SUPERGIFTS TO IMPLEMENT EPOS SYSTEM FROM VOITEQ

The original high street pound store plans to use VPoS to increase visibility in the supply chain and improve business practices

Supergifts, owner of the original pound retailers, Superpound Superpound Plus and The Big 99p Store has announced that it will implement VPoS, an Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) system from VoiteQ. The VPoS system will initially be implemented in two stores before being rolled out across the whole chain of around 30 stores. The implementation comes as part of an ongoing drive to improve efficiency.

Until now, Supergifts has relied on an electronic cash register and replenished from manual stock and order. Although profitable across the board, Supergifts realised the need for a major new investment in IT to maximise full potential across its stores and help to grow the business.

Established in 1979, Supergifts preceded other pound shops that have now become commonplace in high streets across the country. The company is a subsidiary of Woolbro Ltd and controls around 30 stores in the North of England. It employs approximately 300 staff and supplies a wide range of products from everyday grocery products to gift lines.

Superpound stores in Middleton and Blackpool have been selected to trial the new technology, as part of a major new refurbishment at these stores. VPoS is an end-to-end system which will allow Supergifts greater visibility of stock in store and overall stock holding, as well as providing valuable information on the selling patterns of different products and greater control of cash and banking information, all with centralised control.

David Facer, Head of Supergifts comments, The Information we can gain from the VPoS system will be invaluable in terms of what we should be buying and replenishing. It will enable us to define accurate margins, inform us what we are selling, and help us forecast what the hot sellers are so we can try to avoid availability issues. The information will help us to grow the business and make better informed decisions.

The VPoS system is of Open database design which enables it to be linked easily to other applications. It runs on any current Windows platform and has a user friendly design. VPoS, previously known as Retail Manager, has a proven track record having been in constant use and under continued development for the last 18 years. Users are also able to diversify their business without having to purchase add-on modules.

David adds, I looked at six other EPoS solutions, but being familiar with VoiteQs previous work, I was confident they would be able to provide an end-to-end solution that would suit the company best. We dont need to buy separate purchasing software, VPoS will provide us with data and records in a common system and its easy to use.  It has an integrated solution for credit and debit card transactions and easily allows for multi-buy discounts. Managers can also create their own in-store pint of sale in a more professional manner.

David concludes, Coming from a convenience store background VoiteQ has an implicit understanding of the retail market and VPoS has been designed with ease and usability for the retailer as the foremost concern. This makes them truly stand out from their competitors. VoiteQ also offers a personal level of customer service which we have been extremely impressed with. From adapting to our specific requirements to offering personal in-store assistance during the implementation, nothing seems to be too much trouble.