Apex CCS drives efficiency with PoS solution at SAB World of Beer

World of Beer, a popular venue established by South African Breweries (SAB) in 1995 to educate the public about beer, required a single point of sale (PoS) solution that would seamlessly integrate its three distinct areas - the reception, shop and pub - while simplify its reporting and statistical information-gathering.

Apex Cash Control Solutions (Apex CCS) recommended its Quest PoS solution that not only met these requirements but also increased customer service, productivity, administrative efficiencies, management control and decision-making in addition to saving time and cutting costs.

World of Beer required a ticketing solution for its reception area that not only issued tickets but also facilitated the capture of statistical information such as brand preference, number of visitors and their demographics, whether visitors were `walk in` customers or transported via bus in a group, payment method, and more, in an effort to establish market trends.

Previously, this information was collected and collated manually and took approximately three days per month to prepare and incorporate into the correct format required by SAB`s head office. The task was so laborious that it required the assistance of an outsourced resource to complete the exercise over the three-day period.

Says John Ndlovu, hospitality manager at World of Beer: "We needed a system that would combine data from three distinct areas: the ticketing system for the reception area, our retail shop and our pub. While we recognised the different levels of operational functionality required for each of these areas, we insisted all three of them be fully integrated with the back-office system, allowing us to obtain meaningful reports and full stock control of each of these areas from one central point. Apex CCS`s solution provided exactly that. The company delivered on its promise to provide a solution that would meet these unique requirements."

The Quest solution recommended by Apex CCS met the demands of the busy bar, shop and reception area, a requirement that could not be met by any other PoS solution. The system, installed within a week of approval, comprises a number of Quest VTL640 PoS terminals and the TaskManager back-office software that runs in a multi-user configuration allowing multiple PCs to log into the application. A communications module, TaskConnect, was installed on a local PC to create an interface between the terminals and back-office system so that sales information could be siphoned into the database residing on the server in real-time.

Further efficiencies have resulted through the continuous updating of not only sales information but also stock levels, customer account balances and credit limits. Cashing up at the end of the day is significantly simplified and time efficient.

Apex CCS installed the entire solution in less than a week. Training was segmented into two sections: back-office training and training on the front-end terminals. Several training sessions for the back-office function were extended over a four-day period and staff were pleasantly surprised at the 45 minutes it took to get up to speed with the front-end PoS terminals.

Integrating retail, hospitality and ticket issuing functionality across one solution was the challenge extended to Quest. The Quest solution, developed specifically for hospitality environments, required only minor modifications to accommodate the additional requirements set by SAB.

Says Peter Held, managing director at Apex CCS: "Due to the complex requirements of ticket information required for statistical analysis, customisation was required to ensure a breakdown of visitor information that did not impact on the end-user experience. The solution`s built-in flexibility - one of the distinct benefits of using an international solution that can be adapted to different countries and markets - was an enormous benefit. The fact that Quest solutions are sold in over 20 countries is testimony to this."

The distinct advantage of fully integrating three business areas -- the reception, shop and bar -- into one PoS solution, includes simplifying the task of managing and controlling stock. Establishing stock on hand, outgoing transactions and who is making the sales is extracted from the Quest solution. This information is considered accurate with physical stock takes establishing shrinkage. Accountability that the system features allows us to manage stock more effectively, resulting in a reduction of shrinkage. The management of staff accounts are also simplified and the system provides information pertaining to "which staff member" entertained clients and what was allocated to their account.

The Quest solution also offers tailored reporting formats that were set up upon installation. "Previously, part of the three-day exercise of manually gathering statistical information, included reports that also had to be prepared in the format required by SAB head office. Now the reports are automatically generated in the desired format allowing us to allocate the resources used to complete the exercises to other tasks," says Ndlovu.

"We have managed to save time and money through the implementation of a single end-to-end system that seamlessly caters for our back-end operation as well as the front-end. The low total cost of ownership (TCO) has also proved to be a distinct benefit that is further realised as Apex CCS did not insist on a service level agreement, they claimed the solution is virtually maintenance free. Their claims proved to be correct. In addition, the ongoing costs are further reduced as the software is a once-off purchase fee with no annual licences."

The front-end PoS terminals are robust units that are impermeable to spillage of drinks and make effective use of space due to its compact, slim-line design. The units are constructed from solid metal and are `fan-less` as they do not generate heat. In addition, there are no moving parts (such as hard drives) thus making the hardware even more reliable due to its inherent design. Built-in security demands the user of the terminal log in with a password, so ensuring each person is accountable and responsible for their transactions when operating the PoS system.

Ndlovu concludes: "Apex CCS delivered on their promise to provide a powerful, reliable solution that integrates three disparate environments and the Quest PoS solution has paid off. We have increased productivity and simplified the management of World of Beer`s hospitality operation. The solution has allowed us to respond agilely to growth and, due to its scalability, will continue to do so. Our experience with Apex CCS and Quest has left us with the salutation of `cheers` ringing throughout the World of Beer."