Monday 17 December 2012

How “Point of Sale” Became much more than a fancy calculator| The Development of POS

 

We recently found this interesting article on the development and history of the POS- How “Point of Sale” Became much more than a fancy calculator, and thought we would share it with you by recapping the most important and interesting points.

The Beginning

To many a POS has never been more than a fancy calculator; it only ever adds up the cost of all your products and holds money. Yes, over the years it has become sleeker in design and has more flashing lights, but its usage has not changed.

How wrong these people are. The modern day point-of-sale (POS) is a tightly integrated computer that knows all about your buying history; how often you shop online and what you are likely to buy next week. It is also able to communicate this along the entire length of the stores' supply chain right back to the factory if necessary.

It has certainly came a long way since its introduction in the late 1800’s when it was only used to produce a simple receipt, one copy for the merchant and one for the customer. The first POS devices were wooden boxes, made by carpenters out of rosewood, brass or nickel.

It was in the 1900s that the development of POS systems accelerated. A transaction that once started and ended in the stores was a thing of the past. These days your store knows a lot about you long before you have even entered, thanks to the introduction and popularity of loyalty cards. Computers can work out if you are sick, and how often, the number of people you live with, if you have pets and can even make an educated guess as to your pregnancy status. These facts may be daunting to some of the public, as privacy is obviously a concern and issue, however consumers can choose to opt in or opt out or the data collection process.

 

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Today

More and more retailers are aiming to gather and use “big data” to help refine their operations, as this information can prove invaluable when it comes to the supply chain. In an ideal world as soon as a product is taken off the shelves and paid for, a new one is instantly manufactured or shipped to replace it, so now-a-days POS manufacturers have to take into account the supply warehouse and the point of manufacture, rather than designing a machine that only suited the needs of a retailer. Many of the large retailers can dictate that new technology is used by their entire supply chain to help streamline the supply chain and work seamlessly with its own POS system.

The Future

One of the biggest developments recently has been to make the POS mobile. Apple stores championed this by allowing its staff to interact with their customers and finish transactions on the spot; others are now replicating this.

Due to the increasing demand for smartphones and tablets, POS companies are integrating the mobile factor into their manufacturing. Sophisticated POS systems are starting to come with some tablet element that can be detached at a moment notice. This can be seen in our earlier post about AX-3000 and Phoenix handheld ordering software.

Essentially POS manufacturers have acknowledge that is is far easier to take the touch-base skills many people are now learning form an early age- pinch, swipe and scroll- and incorporate them into their own device. Why invent new methods when there once that already exist than the masses know how to use.

It is in fact the User Interface (UI) that is the most important factor in the future of the POS system. Already, pictures and symbols have largely replaced words and letters, making each configuration easier to deploy especially in huge global supply chains. The future of POS systems will become more customer friendly and ever present in our everyday lives.

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Movember| The Results And A Thank You

 

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As you may or may not know, this year we supported Movember thank to the help of our Service Engineer Kevin Beecroft. You can find out all the information about our Movember campaign in our previous post- Support Movember.

We wanted to take this time to firstly congratulate Kevin in sticking with the moustache for the whole month; you can see his moustache growth in the picture above. Kevin has been a good sport, but more importantly he has raised money for a great cause! All of the proceeds will go to Testicular and Prostate cancer research and support charities in the UK.

Well done Kevin!

Monday 10 December 2012

New Products| BuyCateringEquipment.co.uk

 

It’s been a busy month on the Webshop this past month, with a large number of new products being uploaded to the site. We thought we would talk you through each of the product ranges, and give you our analysis of their best points and the benefits for you.

Pantheon New Products

We have always been a fan of Pantheon products; they may not be the fanciest of products, but if you need value and reliability then Pantheon products are ideal for you. They have released a number of new products onto the market recently, and we are excited to be able to offer them to you at very competitive prices and before many other retailers!

Included in the new products are Easy Clean Counter Top Fryers, Adjustable height Salamander Grills, Heated Display Units, Heated Cabinets and Heated Lamp Units.

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Instanta New Boilers

Instanta is a name you can trust, and they have recently upgraded their value line of boilers with the release of the 1501F and 3000F, which replace the older 1500LCD and 3000LCD models. These new machines have the added benefit of built-in scale reduction and taste/odour removal along with a programmable filter monitor. Overall these added features make this a innovative value boiler with great reliability.

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EKA Convection Ovens

EKA is a new brand to us, but what we have heard of them is all good! We wanted to include these convection ovens on our webshop so there would be an offering for those on a budget. their ovens are compact and versatile and can be placed on a counter top or mounted on a floor stand with tray storage.

