There is a growing trend at the top end of the retail sector for retailers to opt for modular-based POS (point-of-sale) solutions because of the ability to grow with modular systems over time, to adopt a best-of-breed approach to products, as well as because of the flexibility and scalability offered by these systems, said Regan Atkins, sales and marketing manager at leading POS vendor, PC-PoS South Africa.
PC-PoS SA is the local subsidiary of international POS vendor, PC-PoS Inc.
"We have experienced this trend in our day-to-day business and, because our POS solution, DigiPos, is a completely modular solution, we have been increasing market share dramatically over the past few years in the e-POS market space both locally and overseas, particularly with leaders in the retail industry."
Atkins said a recent Clarendon Report on the UK POS market stated that PC-PoS has been elevated to second position behind IBM against volume shipments of POS terminals in the U.K.
Clarendon Reports, based in London, is regarded as the leading world authority in ePOS and ECR market data.
"One of the main reasons for this, we believe, is the fact that our DigiPos solution boasts not only the latest in ePOS technology - and is designed to cover the retailer`s overall and special requirements - but our solutions are also completely modular."
Atkins said the trend towards a modular approach to POS solutions is now at an advanced stage in the European market, with markets like SA "following closely".
He said his company took modularity a step further by introducing its world-first "POS-in-a-box" concept - in order to capitalise on the new modularity trend - in 1997.
"The POS-in-a-box concept, first introduced in the UK - and soon after in countries like SA, Germany, France and the Nordic region - has proved enormously successful," said Atkins. "Since its introduction we have sold well over 30 000 units worldwide and more than 3 500 in SA."
Atkins said that with the company`s new POS-in-a-box solution, new systems can be installed within 36 hours. "Time-to-market is also something that is very important to retailers - as well as hassle-free installations - and our solution caters for these retailer requirements."
Modular versus integrated retail solutions
He said the reason for the increasing move to modular solutions at the top end of the retail spectrum is that retailers like to opt for a best-of-breed approach to IT systems.
"If a new scanner or printer is launched which will elevate operational efficiencies, aesthetics and customer service, retailers like to have the option to simply plug that particular peripheral into their current solution. There remains a demand for integrated solutions, but this is more popular in the mid to lower end of the market. A fast food restaurant, for instance, will not really need to go for a modular approach. They generally prefer integrated solutions. One of the key reasons for this is that they generally have less counter space."
Although the company`s products are manufactured overseas, PC-PoS SA does local assembly at its Johannesburg service centre, and, after conducting all the pre-installation preparation, packages the client`s POS solution in one box.
This includes the POS terminal, scanner and printer - or whatever is required. This makes for a far quicker delivery with less peripheral boxes, meaning less items, such as scanners, are misplaced on route to the client.
"One of the vital plus points is that our system can also grow component-by-component, making upgrading that much easier for the end-user.
"In fact," explained Atkins, "a small retailer, or restaurant, can start out with a keyboard-based POS solution and migrate effortlessly to a more sophisticated icon-based touch-screen solution. This is increasingly what the market is looking at."
Number one in SA
Atkins said PC-PoS South Africa is now also the number one provider of ePOS solutions in SA. "We believe our ability to achieve the number one position in this market sector is not only due to our product range`s modularity, but also because our quality solutions are being well received by the marketplace. This is definitely another factor why retailers are opting for DigiPos. They cannot afford downtime."
He said benchmark tests conducted during 2002 reveal that the company`s DigiPos PC-based POS terminals only have a 2% failure rate, significantly lower than the industry norm.
The company`s repair centres report that part swap-outs average only 0.17%
"The failure rate of competitive systems came in at an average of 5% to 6%," Atkins stated.
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A European-based company established in 1994, the PC-POS Group has experienced an annualised growth rate in excess of 40% and now has a consolidated turnover in excess of $80 million. By carefully selecting acquisitions in Europe, or by establishing a presence in specific countries the company now has operations in 14 countries, which includes servicing the areas of EMEA, North America and Asia Pacific.
The company is establishing both its reputation and position as Europe`s largest independent supplier of ePOS solutions, servicing the requirements of the retail, hospitality and leisure markets.
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