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iVend Retail 5.6 released

August 14, 2012 by 6 Comments

iVend Retail 5.6 brings host of retail functionalities making iVend a much stronger retail management suite of application. 

iVend Unplugged 

iVend Unplugged is an Unplugged version of iVend Retail – unplugged from a core financial application. iVend Unplugged encompasses all that is offered by core iVend Retail. It retains the original features of iVend Retail and offers more. Unplugging the application from a core financial solution lets the Retailer run his retail operations the way he wants to run them, and not be constrained by the investment & processes of a financial solution. iVend Unplugged can be integrated with any third party financial system/ ERP using iVend APIs.

User Training Mode 

User Training Mode has been introduced in iVend to make iVend more users friendly. A new user can work in the training environment and learn to use the functionalities of iVend Retail better. The production environment however, remains unaffected by user activities in the training environment.

Coupons 

iVend Coupons are vouchers entitling the holder to a discount off a particular product(s). It is a promotional tool that can be used to get discounts while purchasing goods or services. Generally coupons are classified into Manufacturer and Store issued coupons, however in iVend treatment for both of these coupon types remains same and depends on the coupon setup.

Promotion – Bonus Buys 

iVend Promotion engine are used to handle complex promotion scenarios using Buy and Get conditions as means to define the prerequisites set by the customer. Some of the promotions that can be setup are

  1. Buy X and get X free
  2. Buy X and get Y free
  3. Buy X and get discount on any item from Product Group Y
  4. Buy N quantity from Product Group X and get discount on any item of Product Group Y
  5. Buy N quantity from Product Group X of worth R and get discount on any item of Product Group Y
  6. Buy any 5 Quantity and get X percent discounts.
  7. Get X discount percent on the entire sale if Bill values exceeds N amount.
  8. Get Gift Certificate /Coupon/Loyalty points if you buy item/item group X worth R.

Tax Condition Setup 

Using Tax Condition setup, a user can setup different Tax Conditions based on different parameters like Customer/Customer Group, Product/Product Group/Product Class, Warehouse/Store Group, Item Price range and Shipping Conditions etc.

Discount Group Setup 

Earlier in iVend, Discount was defined for a single Discount field. With iVend 5.6, Discount Group setup has been introduced where Discount field has been categorized into four types of Discount Group.

  1. Manual Discount Group
  2. System Discount Group
  3. Coupon Discount Group
  4. Promotion Discount Group

Depending on the grouping done, the user can determine the relationship of a particular group with the next Discount Group.

Sale Order Cancellation 

Cancellation of Sale Order at Point Of Sale can be done using Cancel option introduced in iVend 5.6. Previously Sale Order was cancelled using Sale Edit option.

Heartland Payment Processor 

Heartland payment processor integration for US has been incorporated in this release. The integration also supports the debit card sales with the PIN entry.

Signature Capture 

iVend 5.6 supports capturing of customer signatures on transactions. The captured signatures can then be printed on the thermal receipt. iVend 5.6 recommends that you use the Id Tech Sign & Pay (IDFA-3153) for this (http://www.idtechproducts.com/products/pos-peripherals/116.html).

SAP Business One Israel Localization Support 

Support for Israel localization is extended in iVend 5.6. Along with this iVend supports the Arabic language and also has support for RTL.

Extended Language Support 

Apart from English, iVend application is now also available in the following languages:

  1. French
  2. German
  3. Greek
  4. Italian
  5. Latin American Spanish
  6. Simplified Chinese
  7. Vietnamese
  8. Arabic

Enhancements 

Custom Transaction Information Grid 

Custom Transaction information can now be set individually for different store(s) using Custom Transaction Info Grid option in management console. This would enable users to setup the different button panel for individual stores.

Store Group 

Store group provides the flexibility of grouping the multiple stores based on their pricing, taxation and inventory needs.

  1. Pricing Store Group: Price list can be attached to a pricing store group and therefore all the stores falling under this group would have a same price list applicable.
  2. Taxation Store Group: Stores can be group based on their Taxation and then this store group can be used to setup different Tax Condition within iVend.
  3. Inventory Store Group: Different warehouses can be clubbed together using an Inventory store group. Store would only be able to see the inventory or do inventory transactions with the stores/warehouses which are in his inventory store group or the stores/warehouses which are not part of any inventory store group.

