Accessorize at Oslo Central Station is one of 9 stores operating with Front Systems POS.
Flexible solution without disrupting the organization
Monsoon Accessorize Norway was aiming at an innovative and modern point of sale system without having to battle an ascending level of organization change processes and the associated high investment costs.
A prerequisite for moving over to a new POS system was to be able to continue the current practices at the head office in London and have complete integration capabilities with the existing ERP system.
Retail organizations such as the Monsoon Group have ERP systems where integration with other systems goes beyond APIs or file exchange, either EDI-based or through proprietary file structures.
Designed specifically to easily integrate with existing ERP systems, Front Systems Cloud platform was swiftly integrated with, amid product data, campaigns and transactions at Accessorize's checkout registers.
Kunj Shah, Monsoon Group's IT operations manager, is impressed with Front Systems' point of sale system. Seen here with Einar Negaard, CFO of Front Systems.
Simplifies processes that is imperative for smooth operations in a store
Kunj Shah, Monsoon Group's IT Operations Manager is extremely pleased with the process:
- Front Systems showed a great deal of passion and commitment, and what transpired in two weeks is a solution closely integrated with our existing ERP system. Front Systems simplifies processes that is imperative for smooth operations in a store, he said.
Painless implementation
Amanda Lilja, project manager for implementation in Monsoon Accessorize Norway, was involved actively since the onset of the transition process.
- The first impression of Front Systems was solid. They created a positive work atmosphere. Developed by individuals with extensive experience and concrete understanding of the retail industry, they offered precise answers to all the questions asked, she said.
She continued to say:
- I wasn’t apprehensive about changing the system but had concerns about the potential problems it might cause. I remember someone asking me right before we switched over, on what could possibly go wrong in the process, and I answered “Everything! Everything can go wrong!”, but fortunately I was wrong.
In the first two weeks of October, 9 Accessorize stores have implemented Front Systems point of sale system.
- The training was rather simple, and it took a couple of hours only to train the staff in the store. The big difference that I’ve noticed with Front Systems is that everything is clear and logically arranged with no room for error, she said.
Monsoon Accessorize on a store visit at one of Front Systems customer: Bergans of Norway.
Boost sales from mobile
Reports on mobile have aided Accessorize tremendously:
- It's a great tool that gives us an insight into the store’s performance throughout the day, said Lilja.
- Previously, we had to call to check the sales generated in each store, but with real-time reports, on PC or mobile, we can instantly unlock the sales potential of each store by taking data-driven decisions.
Saves time every day
- Earlier, we invested a lot of time in end of day settlements. Now, it is a comprehensive, yet compact one-page report. We have received feedback from the stores that the simplified processes have been conducive to employee productivity. Employees can now spend more time working on promotional tasks. By saving time and money we have generated more business value that could lead to higher sales and profits, said Lilja.
- At Accessorize, we use Front Systems reports frequently as they have an incredible amount of importance in daily business operations. The reports provide visibility and have a great impact on the efficiency of the organization.
Accessorize Norway has reduced its support requests by 62% after switching over to Front Systems.
Better customer service
Since it is an iPad-based point of sale system, customers can look at the products on our website, if needed. Lilja explains:
- This might be to display the product in a different color or variant than what the store has in stock. In situations where a customer is looking for an item that is not in stock, we can immediately check the inventory of other stores in the company and suggest the customer about an immediate pickup of the item in the nearest store.
- We can thus provide faster and better service more than ever before, concludes Lilja.