Helly Hansen has sales outlets in all the ports the Ocean Race will visit, and Helly Hansen is bringing Front System's POS system for iPad with her on this spectacular trip.
"We sell clothing and equipment in every port. So far, we have been to Alicante and there we sold according to expectations, says Marius Piene, Business Operations Manager at Helly Hansen. In Alicante, Helly Hansen had a 225 sqm retail tent and four Front Systems iPad POS points.
- "Since Alicante was the first place we would rig up for sale, we sent internal IT support to assist if we should encounter challenges. This way, the other employees could focus on building a store, packing up clothes and things like that. We used internal support and had Morten from Front Systems on standby so that we had Front Systems available if something should arise."
In order for things to go as smoothly as possible, Front Systems had set up the systems in advance so that Helly Hansen only had to focus on cabling and more practical things before the opening in Alicante. Now that they have also prepared all the practicalities, it will take much less time to set up at the next outlet, and Piene expects it to go smoothly:
"Everything is set up, holes have been drilled in the board and cables are marked, so it should be very easy to get ready for sale in the next port," he said.
Helly Hansen's shop in the Race village in Alicante.
During the Ocean Race, Helly Hansen uses the iPad POS system from Front Systems both in Europe and in the US.
-"We use the same system at the next stop in Europe that we used in Alicante, and we also have a separate setup for North America that we will reuse for other, similar types of things there later," Piene said. There is such a tight timeline between the boats' stops in North America to the boats' stops in Europe, and it is difficult to sensibly ship the equipment from North America back to Europe in order to use it the exact same system there.
The main reason why Helly Hansen does it this way is that from a purely logistical point of view it would have been a gamble, and if something had happened along the way, they would potentially be without a cash register system at the next stop in Europe. That's a chance Helly Hansen can't take, which is why Front Systems has prepared the system for both continents.
"At the next stop in Europe, the POS will be packed together with goods and other equipment and sent by truck to the next stop. There it will be packed up and prepared for the next outlet," says Piene.
The Ocean Race will visit nine iconic cities throughout the voyage
During the Ocean Race, Helly Hansen uses the POS system on the iPad, but the POS system can also be used on a mobile phone, if desired. Piene is impressed with how easy Front System's POS system is to use.
- "Frontend user, i.e. user-friendliness for the end user is incredibly good, you learn to use Front Systems POS in basically two seconds. It has an interface that is very easy for people to understand, which makes it an incredibly flexible system considering that absolutely anyone can use it. If you need someone to help out, you can just get one from the site without in-depth training.
Front Systems POS also has a very simple and ongoing tracking of how sales are going per day, and it is easy to do day settlements and things like that.
We would really recommend others to use Front Systems at similar events around the world," Piene concludes.
Marius Piene in Helly Hansen recommends Front Systems' POS