Retail chain Ackermans has initiated a 21-store expansion drive throughout its southern African trading regions, retaining IT partner Unisys in a R4.3 million point-of-sale hardware procurement and maintenance project for the new and existing stores.
The contract reaffirms Ackermans` long-standing relationship with Unisys and includes full on-site maintenance and support for over 1 100 point-of-sale devices, peripherals and printers in 256 Ackermans stores across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho.
The expansion saw 14 new stores open for trade on 27 September, with the remaining stores opening in October and November.
"Because of the critical importance of opening day, it`s imperative that our IT partner understands our business and is part of the planning, testing and implementation phases of the project," says Ackermans IT manager George Zaverdinos.
"Our relationship with Unisys dates back to 1993 when we signed a first five-year hardware maintenance contract, and we haven`t looked back since. On the strength of the value we`ve had, we recently extended the contract for a further two years, and the new stores will automatically fall under the service level agreements we`ve set."
Zaverdinos says Unisys will be responsible for hardware procurement for all point-of-sale systems, including peripheral devices such as networking equipment, UPSs and modems.
"We`re not a company- or brand-specific organisation so aren`t bound - under the terms of the contract or otherwise - to procure our hardware from any one or more vendors," he says. "That said, the service we`ve had from Unisys for the past eight years has been nothing short of professional, and the quality of equipment has never failed our expectations, so there`s no reason to discontinue the procurement channel we have with the company that looks after our IT interests as a priority."
Ackermans has set up a prepare-for-installation centre in Woodstock, Cape Town, where the full equipment complement for all 21 stores is undergoing thorough testing by Unisys and Ackermans technicians.
"We`re also flying in key Unisys technicians from across the region to work with us in the testing centre and ensure the procedures for opening day are in sync. It`s not good enough to have a 99% success rate on opening day - nothing short of 100% uptime will do, with anything less costing each store thousands of rand in lost sales."
Unisys account executive Reg Jemmett concurs: "Our track record with Ackermans and the relationship our people have developed with each of its stores means we know the way the company operates and are primed for any contingency during the expansion process.
"Nothing has been left to chance; once all the hardware and software has been put through its paces by our team, it will be transported and configured again at each new store and re-tested prior to opening day. Technicians assigned to each store will also be on hand to help Ackermans staff through any problems, before and after opening."
Zaverdinos concurs: "Hardware maintenance is primarily a clinical operation, but we felt our relationship with Unisys and its people, and its technicians` relationship with our individual stores, made the difference between them and any other contender. Sometimes the `people component` of IT is overlooked, but it`s here that we find the most value."
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