Retailer Achieves Chain-Wide View Of Inventory, POS Data

"We were in a black hole," said Stan Bedford, founder and president of Bedford Camera & Video, Inc. "Our old retail software gave us spotty, most often wrong, product counts." Also, unreliable communications left outlying stores scrambling. Bedford, a small, independent Arkansas chain, maintains the largest stock of many photographic products, accessories, and supplies in the state (a typical store has 6,800 SKUs). Today, Microsoft Retail Management System (RMS) from Microsoft Business Solutions (Redmond, WA) gives them quick, clear access to data in every store.

RMS' Store Operations module manages POS transactions, tracks inventory and customers, and connects automatically to the HeadQuarters module. HeadQuarters automatically polls stores for sales and inventory data every 15 minutes, so Bedford executives and managers can use accurate product levels to achieve better product distribution throughout the chain. Also, authorized employees can look into sister stores' stocks to make an immediate sale by offering rapid delivery from nearby inventory.

Data moves from HeadQuarters into Great Plains for complete financial details, reports, and analysis. Great Plains is used in Bedford's Springdale headquarters for accounting and finance needs such as payroll, accounts payable, and general ledger.

"Already we have saved money several ways," reports Bedford. "We eliminated one IT position, consolidated five servers down to one, and Avow Technology Solution's [provider of computer network solutions] analysis of our phone costs slashed monthly bills." Easily learning Store Operations' POS screens, associates immediately reported faster transactions, including those with discounts, rebates, warranties, serial numbers, credit transactions, and store accounts. New bar code scanners sped store lines and assured accuracy. Because of the success of Microsoft RMS, Bedford proceeded with plans to open a sixth store in North Little Rock.