POS VAR Profits From Digital Video Recorder Sales
This VAR is increasing profit 18% this year by adding video security to its POS (point of sale) solutions.
Imagine if you could sell your customers a POS/DVR (digital video recorder) system that would catch 32 shoplifters and six employee thefts in the first 31 days of use. That’s exactly what Cash Register Sales & Service (CRSS) did for its customer, a liquor store chain consisting of seven locations in Kentucky. That success led to six additional POS/video surveillance installations at the balance of the customer’s stores. The decision to award the additional installations to CRSS was made within 10 days of the pilot installation.
The video security solution is called Talon DVR, and it is available exclusively through Ready Distribution. The Talon DVR consists of a PCI video board and custom-developed video security software. Ready Distribution can provide a complete turnkey system including the host file server, cameras, and accessories such as cables, or the VAR can sell and integrate those components.
Add Video Surveillance To Your POS Solutions
“The main thrust of our business is still POS,” explains Jerry Tutt, owner of CRSS. “However, it’s a lot easier selling security with our POS solutions than I would have ever thought.” The key to that success is selling the total POS/security solution. “Customers are much less likely to question the cost of the DVR when we include the cost in the total solution,” adds Tutt. It should be noted that CRSS is not selling the Talon DVR products at a low margin. “We are certainly not the least expensive company to provide video equipment,” explains Jeff Tutt, general manager of CRSS. As a matter of fact, CRSS is experiencing an 18% increase in gross profit this year. Of course, some of that increase can be attributed to cost cutting measures, but video surveillance is also a part of that growth.
In the case of the Kentucky liquor store chain, CRSS installed the Talon DVR with nine IP (Internet Protocol) video cameras in various locations in the store. All of the cameras connect to the network via Cat5 Ethernet cable. A standard Intel-based PC serves as the host for the video card, which collects the video from all nine cameras simultaneously. One camera is located near the cash register and provides a picture of the customer’s face, the product being purchased, and the POS terminal. The balance of the cameras are located throughout the store to capture images of shoplifting.
Based on this configuration, the Talon DVR software allows the liquor store to view and store about two-and-one-half days of video on the host PC. The customer can burn this data to a DVD (built into the host PC) or capture still images from any part of the video. Those still images can be printed if required. Jerry Tutt said local law enforcement often asks him to print captured images of suspects so that they can be used as evidence.
In addition to the video capture capability, the Talon software also provides the customer with the ability to overlay the cash register journal onto the video at the time of the transaction. This ensures the product being sold is the same as the product rung up at the register. The customer can also perform searches by time and by transaction exception such as an item or SKU (stock keeping unit), refund, no sale, or credit. Those searches can be done on-site or remotely via the Internet.
In rare instances, CRSS is installing video surveillance without any POS components. Recently, it installed a Talon DVR system at a manufacturing plant so that management could monitor the work habits of its employees. Regardless of your philosophy on “big brother” watching over you, there’s no denying the opportunity that exists in digital video surveillance. Tutt admits he’s a POS guy, not a security expert. But at the same time, he is not about to walk away from the growing opportunity provided by adding video security to his POS solutions. If you’re looking for add-on sales, why not add DVR to your next POS quote?