Import/Export Data 

Import /Export of Data templates can be done in iVend using Import/Export data option. Forty two templates are available for import/export in iVend. The default location for these templates is iVend Retail Installation folderManagement ConsoleImport Templates.

Print Profile Enhancements 

The user can specify report printing option(s) (xml report, crystal report, printer selection on runtime) using Print Profile option. All the reports like Z-Tape, X-Tape, Labor session chit and others can now be printed on document printer also.

Business Date Validation 

On enabling this, the user would not be allowed to login in iVend POS if the system date and the business date are not same.

Force Clock Out while performing End of Day at Store 

If a user does not clock out from Point Of Sale, on commencement of the End of Day process, the user is force clocked out.

Display Loyalty Details under Customer Information Panel 

At Point of Sale, Loyalty details for the selected customer are available under Customer Information Panel. Loyalty details include Loyalty Points, Loyalty slab etc.

Changes in the serial scanning on GRPO 

While doing a GRPO, instead of manually entering the serial number(s) for the products, the serial number(s) can be directly scanned by the user.

Fulfillment Address Integration with SAP B1 documents 

The address captured on fulfillment in iVend will be populated in delivery address of corresponding document of SAP Business One. Since in iVend user can attach multiple fulfillment(s) on same document, therefore only first fulfillment address will be integrated with SAP Business One.

Customer Remarks Integration with SAP Business One 

Customer remarks captured in SAP Business One would be integrated with Customer comments of iVend.

Returns on Credit Card 

While doing a refund on a credit card, the original reference number will be auto populated by the system from the original sale transaction. This would ease the operation of cashier as currently cashier enters this number manually.

Z Report 

Apart from Fiscal Z-Report, iVend 5.6 provides the functionality for printing the Z-Tape Report for other countries.

Support for Rounding in Payment 

iVend 5.6 supports the following type of rounding of Payments

  • No Rounding
  • Round to Five Hundredth
  • Round to Ten Hundredth
  • Round to One
  • Round to Ten
  • Round to Fifty
  • Round to Hundred
  • Round to Thousand

If you are using SAP Business One as ERP system, then please ensure that you specify the over/under payment amount according to the Rounding selected in iVend. If this is not done correctly then your invoice may remain open in SAP Business One.

Issues Fixed 

Issue Description: The GRPO fails to integrate if the purchase UOM is set on an item while creating the Purchase Order.

Issue Description: While creating a backup of Store from iVend Enterprise, if the numbers of records are large then creation of backup fails.

Issue Description: If warehouse is created later in SAP Business One after system is initialized then the inventory records for that warehouse were not generated which was resulting in error while doing the goods receipt at the store.

Filed Under: iVend Retail, News @ CitiXsys, Product update Tagged With: ,

What’s new in iVend Retail 5.6

July 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

After so many months of wait, iVend Retail 5.6 has finally arrived. The release is scheduled for 7th August 2012. While few of our partners and certified consultants are already using the beta release, some of the cool features are listed below for everyone to get a glimpse on the latest innovations. A video is also created. Have a look.

iVend Stand-Alone 

iVend Stand-Alone runs independently without the need for an ERP at the backend. Retailers can now manage their entire retail operations just with iVend Retail Suite without having to implement an ERP.

User Training Mode

User Training Mode has been introduced in iVend to make iVend more users friendly. A new user can work in the training environment and learn to use the functionalities of iVend Retail better. The production environment however, remains unaffected by user activities in the training environment.

Discount Group Setup

Earlier in Ivend, Discount was defined for a single Discount field. With Ivend 5.6, Discount Group setup has been introduced where Discount field has been categorized into four types of Discount Group.

  • Manual Discount Group
  • System Discount Group
  • Coupon Discount Group
  • Promotion Discount Group

Depending on the grouping done, the user can determine the relationship of a particular group with the next Discount Group.

Custom Transaction Info Grid

Custom Transaction information can now be set individually for different store(s) using Custom Transaction Info Grid option in management console. This would enable users to setup the different button panel for individual stores.

