Whitepaper. Mobile Point of Sales Where to begin?

Transcription

1 Whitepaper Mobile Point of Sales Where to begin?

2 Contents CONTENTS 2 MOBILE POINT OF SALES 3 An overview 3 E-commerce the father of m-commerce 3 The mobile marketplace 3 The Numbers 4 The Solution 4 Use cases and possible configurations 5 Store management tasks 5 Sales assistant tasks 5 POS system at the checkout. 5 with server client POS unit 5 with POS device hub and application server 6 Conclusion 7 About Wincor Nixdorf 8 2

3 Mobile Point of Sales An overview The move toward mobile shopping, or m-commerce, can be seen as a further extension of the e- commerce movement.. Smartphone sales are breaking all records. The mobile communications boom is catapulting people, enterprises and entire industries into a new era. In the process, it s also creating a new breed of consumers and new sales channels, forcing businesses, in many cases, to radically adapt business models. This paper explores the impact of mobile devices on retailing, the challenges and benefits these devices bring and ultimately questions whether these devices will ever replace all POS systems or if they are simply a marketing trick that will eventually fall out of favour and be replaced by the next big thing. E-commerce the father of m-commerce Once perceived as the biggest threat to traditional retailers e-commerce has become an integral part of every major retailers strategy and has in turn opened up new revenue streams and opportunities for many. Successful retailers embraced e-commerce seeing it as a new route to market. Of course with this route came new challenges and customer expectations but retailers quickly realised that to succeed in the face of tough competition they had to improve their customer service, provide competent advice and eliminate waiting times. A very large part of this realisation involved taking into consideration the upheaval in shopping behaviour cause by the growth in use of the internet. The move toward mobile shopping, or m-commerce, can be seen as a further extension of the e- commerce movement. In much the same way that the Internet evolved from an information-sharing platform to a commercial enabler and established itself as a viable channel in retail stores and banks, so too will mobile. The only big difference is that mobile is establishing itself far faster (Meekar, 2012). The challenge from retailers is to make their traditional bricks and mortar operations keep pace with their increasingly mobile customers. The mobile marketplace Mobile technology has the potential to significantly alter the retail landscape in ways never possible before Mobile technology has the potential to significantly alter the retail landscape in ways never possible before it can empower shoppers with the ability to gather information on the spot from multiple sources check product availability and special offers and alter their selection at any point along the path to purchase. Mobile devices are rapidly changing shopping processes and retailers that fail to embrace them as a sales channel will fall behind the competition to win and retain customers. The technical innovations encompass not only customer facing and mobile marketing technologies such as mobile payments but also employee facing technologies like merchanise management and customer relationship management. 3

4 Communication technologies are producing a new generation of informed, networked and critical consumers who no longer accept traditional products and production methods nor traditional business methods and customer relationships. This shift is puting retail businesses under enormous pressure to change. It demands new business models to survive in this new world of advanced communications. It requires a completely new focus on customers that takes a holistic multichannel approach. The Numbers The number of mobile devices now outpaces humans on this planet, as it is estimated that there were 7.3 billion devices in the world in 2012 (compared with just under 7 billion people, according to the World Bank) (Perez, 2012) 84% of smartphone owners have used their devices to browse websites (a number which has almost tripled since the first set of results in 2010), with one third (33%) doing so on a daily basis (Reply, 2012). 77% of smartphone owners use their mobiles for research (Reply, 2012). Over half (64%) use their mobile to shop, with one fifth (20%) doing so on a monthly basis and an aditional 7% shopping daily. In 2010, just 13% of smartphone owners were using their devices to shop online on a regular basis (Reply, 2012) The Solution With this increased pressure to do something many retailers rush headlong into mobility without first developing a strategy based around their goals and requirements and the truly evaluating each solution to understand which will work best for them. For Wincor Nixdorf the answer is clear: mobile channels should compliment existing channels and not replace them, like e-commerce m-commerce if handled correctly can open up new avenues of business, increase customer satisfaction and reduce cost whilst increasing sales. It is unlikely that either traditional POS systems or bricks-andmortar stores will disappear anytime soon. What is likely is that we will see retailers embrace mobility as another market channel effectively cherry picking the advances this technology brings and adding only those to their existing environments. Of course embracing mobility in turn requires the seamless integration of mobile POS into the existing infrastructure, as was seen with e- commerce creating information or business silos could be a costly mistake. From the outset the mobile channel and mobile POS must be integrated into the already established technology. The ideal mobile POS solution must be platform independent working irrespective of whether the retailer wants to run on Windows, Android or ios. In a marketplace where the market leader shifts on a weekly and almost daily basis choosing a solution which forces retailers down a particular platform can be a mistake. The solution must be designed specifically for that retailers use. Each retailer is unique no two retailers function in the same or even in a similar fashion and the chosen solution should recognise and accommodate that. Some may prefer a 7 or 10 display size some may require one device for floor staff another for management and even a third for delivery staff. This must all be possible in the chosen solution. Tying oneself into a technology type or shape at such an early stage in the evolution of the market can be a costly mistake. 4

