Revisiting The New POS Industry
Point of sale (POS) VARs demonstrate their innovation by integrating emerging technologies, like wireless, into their solutions. This year's winners of Total Solution Provider Awards for POS are just a few of the pioneers.
Everyday I am learning. Take the point of sale (POS) market, for example. In the last few months I've come to view POS in a whole new light. During the last decade I've seen the POS market evolve from electronic cash registers (ECRs) to PC-based systems, from proprietary to more open, standards-based POS software, and from a limited selection to a diverse array of value-added POS peripherals. POS technologies seemed to have reached their maturity.
However, I've had some new revelations about emerging POS technologies. I discussed my findings in "The POS Industry: Not The Same Old Story" (July 15, 2001 issue of Business Solutions, p. 8). Now, technologies such as wireless and application hosting have emerged to shake up the POS industry. In my column, I challenged industry members to provide feedback on how new technologies are impacting their business. The following is a sampling of responses.
The Wireless And Business Intelligence Tie To POS
BlueStar President Steve Cuntz shared some POS innovations that his distribution company is bringing to the channel. BlueStar now offers Compaq iPAQ personal digital assistants (PDAs) and partners with FABs, a developer of POS applications for PDAs. In addition, BlueStar has partnered with ViewPoint Software, a company that provides applications that analyze POS data. Cuntz has witnessed success of wireless and business intelligence with large retailers and restaurateurs. He thinks it's time the channel starts examining these technologies.
New POS Technologies At Work Today
I found proof that new technologies are being installed in the POS industry with the applicants for the Total Solutions Provider Awards (TSP Awards) for POS. Many applicants described how they were selling and integrating wireless, data mining, and other technologies. Here's a snapshot of this year's winners of the TSP Awards for POS:
- Innovative POS Installation - Retail - Systems Technology Group (Buffalo, NY) won for its installation with specialty retailer Parkleigh Enterprises. The VAR imported the transaction history for 150,000 customers into the new POS system, where Retail Pro's Decision Support System could provide extensive sales and marketing analysis. The solution also included products from IBM and Cognitive Solutions.
- Innovative POS Installation - Fine Dining - Touch 2000 Systems (Fairfield, CT) won for its installation with Peter Pratt's Inn. The VAR designed a wireless POS solution using products from PixelPoint, Fujitsu, and 3Com, so the inn could more efficiently serve customers in its patio seating.
- Innovative POS Installation - Quick Service - General Restaurant Systems (Westminster, MD) won for its installation with Pizza John's. The new POS system was integrated into the phone system to better handle the average 1200 orders a day. The system also included round-robin kitchen printing for even distribution of work orders to food preparation stations. The solution included products from APG, Comus Restaurant Systems, Digicom, Epson, Star Micronics, Tekvisions, and TouchSystems.
- Innovative POS Installation - Advanced Technology - Ideal Inventory Systems (Erlanger, KY) won for its installation with Skyline Chili Restaurant. The VAR designed a wireless solution for Skyline using products from PixelPoint, Hitachi, and Proxim. This solution allowed Skyline to take orders from tables, track inventory, and perform sales analysis and led to 10% decrease in food costs.
Channel Struggles With New Technology
New technology and the POS channel still have a ways to go. L. Carlos Rodriguez, president of VAR Data Collections Unlimited, LLC, responded to my column with his thoughts on wireless POS. His company recently unveiled a wireless POS solution. With only a handful of other wireless POS solutions available, Rodriguez said the market is wide open for vendors and their channel partners. However, he added that some customers find the cost of a wireless POS solution, especially the personal digital assistants (PDAs) with integrated scanning, hard to swallow. Alas, it's a double-edged sword for VARs who choose to sell new technology. You gain all of the early market share, but also all of the battle scars.