Coupons

iVend Coupons are vouchers entitling the holder to a discount off a particular product(s). It is a promotional tool that can be used to get discounts while purchasing goods or services. Generally coupons are classified into Manufacturer and Store issued coupons, however in iVend treatment for both of these coupon types remains same and depends on the coupon setup.

Promotion – Bonus Buys

iVend Promotion engine are used to handle complex promotion scenarios using Buy and Get conditions as means to define the prerequisites set by the customer. Some of the promotions that can be setup are

  1. Buy X and get X free
  2. Buy X and get Y free
  3. Buy X and get discount on any item from Product Group Y
  4. Buy N quantity from Product Group X and get discount on any item of Product Group Y
  5. Buy N quantity from Product Group X of worth R and get discount on any item of Product Group Y
  6. Buy any 5 Quantity and get X percent discounts.
  7. Get X discount percent on the entire sale if Bill values exceeds N amount.
  8. Get Gift Certificate /Coupon/Loyalty points if you buy item/item group X worth R.

Tax Condition Setup

Using Tax Condition setup, a user can setup different Tax Conditions based on different parameters like Customer/Customer Group, Product/Product Group/Product Class, Warehouse/Store Group and Shipping Conditions etc.

 Store Group

Store group provides the flexibility of grouping the multiple stores based on their pricing, taxation and inventory needs.

  • Pricing Store Group: Price list can be attached to a pricing store group and therefore all the stores falling under this group would have a same price list applicable.
  • Taxation Store Group: Stores can be group based on their Taxation and then this store group can be used to setup different Tax Condition within iVend.
  • Inventory Store Group: Different warehouses can be clubbed together using an Inventory store group. Store would only be able to see the inventory or do inventory transactions with the stores/warehouses which are in his inventory store group or the stores/warehouses which are not part of any inventory store group.

Import/Export Data

Import /Export of Data templates can be done in iVend using Import/Export data option. Forty two templates are available for import/export in iVend. The default location for these templates is Ivend Retail Installation folderàManagement ConsoleàImport Templates. 

Print Profile Enhancements

The user can specify report printing option(s) (xml report, crystal report, printer selection on runtime) using Print Profile option.

Business Date Validation

On enabling this, the user would not be allowed to login in iVend POS if the system date and the business date are not same.

Force Clock Out at EOD

If a user does not clock out from Point Of Sale, on commencement of the End of Day process, the user is force clocked out.

Display Loyalty Details under Customer Information Panel

At Point of Sale, Loyalty details for the selected customer is available under Customer Information Panel. Loyalty details include Loyalty Points, Loyalty slab etc.

Sale Order Cancellation

Cancellation of Sale Order at Point Of Sale can be done using Cancel option introduced in iVend 5.6. Previously Sale Order was cancelled using Sale Edit option.

Changes in the serial scanning on GRPO

While doing a GRPO, instead of manually entering the serial number(s) for the products, the serial number(s) can be directly scanned by the user.

Fulfillment Address Integration with SAP Business One documents

The address captured on fulfillment in iVend will be populated in delivery address of corresponding document of SAP Business One. Since in iVend user can attach multiple fulfillment(s) on same document, therefore only first fulfillment address will be integrated with SAP Business One.

 

 

Filed Under: iVend Retail Tagged With: , , ,

iVend Retail with SAP Business One Implementation series

June 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

CitiXsys Australia conducted a 5 day iVend Implementation webinar series from April 16th to 20th 2012 for CitiXsys partners and customers in South East Asia. The sessions were 3 hours each day with 2 breaks in between. In total there were 15 sessions of 1 hours each. The sessions were recorded, refurbished by our creative team, packed within 30-50 minutes each and made available below and also at http://www.youtube.com/citixsys/. Learn how to implement iVend Retail with SAP Business One in 5 Days, 3 session session per day of 30-50 minutes each. Implementation training on iVend Retail for SAP Business One consultants and iVend Retail consultants.

NOTE: These training sessions are only for iVend Retail with SAP Business One and not for other ERPs. Participants looking for iVend with SAP Retail, R/3 systems, other ERPs are requested to stay tuned at our youtube channel and blogs. If you need such information/ training at an earliest, please contact your nearest CitiXsys office.

