Multi branch EPOS systems - handling multiple sites in retail

One of the major things that happens to your retail business is the opening of the second branch. So many things have to be considered, not least the EPOS system, when making this step. There are a number of things you need to consider when choosing EPOS software for a multi site branch retail business.

The basic point of a multi site retail EPOS system is that you control all the system from on central point. All the stock records, supplier information etc can be maintained at head office, and this information is used at each branch for retail operations.

The multi site branch EPOS system will then draw together all the data from the different sites and allow users at head office to report on all the transaction data at once - e.g. a complete sales report for the the entire enterprise.

The features available for multi-site EPOS systems varies considerably from one software package to another. Some software which is advertised as multi site, is nothing of the sort, it is just a series of single site setups that do not talk to each other.

At a very basic level you should be able to setup stock items and supplier records at any site. This information then flows to all the other sites. A stock record created at head office should be available for sale at another site.

The system should manage stock levels at least to a site level. The EPOS system should tell you how many of each item are available at each site, and allow you to print a multi-site stock valuation report on one report.

Purchase orders are also important. Some EPOS systems only allow you to book in purchase orders at a branch which were created at the same branch. This is terrible if you want to create all your purchase orders at head office, but book in the goods at each site.

The EPOS software should have a facility for branch transfers. Stock must be moved from one site to another, and the system should handle stock that goes missing in the transfer. If you book out 10 at site A, and only book in 9 at site B, you need to be able to report on and investigate this situation!

Another thing you need to consider is branch replenishment. If you've got 100 of an item at branch A, and you run out at branch B, you don't want branch B raising a new purchase order from a supplier - the EPOS system should have sophisticated multi site replenishment features to allow for a number of scenarios - for example you might have a central warehouse that needs to replenish each branch to a minimum level twice a week.

A lot of EPOS system are advertised as Multi-site, when in fact, they are nothing of the sort. Look closely at your business processes and make sure that the multi branch features of the EPOS software match. Ask for reference sites where multi branch features are used. Getting multi-site system to work well is very difficult for software developers - there are a lot of technical challenges - so probe your EPOS supplier well to make sure they are not pulling the wool over your eyes with regard their multi site feature set.