These Convection Ovens are ideal for small to medium sized cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, takeaways and convenience stores. They are also extensively used by outside catering facilities. There are 8 different easy to use cooking settings. Overall they are versatile multi-function counter top ovens that are strong, reliable and really easy to use.

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Electrolux Panini Grills and Cooktops- Libero Range

The Electrolux Libero line offers a complete package of plug-in appliances suitable for every food service location to cook, fry, grill and chill all kinds of dishes in a quick and easy way.  We think the Libero line is perfect for all catering establishments, but is a great fit for those with limited space as the range was designed to be flexible, easy to use ad ideal for mobile compact kitchen environments. Unlike many other ranges designed for those with limited space the Electrolux Libero range does not skimp on technology. Like all their products they use advance technology and appealing aesthetics.

The Panini Grills and Cooktops that we offer on our web shop can adapt to all styles and surrounding from breakfast in the early morning to dinner banquets. The Cooktops guarantee no heat loss during cooking and allows you to quickly prepare pan-fried dishes while creating a perfect result for you customer. The Panini grills are compact, versatile and ideal for grilling sandwiches, vegetables, meat or fish quickly and easily.

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As you can see we are excited about the new products that we are offering to our customers, and as always we are offering them at a very competitive price and with great warranties. To find out more about these products individually you can view them on our Webshop or call our sales team on 015395 66680 or email at info@buycateringequipment.co.uk

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Embedded EPOS| A Simple Solution

 

Whether you are new to EPoS or have had an EPoS system for some time and are looking for an update; the world of EPoS systems can sometimes be difficult to understand. This is where we can help! At Harmony Business we always look to offer you a range of solutions so that you can assess your options and choose the one that most suits your business and its resources.

You may believe that your business is too small to reap the benefits of a EPoS system, however this is rarely the case. A good EPoS System can save you money, save time, increase productivity and assist in driving your business forward.

At Harmony Business we believe we have the perfect solution for the majority of hospitality businesses. An EPoS system that is tough, reliable, fast, easy to use, and most of all affordable… it may seem like a dream, but the Uniwell AX-3000 delivers all of this and more. The AX-3000 is a non PC based system, which has no hard drive or moving parts, so it can withstand the knocks, bangs and harsh conditions of hospitality and retail…it was built to last twice as long as PC based systems!

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The other features that the AX-3000 boasts are;

  • Unique hardware design that delivers lightening fast performance year after year without the need for expensive upgrades.
  • The user interface can be customised to suit each individual business; simplifying operations and minimizing staff training and cost.
  • Instant power on/off, with no wait for the OS to boot up, and no chance of database corruption.
  • Secure from virus attacks and hacking.
  • Customer records and loyalty features can greatly increase marketing functionality and customer service in your business.

Handheld Ordering with Phoenix

As great as the AX-3000 sounds, for waitress service operations, the magic happens when it is integrated with Phoenix! Phoenix is a handheld application waitress application that runs on Android devices, such as smart phones, tablets etc. Phoenix is designed exclusively for the AX-3000 so that maximum compatibility and stability is offered. The ap is easy to use with features that can be intuitively learnt, so all your staff are able to pick it up quickly (even the biggest technophobe will have no problems adapting to it!)

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As great as we think this EPoS system is, you may still be unsure about investing in an EPoS system. If you are, you need to think about the following;

  • If you currently have a manual system in place, how often are items missed from the customers bill- costing you money! An EPoS system can stop this from day one.
  • If you have to produce periodic sales reports an EPoS system can make this a very quick procedure allowing you more time to concentrate on improving your business.
  • How easy is it for you to reprogram your existing system- the AX3000 is straight forward with no need to wait for a service engineer. You can even link to back office software if desired.

You don’t have to take our word for it; we have installed the Uniwell AX-3000 and Phoenix systems into a number of hospitality businesses, so keep your eyes peeled for honest feedback and opinions from the business owners and their staff on the benefits the system provides for businesses such as yours.

We understand that making the transition to a EPoS system or even changing your current system, can be daunting, but overall an EPoS system such as the Uniwell AX-3000 and Phoenix can provide a number of functions that are missing or are very slow in your current system. If you want to increase your efficiency then it is worth while investing in a new EPoS system.

Here at Harmony EPoS Solutions we are here to help you through the transition; from initial contact and query right through to training and on-going support for you and your new EPoS system.

We are currently offering the Uniwell AX3000 at a very competitive price, and the Phoenix Software is free for a limited period only. To find out more about Uniwell AX-3000 and Phoenix, or any of our other EPoS systems, or if you would like a demonstration,  please call Trevor Procter on 015395 66680 or email epos@harmonybusiness.co.uk