Video 1 – Standard iVend Deployment Architecture

In this video, the standard iVend deployment architecture is discussed along with the variations in deployment that are supported by iVend. It goes on further to discuss the iVend Add-on installation and initial configuration. IVend add-on configuration also includes Retail Store setup within SAP Business One. The session concludes by discussing the iVend Integration and Replication services configuration.

Video 2 – Setting up iVend Retail & Configuration Requirements

This video demonstrates the configuration requirements before starting to use iVend Enterprise Management console for the first time. The video also demonstrates setting up the Retail store along with defining transaction number series within the management console. It also explains the configuration and use of Retail profile within iVend, highlighting various attributes available within Retail Profile. The video also explains defining iVend POS and mapping Hardware and Print Profile to the POS. The video concludes by demonstrating the employee and user creation along with their rights and profile assignment.

Video 3 – Payment Types & EOD process

This video demonstrates the various supported Payment types, including Gift Certificates and Store Credit (Refund Voucher) and their configuration within iVend and various attributes that can be configured for the payment types. It goes on further explaining the Master till setup and till creation functionality along with its usage on the iVend POS. The video concludes by demonstrating the EOD process.

Video 4 – Start of day process & Till usage

This video demonstrates the Start of day process and usage of Till on the POS. This is followed by explanation of POS transaction screen and carrying out basic sales transaction at the POS using Credit Card and viewing the sample receipt on the receipt simulator. It briefly explains the Product and Customer search screen along with the relevance of Sale and Item edit functionalities.

Video 5 – Sale Refund, Layby, Kitting

This video demonstrates the Sale refund functionality within iVend POS and issuing a Refund Voucher. Sales order capturing and booking advance payment followed by delivery (Fulfilment) is also demonstrated in this video. Generation of Sales Quotation and converting it into an order or cancellation is also demonstrated here along with the detailed LayBy functionality usage with multiple instalments. Cash Out, Expense capturing and manager override and multiple users on the same POS. This is concluded by demonstration of Kitting functionality.

Video 6 – SAP defined special prices, iVend Upsell, Alternate Product and Alternate UPC code (Barcode)

This video demonstrates the usage of SAP defined special prices within iVend POS along with iVend Promotions. It also demonstrates the iVend Upsell, Alternate Product and Alternate UPC code (Barcode) functionality. The session concludes by demonstrating the End of Day functionality.

Video 7 – New Store setup in SAP and iVend

The video starts with demonstrating the detailed steps for new store setup within SAP Business One and configuring the same within iVend Enterprise Management Console. The video goes further to demonstrate the data export and import functionality available within iVend Management Console.

Video 8 – Troubleshooting tips in iVend Integration or Replication issues

This video discusses various troubleshooting tips to address any iVend Integration or Replication issues encountered during day to day processing. The video demonstrates the usage of Integration and Replication Monitor along with Integration Failure Log window. It also demonstrates how to replace POS machines or store servers including SAP Business One server changeover as well as recovery from a Store Database crash.

Video 9 – Inventory Transactions, PO, GRPO, Stock Transfer & Receipt

This video demonstrates the Inventory Transactions from within iVend Management console by the stores. The transactions include Purchase Order and GRPO creation, stock transfer and stock receipts along with stock requisition. It also covers Goods issue and receipt followed by Stock take functionality. It also demonstrates the out of the box Item Label and Shelf Label report and other reports along with the use of Query Generator feature. The video also demonstrates the Report Manager feature in order to customise or create new reports in iVend.

Video 10 – H/w and S/w specification

This video discusses the iVend implementation process. Starting with the H/w and S/w specification documentation, it goes on with the discussion of recommended steps to be followed while implementing iVend at a client site.

Video 11 – License Manager & key iVend functionality

This video discusses key concepts required for effective learning of iVend functionality and the implementation process. It demonstrates the process of activating a license using Citixsys license manager. The video discusses the day to day useful processes like Day End or Day start, checking gift certificate balance, fulfilment types etc.

Video 12 – iVend Loyalty module, points accumulation

This video demonstrates and discusses various features available with the iVend Loyalty module. It also demonstrates how the loyalty process can be configured. It also demonstrates how the points accumulation can be defined within the loyalty module and its mapping against individual product or group of products.

