactively manage inventory and pricing,
and control critical business information across
your retail network, from the point of sale (POS) to
supply chain, customer, and financial management
systems. Here are 10 ways that RMS can equip you to
compete in a demanding and dynamic retail market:
1. Make better use of your employees' time
and energy. Equipped with a familiar,
Microsoft Office-like interface, tons of automated
operations and integrated information, your staff
can keep pace with customer demand and deliver
superb service even if they're new to their jobs.
Associates can learn basic POS functions in minutes,
while managers can ensure smooth operations at both
the store level and at headquarters with real-time
visibility into inventory, purchasing, and sales
performance and trends.
2. Fast, flexible transaction processing
lets you keep pace with retail giants.
Today's customers expect checkout processes to go
without a hitch even for complex transactions. With
Microsoft Dynamics RMS, you can check prices,
availability and stock location instantly. You can
access complete customer information, manage
multiple tenders and partial payments, and process
debit and credit cards without the need for
expensive middleware and high transaction fees. You
can also quickly create and process returns, back
orders, sales quotes, work orders, and layaways.
3. Maintain tight control over products,
shelf space, and suppliers. Dynamics RMS is designed to help you respond rapidly
to consumer demands, ensure efficient replenishment,
and build cost-effective relationships across the
entire supply chain. You can effortlessly track and
manage inventory using any stock and sales method
and a wide range of inventory types, and reduce
theft and shrinkage with system security. Specialty
retailers in particular will welcome easy-to-use
wizards that simplify management of complex,
multi-dimensional inventory. Just as important -
automated, customizable purchasing functionality
gives you the control and flexibility you need to
keep pace with special ordering requirements.
4. Transform your business into a connected
enterprise. Connect your head office,
individual store offices, and POS information and
processes. Microsoft Dynamics RMS delivers you a
complete POS solution that integrates Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) and accounting programs such
as Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains, providing you
with the ability to manage multiple stores at once.
Along with reducing data entry and eliminating most
errors, your connected solution lets you adapt
smoothly to changing demand and reduces your running
costs!
5. Focus on your growing business.
Thousands of retailers are using Microsoft Dynamics
RMS to meet even the most demanding customers’
requirements. As you continue to grow your business,
RMS provides you the flexibility you need for
setting up new stores, managing and storing
unlimited information, and exchanging data between
customers, partners, and suppliers to maximize
efficiency. You can also extend the reach of your
business and sales operations with add-ins solutions
from independent software vendors (ISVs) such as
Retail Hero.
6. Simplify operations with centralized
control of store information. Microsoft
Dynamics RMS Head Quarters equips multi-store
businesses or chains to manage all stores from the
head office. From one central location, you can
view, analyze, and share information across your
entire business, as well as manage purchasing and
inventory chain-wide, by region, or by store.
Central control over pricing ensures accuracy across
all your stores and enables you to set up and
monitor discounts, promotions and sales at
individual stores and over your entire chain.
7. Accurately track sales, profitability,
inventory, and customers. Put your
information to work with more than 100 standard
reports and the ability to analyze and share
information in multiple formats. You can know
exactly what's selling best, who's buying, and
when—by department, category, or store— decide on a
dime what to buy or mark down, and track return on
investment (ROI) for marketing initiatives.
8. Hardware requirements won't put you out
of pocket. Microsoft Dynamics RMS can work
with your existing computers, or you can purchase
complete software and hardware packages from leading
providers designed to maximize affordability and
quality for your total solution.
9. A peace of mind with a solution designed
to cut ownership costs. Whether you want to
simply install Microsoft Dynamics RMS in a few
stores or deploy a chain-wide enterprise solution
tailored to specific requirements, you can count on
a Microsoft Gold Certified partner for integration,
rapid implementation, and expert assistance. Just as
important, you'll have the backing of comprehensive
maintenance and support that ensures you're current
with updated releases and provides you with fast
resolution of questions and problems.
10. Go ahead and take that vacation.
Microsoft Dynamics RMS lets you stay in
control of your business even when you're out of the
office. Because your business processes are based on
an integrated, automated system, your operations run
smoothly whether you're on site or away. Automated
tracking for all transactions and inventory movement
reduces shrinkage, false returns, credit card fraud,
and unauthorized discounts. Plus, built-in user
security ensures employees have access only to the
data they need to do their jobs. The result? Freedom
to go home at the end of the day—or even to take the
vacation you've put aside for the last three years!
