ARAMARK rolls out BCP/Toshiba retail solution

Managed services supplier, ARAMARK UK, has boosted store turnover and cut stock taking time by rolling out the latest retail management solution from BCP and Toshiba TEC Europe to the MODs fast-growing stores estate.

The solution combines Toshiba PoS hardware with the latest Accord Retailer software from BCP, the retail and supply chain solutions specialist.

Background

ARAMARK UK is the UK arm of the US based ARAMARK Corporation, a world leader in providing managed services to business. The company services many industry sectors Education, Healthcare, Hotels, Leisure, Custodial, the MoD and Offshore, to name but a few with an extensive array of customised facilities management services, including cleaning, grounds and buildings maintenance, reception duties, janitorial services, etc.

Solution

The new retail systems encompass BCPs complete Accord Retailer Point of Sale and Back Office solution. The modern Windows front end Accord PoS provides the full range of point of sale functionality necessary for successful retailing, including integrated EFTPoS, multicurrency and comprehensive in-store promotion control. Designed to provide fast, reliable, resilient processing, it ensures customer service and store efficiency are optimised.

The software has been implemented on the latest Toshiba TEC ST-60 and ST-71 touch screen hardware. Robust yet compact these free up maximum counter surface for merchandising or other counter services. Accord Back Office provides complete control over store operations, from product and price maintenance and auto replenishment to stock control, sales reporting and cash control, delivering focussed management information for monitoring performance and proactive decision making.

The implementation also includes AIMS, BCPs Internet messaging service for high performance, cost effective communications and data transfer, and Piccolink RF hand held terminals. These are being used with Accord Retailer to improve accuracy and productivity across a whole range of activities, including stock counting, price verification and goods received.

ARAMARK chose Accord Retailer because it offered a cost effective, flexible solution with an impressive track record in retailing. Fully featured, it satisfied ARAMARKs precise requirements without the need for any additional bespoke work. Implementations have gone smoothly from the start, BCP successfully meeting ARAMARKs aggressive implementation timescales in all cases.

Users at all the stores have found the system intuitive and easy to use and the Toshiba hardware reliable and unobtrusive. Operational benefits from the new system have been significant, particularly in terms of improved efficiency based on information generated by the system. Automatic Ordering and improved stocktaking are delivering significant benefits while detailed sales information, previously unavailable, has confirmed assumptions about good and bad selling goods and prompted plans for re-merchandising of the stores to increase sales.

Mike Pugh, Business Development Manager at ARAMARK, concludes, The new systems at these MOD stores are more than living up to our expectations in terms of the benefits they are delivering. One of the biggest benefits has been the transformation of the monthly stock taking process. Previously we had to close the store, but now these can be completed in a fraction of the time and while the store is open. This is delivering huge operational benefits.

Store turnover has increased dramatically, as we have used other information generated by the system to tailor our product ranges and re-merchandise the stores. Moreover, the small footprint of the Toshiba means we can maximise sales from other counter services and impulse buying ranges in the checkout area. We look forward to extending these benefits to more of our retail estate as we take on other contracts and modernise the IT solutions.