Video 13 – iVend Accelerated Implementation Plan

This video demonstrates the recommended iVend implementation Project Plan and Blue Print definition and use of iVend Accelerated Implementation Plan. The video discusses, in detail, the iVend implementation Plan and various tasks and stages involved therein.

Video 14 – Implementation architecture, prerequisites & pitfalls

Please view Video 13 before this one. This video concludes the iVend implementation plan discussion started in the Video 13 and also discusses various pitfalls that the implementation team may encounter. It goes further with the discussion of implementation architecture and the prerequisites for a successful iVend implementation.

Video 15 – How to capture and map various customer requirements

This video discusses the iVend Accelerated Implementation Plan document, how to capture and map various clients requirements for iVend. Capturing client environment details, client implementation landscape and detailed iVend configuration details for initialisation are other details that are captured as part of this document.

Filed Under: iVend Retail, Product update Tagged With: ,

Take better Retail decisions with iVend Analytics

May 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Some of the top challenges rated by three types of retailers – the winners, the average performers and the laggards

While 58% laggards agreed that they are not able to identify their best customers so that they can offer special incentives to them while shopping, 33% of retail winners were also of the same opinion. Predictably – only 10% of the retail winners had issues in matching inventory to demand, where as 50% of the laggards struggled to match inventory to demand. 68% of the average performers and 57% of the laggards feel that they do not know the customer sentiment till the time they see it in sales. And interestingly, 57% of the retail winners feel that their merchants don’t get information fast enough to react to differences between forecast v/s sales whereas only 33% of the laggards share a similar view

Similarly, talking about how does BI help overcome business challenges, 74% of the respondents felt BI helped them improve promotion effectiveness. 73% said that BI helped them respond better and faster to changes in customer demand. 43% of the respondents feel that the Brick and Mortar selling channel gains the most for a BI solution, 37% feel that all channels gain from a BI solution and given that e-commerce and mobility are relatively new channels of sale – they tend to gain 14 and 6% respectively.

Have a look at the video to know more about these retail challenges and ways to solve them.

iVend Analytics is a set of pre-packaged, shrink wrapped Business Intelligence dashboards specifically for retailers. iVend Analytics integrates seamlessly into iVend Retail which is a complete Retail Management Suite and is being used by diverse retailers ranging from Electronic Stores, Apparel Retailers, Footwear, specialty, departmental stores and many more.

One of questions that we are asked many a times is – what is the minimum threshold for a retailer to embrace a BI solution? Is the decision based number of stores, transactional volume, or a completely different parameter. Honestly, there is no fixed equation which would determine whether a retailer is BI ready or not. However if a retailer’s data is Diverse, Dynamic, Dense or any one of these, the retailer is BI ready.

It is more than obvious that BI has now become an essential tool – in an integrated retail environment – for a retailer to be successful.

Filed Under: iVend Retail, Product update, Retail Analytics Tagged With:

iVend Retail Implementation with SAP Business one – Training

May 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

CitiXsys Australia conducted a 5 day iVend Implementation webinar series from April 16th to 20th 2012 for CitiXsys partners and customers in South East Asia. The sessions were 3 hours each day with 2 breaks in between. In total there were 15 sessions of 1 hours each. The sessions were recorded, refurbished by our creative team, packed within 30-50 minutes each and made available at http://www.youtube.com/citixsys/ so that other consultants willing to learn iVend Retail implementation can quickly learn the product.

These sessions are beneficial for Retail customers using SAP Business One as their backend ERP while running iVend Retail to run their retail enterprise.

The recorded sessions shall take you through an in depth experience from the initial SetUp phase to Rollout for iVend Retail. These comprehensive sessions aim to make attendees an expert in iVend Implementations. The sessions conclude with a discussion on the Blueprint document , the system landscape, accelerated implementation template and post production support.
After completing these sessions, attendees shall be able to take the online exam to pass & certify as “iVend Retail Certified Implementation” consultant. Please contact your local CitiXsys manager to participate in the certification program.

