New PoS Software Developer

[CyberMirage]

Just thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm a computer programmer with 11 years commercial experience in varying environments from database design and e-commerce to fully blown windows based business solutions.

I've been programming retail (CTN/Convenience/News) based EPoS systems for a leading nationwide provider of combined hardware and software solutions for nearly 9 years.

Having seen the poor quality of many PoS solutions out there (even the system that my current employer insist I continue to work on) I am now keen to take my experience, expand upon it and hopefully be in a position to design, develop and provide my own system in the retail industry within the next 18-24 months.

My focus will initially be within the CTN/Convenience and News (home news delivery) sectors.

At the moment, and for the next 3-4 weeks I'm going to be working on determining requirements and writing up any documentation before I am able to begin the database design.

Any suggestions, ideas, comments are always welcome and I will try keep the online community up to date with any progress I make (and beta software where possible).

[David Shaw]

Welcome to the forum!

I noticed your request to join the suppliers group, and have now figured out how to let you in! :D

[m8internet]

There are some basic issues to overcome for the CTN sector

The equipment can cost vastly more than a "basic till"
Once setup any new stock then needs to be added, effectively costing more time

However, the data capture is more detailed and is able to show everything from specific item sales to total sales

Really it depends more on the specific retailer and their setup
I find that most famliy owned or single shop operations are not really interested in EPOS
It's not until you get to retailers with about 3 or more stores where it is of interest, or the owners have little day to day involvement and require more detailed information on an ad-hoc basis

The main day to day issues I see are from newspapers
Barcodes tend to change regularly, or the price attached to the barcode changes!
In many stores the staff have no power to change the price or add the new barcode!

Another issue is seeing numerous EAN allocared to one PLU or SKU
When the barcode or price changes, this upsets the stock management!

Finally, is the hardware itself
Many retailers are looking for the smallest available at the time
So don't just concentrate on the software
Sell the ENTIRE package
Equally, there are often conflicts between proprietry software and the Operating Systems
I am aware of a few large retailers now which use dual systems, where the EPOS software is on one tower and the admin software in on another tower, where previously they were on one only

[CyberMirage]

Thanks for the input m8internet.

I appreciate that I must offer the complete package of software + hardware + support (both remote and on-site) and will be looking at partnering with specialists in these fields once the product is ready. The last thing I want to do is what from my experience a lot of PoS companies do and over-sell before the product is actually ready.

I understand your concerns regarding news however this is the area that I’ve been working with the most over the last 18 months and therefore the area I’m most confident about. My main concerns at the moment are multi-site systems and the head-ache that goes with ensuring the data is reliably and accurately updated at each site. I have had some experience with multi-site but only in my attempts to fit the functionality into a database not originally designed to support such operations.

As far as hardware goes I already have access to various touch screen tills (Toshiba ST-71 and Toshiba A10), a generic touch screen “modular” till, back office hardware and mobile terminal (Motorola/Symbol MC55) so have plenty of hardware to develop and test on.
I also have a couple of interested parties who already work within the CTN/Convenience PoS market who are also frustrated with the quality of some existing solutions that are out there. No written contracts yet but they are certainly keen to see what I can do based on how much I have improved the software of my current employer.

Apparently the biggest problem I’m going to find is trust. This is the reason why I’m trying to get retailers involved in the development from an early stage to build on the trust issues. I understand that the shop owner/manager is depending on the provided solution to run his business and should that system fail they need re-assurance that it can be and will be fixed as soon as possible to prevent loss of business.

In an effort to build this trust and get retailers involved I will be providing as much detail as possible regarding any development progress and provide regular polls where any uncertainty of certain features or functionality exist.

David, thanks for adding me however as you can see from my introduction I’m a long way from being able to supply anything just yet…. Watch this space!