5 The solution must ensure a short time to market as with all developing technologies development effort could easily eat up months if not years of time however to be successful retailers must ensure that the solution they select allows rapid development and deployment as the changing nature of the marketplace could mean that a solution which has taken years to create is obsolete before it hits the shop floor. Use cases and possible configurations The possibilities for mobile POS solutions is as varied as in the consumer and retailer environments they serve. New use cases and scenarios appear on almost a daily basis. Here is an outline of the main use cases that Wincor Nixdorf are seeing being used or tried out at the moment. Store management tasks Completion of tasks such as counting inventory, maintaining stock, ordering goods, ing, handling planograms, looking up products and prices and so on. Running on the mobile device the solution should retrieve the required data from the server in real time. However, this is more a mobile info point than a mobile POS. Sales assistant tasks Aiding sales staff in selling products but without a payment function. The goal here is to improve customer service on the shop floor, avoid waiting times and increase sales. Sales staff can prepare customer transactions and register items via a camera or barcode scanner that is built into the mobile device. However the deactivation of any security tags, handling of payments and wrapping of items bought are downstream activities that still take place at stationary checkouts. The solution runs on the mobile device but the data is stored intermediately on the server and retrieved by the stationary. POS system at the checkout. Sales assistant device with cashless payment function. Helping sales staff sell products including a cashless payment function. Similar to the previous scenario but in this scenario the mobile device has a function to accept payment via a card, NFC, or an e-wallet. The downstream checkout process is then confined to deactivating any security tags and wrapping the goods. In the event of cashless payment the mobile device may, in some cases, also print the customer document via an integrated or Bluetooth / WLAN / Ethernet printer or send an electronic document to the customer. with server client POS unit Providing the full functionality of a stationary (traditional) POS with the possibility to support all payment methods including cash. Here the touchscreen is replaced by a mobile tablet PC, which can also be operated on a stationary basis in a special docking station. This is a classic server/client solution. However the tablet features a modern, user-friendly GUI. Just like current systems, the business logic runs on the stationary POS client and the data is stored there; the mobile device basically acts as a remote control unit. When the tablet is docked, the docking station delivers the device ID and thus clearly assigns the tablet to the POS client. Any number of tablets can be operated with any number of POS clients in a network. Or, of course, a 1-to-1 5

6 configuration is possible in which a tablet is firmly assigned to a POS client. Existing POS systems can be easily converted by updating the software and replacing the display with a tablet PC. The investment is moderate and, if necessary, the mobile application can be reset to a purely stationary one. with POS device hub and application server POS peripherals are controlled via a POS I/O device hub instead of a stationary, self-contained POS system. This hub is connected via Ethernet to an application server on which the POS software runs locally or in a virtualization or cloud environment. The hub allows the POS peripherals to operate in the same way and with the same functionality as now, i.e. all devices are connected via normal powered interfaces so there is no need for external power supply units and extra cabling. The POS I/O device hub features a mini operating system with the specific peripheral drivers and is controlled via an open API. Here too, the tablet PC acts as a mobile control unit. The business logic and administration of the tablets for the respective hub reside on the application server. As usual, peripheral control is based on JavaPOS, OPOS or POS for Net drivers/services. Compared with a traditional POS configuration as described in Use Case: 4 the POS device hub will help to reduce the cost of the POS system unit. 6

7 Conclusion Stationary and self-service POS systems will continue to have their place in retail, particularly in checkout lanes in supermarkets and discount stores. Right now mobile POS solutions seem to be predestined for the specialty retail environment where service depends on advice, such as at stores specialising in fashion, home furnishing, communications and consumer electronics, and certainly in the hospitality sector. Here mobile devices provide a very visible definite advantage when selling on the shop floor. Direct access to customer data and product information coupled with the ability to look up inventory levels and prepare a sales transaction can help increase efficiency and customer satisfaction. This is not to say that this is where the reach of mobile POS will end. Right now these areas provide the most obvious use cases for mobile but in the future we may see mobile POS in every store providing completely different functionality in each. Right in these areas truly mobile POS as a Checkout replacement is not possible without the use of POS peripherals: it is still a necessity to register items, deactivate security tags, handle cash or cashless payments and print customer documents such as receipts. What is certain is that POS will never wholly replace stationary POS but should be seen as another channel with the pros and cons that any new channel brings with it. Ultimately what is required to succeed is the Wincor Nixdorf concept of Seamless Retailing, true omni-channel retailing, entailing a seamless experience of all channels by consumers which is enabled by fluid integration of hardware, software and services. Seamless retailing is central to powering next-generation shopping and will help to drive growth, through delivering consistently high levels of service and effectively responding to fast-changing consumer demands. Retailers need to ensure that bricks & mortar stores consistently deliver an engaging experience; that they have the right technology in place to support anytime, anywhere shopping and pick up; and that they innovate in customer-facing technology if they are to compete. 7

8 About Wincor Nixdorf Wincor Nixdorf (formerly Nixdorf Computer and Siemens Nixdorf) has been developing and producing POS products and solutions for the retail and service sectors since During this period we have been the innovator for a variety of product developments. BEETLE POS systems have been in use since 1993 and have withstood the test throughout the world. With our TP Application Suite we have an extensive, internationally available software portfolio for the store and back office. Reliability, longevity and economic viability are the guiding principles behind our developments and embrace the following: Development of high-quality products for long-term use over five to ten years Compliance with accepted technology standards Consideration of new technologies to support the environment protection and sustainability Early recognition and assessment of market and technology trends and adaptation for use at the point of sale/service Active membership of organisations and active partnership with technology leaders to ensure further development and standardisation of retail specifics Controlled further development, provision of the latest product features, presentation of migration concepts for the installed base Trendsetting and innovation Definition of future technologies and products for the retail sector in conjunction with our customers and partners Acting as an all-in product, service and solution provider 8

9 Published by Wincor Nixdorf International GmbH Retail Division Heinz-Nixdorf-Ring Paderborn Germany Phone: +49 (0) / 6 93 XX Fax: +49 (0) / 6 93 XX info@wincor-nixdorf.com All rights reserved, particularly in relation to the grant of a patent or the registration of a utility model. Subject to availability and technical modifications. Copyright Wincor Nixdorf International GmbH. All rights reserved. Published in Germany, April 2013