You may click above to start the 15 session playlist or go to our Youtube Playlist page to review each session. There are over 600 minutes (over 10 hours) of recording. So make sure you have your coffee, popcorn and a blanket before you start. Have fun with the training.

Filed Under: iVend Retail Tagged With:

Implementing iVend Retail Got Easy with- A Successful Webinar Series

April 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

iVend Implementation Webinar series successfully concluded earlier on Friday (20/04/12).

The webinars were a resounding success with participation levels of over 90%. Spread over 5 sessions of 3 hours each, the series covered all the finer details of iVend Retail Implementation and gave the participants a complete view of the application set. Though scheduled for the APAC region, the webinar was attended by participants as west as Mexico.

The sessions ranged from installation & configuration to suggestions on how best to implement iVend Retail in different business scenarios. The sessions were extremely informative and gave the implementation consultants an opportunity to discuss implementation related challenges in a LIVE session.
The format of the webinars was such that the participants could interact with the organizer and panelists during the breaks between the sessions. The participants also interacted with a team of panelists on http://forum.citixsys.com to get detailed explanations to their queries.

Not only were the features of iVend Retail discussed at length, the sessions also covered implementation scenarios where iVend Retail is being implemented in an already implemented SAP Business One OR is being implemented together. Also covered in the sessions were topics on how best to implement iVend Loyalty and other CitiXsys Line of Integrated Retail Solutions along with iVend Retail.

The last session covered the accelerated implementation templates and other artifacts required in iVend Retail implementation. Emphasis was given to the process of handover from implementation to support so that the support team is fully aware of the application landscape when extending support to the customer.
All the participants are now trained to undertake the implementation certification test on, Successful candidates will be awarded a framed certificate valid for 2 years.
For the benefit of the partners who could not join the webinars due to differences in time zones, the recordings of these webinars will be uploaded on CitiXsys website in the next few days. We will keep you informed on when the recordings will be available.
We once again thank the participants and the organizations they represent for making this a great success. We leave you with a promise to conduct these and such sessions more often in the coming future.

Filed Under: Blog, Events, iVend Retail, SAP Business One Tagged With: , , ,

iVend Retail 5.5 Released with APIs

April 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A major version of iVend Retail is released today with many functionality and enhancements. This version will have full APIs (Application Programming Interface) that can be used by partners and customers to integrate iVend with other applications for integrated retailing. Main points of this release are below.

Integration API’s for iVend

This release of iVend delivers web services APIs for integration with third party business applications other than SAP Business One. For more information related to the iVend APIs please contact your regional sales manager.

Integration with SAP Industry Solution for Retail

iVend 5.5 is integrated with SAP ECC 6.0 with industry solution for retail (IS Retail). This version is completely integrated with SAP Retail using PI Server (Process Integration Server). Customers can purchase the Integration Package for iVend – SAP Retail which has all ready made integration content written for SAP Retail integration. Additional integration content can be written by partners using iVend APIs.

Sale Order Enhancement

The improved functionality will prompt the cashier to open the latest sales order copy in case the Sales order is modified several times. This would ensure that the user always gets to work on the latest sales order.

Transaction Roll-up

The following enhancements were done in the transaction roll-up features.

  1. Roll can now be enabled for all transactions or only for the transactions that are done for the store’s cash customer.
  2. If Roll-up is turned ON only for the store’s cash customers then transactions done against customers other than the store’s cash customer would integrate to SAP Business One in real time.
  3. Roll-up feature can be turned ON and OFF based on the customer’s requirements. However while switching the settings there should not be any pending transactions for integration.
  4. Roll-up feature can also be switch ON along with the inter-store transactions feature.

Support’s SAP Business One 8.82

iVend 5.5 has support for SAP Business One 8.82 PL 04 onwards.

Extended Language Support

Apart from English, iVend application is now also available in the following languages:

  1. French
  2. German
  3. Greek
  4. Italian
  5. Latin American Spanish
  6. Simplified Chinese
  7. Vietnamese
Filed Under: iVend Retail, Product update

Innovate or Face Extinction

March 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A business needs to innovate or they risk becoming irrelevant.

The typical sales model no longer applies for retailers. There’s no doubt that there will always be a need for brick and mortar stores; people need to touch and feel a product before purchasing it. In fact, over a third of online consumers cite this as the top reason they don’t prefer to buy online.

Innovate or Face Extinction in RetailToday, however, it’s really all about convenience: consumers want to buy whenever they want to, wherever they are, and as easily and hassle-free as possible. They may love shopping at your store most of the time; but they also want to be able to purchase from you when they are stuck at the office late or at midnight when they are shopping for holiday gifts. Retailers big and small must integrate multi-channel retailing into their repertoire or they will experience attrition in sales and their customer base consistently.

The latest innovations in retailing tend to be adopted early by large retailers. Consider these interesting new innovations:

  • Nordstrom’s just announced that they are testing a mobile application that will allow customers to order custom made men’s suits whenever they desire. Can you imagine sitting in your hotel room at midnight, while away on business in Asia, ordering several thousand dollars worth of custom, high end suits?
  • Neiman Marcus has a mobile app that allows you to work with your favorite sales associate.

Are you embracing innovation in your business? If not, imagine the impact of the following scenarios on the success of your business.

A frequent client stops by your shop, looking for a dress for an upcoming special occasion.  After trying on several dresses, she leaves, saying she’d like to think it over more. Later that week, she decides on one of the dresses at your shop, but she’s at a mall twenty minutes away and your store is closing.

She looks up your store on her mobile phone’s browser so she can purchase it and then pick it up tomorrow. Alas, your webpage doesn’t have mobile capability. She gets frustrated when it’s cumbersome to navigate your site, and ends up ordering the same dress from another store at a nearby mall.

Loss of convenience = Dollars flying out the window.

Your children’s retail boutique recently started carrying a decorative accessory that is aimed toward the preteen girl’s demographic. It’s predicted to be the new hot trend. While in-store sales are fairly flat for this item, they seem to be selling well online. However, you don’t have the time or the tools to assess who’s buying these items. You soon run out of stock and the item is backordered.

If you had a retail management solution that integrated with your multi-channel retailing, you’d have quick access to important customer data, such as detailed demographics of purchasers as well as anyone who clicks on your site. What if a young teen in Texas wore this to her school and started a huge trend, which quickly spread in the area?

By having quick access to this data and integrating it with your social media platforms and customer loyalty programs, you could have marketed to a targeted demographic. Instead, some other retailer has capitalized on the trend. 

No management tools = Lost sales.

You own a chain of electronic and consumer goods stores. They become crowded during weekends, especially when you are running popular promotions, and it often seems like your sales staff isn’t able to keep up with all the questions.  A male shopper who is well-versed in IT equipment stops by to purchase a computer and other accessories, all of which are on sale. However, he can’t get anyone to help him and the checkout lines are long. Because he’s in a hurry, he leaves and plans to come back later. But he doesn’t get a chance to stop back before the sale ends, and takes advantage of a competitor’s sale on the same item the following weekend.

If your store had been equipped with mobile solutions, such as in-store tablets, your customers could order their purchases throughout the store and speed up the process.

Imagine making your customer’s shopping experiences a simple and easy task. Whether at home, on the road, or in your store, your innovative systems are providing them with ideas, information, and convenience. This translates into more sales and revenue for your business.

Can you afford not to innovate?

Filed Under: Customer Loyalty, Ecommerce, iVend Retail, Mobile POS, Mobility in Retail, Retail Blogs, Retail Trends

Social Media & Customer Loyalty Programs: An Effective Partnership for SME Retailers

February 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

Customer LoyaltyImagine that your retail business has continual access to your customer base each and every minute of the day, 365 days per year. You, along with your staff, can tell them anything you want about your business, and there’s a good chance that they will listen. They may even share this information with their own friends and family. You can also request feedback from them whenever you want. Best of all, it’s totally free. What would you tell them?

If this sounds too good to be true, it’s not. Every time you post on your company’s Facebook page, tweet to your followers, or pin an image to Pinterest, you are broadcasting an important message about your business.

The usage of social networking websites is tremendous, representing a real opportunity to market to a targeted population daily. For example, did you know that 48% of Facebook users between the ages of 18 and 34 check it when they get up every morning? This represents a whopping 71% of US users on Facebook, according to the website Allfacebook.com.

But while you may recognize the opportunity in establishing a social media presence, do you really understand what that entails? Peruse several small business Facebook and Twitter pages, for example, and you’ll see the same recurring themes: a posting once a week advertising a sale or special, a comment to come visit the store, or a request for people to “like” them. There’s nothing consistent nor compelling enough to catch your audiences’ attention.

Social media isn’t about advertisements and announcements, and it shouldn’t be treated as a digital bulletin board. Social media, when used effectively, is about building a sense of community with current and potential users of your products. To build a community, you must engage with your customers, plain and simple. And that’s not done by just posting virtual shout-outs of ads. An effective social media strategy involves posting interesting and informative information about your product, your business, and your industry. It suggests to users how you can help satisfy one or more of their needs. And it catches their attention and makes them want to share the content with others.

It also means that you are not just posting and sharing content but participating and commenting on others’ content as well. Remember, it’s not just about shouting about your business, it’s about engaging in the pleasantries of conversation with your customers. If a customer walked into your store, you’d greet them and ask about their day, correct? If you knew their son just got accepted to graduate school, you’d congratulate them. Think of your social media efforts as digital conversations. Wish your customers a happy birthday; comment on their last vacation picture.

Your social media program is really just another component and tool of your  Customer Loyalty program.  Through both, you should be connecting, communicating, and rewarding your customers. Engaging and rewarding your customers is the most cost effective way to build your business, because it costs over six times more to acquire a new customer than keep an existing one.

By integrating your social media strategy with your customer database and loyalty program, you can utilize integral data to find, track, and engage with your current customers on social media. Knowing their buying patterns can assist you in determining the content that you post and when to do so.

For example, if you know that 45% of your client base that spent over $200 during the last week of the holiday season were males purchasing gifts for the significant females in their lives, based on the last several years of data, you can post content aimed toward that demographic during the next holiday buying season. Let them know what items are hot this year, upsell your products by showing them outfits and matching accessories, and even offer a coupon for this demographic to use the week of Christmas. Most of all, remind them that your retail business has the products, service, and capability to satisfy their need.

Your customer database and loyalty program can work hand in hand with your social media efforts. By posting questions about your products on your Facebook page, for example, you might find out that a large percentage of your clientele actually purchases clothing at your children’s retail store for gifts. Why not take that opportunity to market to that demographic, as well as update your customer database?

Set a system in place for staff to obtain names and email addresses of their customers at the point of sale. Encourage customers to follow you on Facebook and other social networking sites by posting displays in your stores and links on all your printed material and digital sites.

An effective customer loyalty program and retail management system allows the retailer to track and analyze myriad types of data. The iVend Retail Management Solution, along with its companion iVend Loyalty – an Integrated Customer Loyalty Solution, provides the flexibility retailers need to track and analyze data, as well as reward loyal customers.

Filed Under: iVend Retail, Retail Blogs, Retail Trends

CitiXsys participates in Retail Business Technology Expo 2012

February 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Retail Business Technology Expo 2012 at London Earls Court is a focused retail event providing technology solutions to the retail industry. Retail Business Technology Expo at London Earls Court comprises supplier exhibitions, free workshops and seminars as well as excellent networking.

Designed specifically for retailers with technological inclination, Retail Business Technology Expo ’12 at shall attract a large number of visitors from large global retailers to small independents. an established Retail technology provider in UK Retail business, finds it as a perfect platform to showcase and demonstrate its latest iVend Retail management suite at Retail Business Technology Expo at London Earls Court, and take organized Retailing to the next level.
Most retailers need an end-to-end solution, which provides them a real time view of their operations with centralized control and enables them in faster decision-making. Meet us at our Stand 766 to choose from exclusive retail solutions like Loyalty Management, Promotions, Inventory Management, Inventory Planning, Business Intelligence, integration with good backend solution apart from having a great Point of Sale and Store Management.

With iVend Retail management suite, retailers get every aspect of IT needs under one umbrella, mail us at [email protected] for an exclusive invite at Retail Business Technology Expo at London Earls Court

Filed Under: Blog, Events, iVend Retail Tagged With: , , ,
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