Retail Management System (RMS) is more than just a Point of Sale (POS)
Nowadays whenever people talk about Retail Management System (RMS) everyone thinks about a Point of Sale (POS) System. Well, it is not 100% true! A fully integrated RMS encompassing Point of Sale (Front Office), Back Office, and Central or Head Office with Warehousing/Logistics. It is suitable for a broad range of Retail Operations; typically use for organizations with profits exceeding $10 Millions.
A POS System (Front Office) is an easy-to-use storefront system that is flexible, customizable to specific needs, easy to learn to reduce training costs, to help manage the business interacting with the customers. Some typical characteristics of a POS are:
- Cash Drawer
- Security for employees and cash terminals
- Customizable sales, returns and gift receipts
- Cross-sell feature to maximize revenue
- Layaway and Pick-Up options
- Payment Options
- Payment Gateway for credit and debit transactions
- Commission Tracking and Reports by sales transaction and associate
- Customer Profile
The Back Office functions are to manage the operations of single or multiple stores by monitoring sales, tracking inventory, managing staff, and generating daily store sales and performance reports. Some of the common activities are:
- Staff management trough work schedule planning (Scheduling), timesheet management (Time and Attendance) and training plans
- Real-time monitoring of single or multiple stores
- Inventory management with real-time visibility to stock levels, as well as order and shipment status
- Daily store reports by sales, employees and inventory levels
At Central (or Head) Office the information is critical for strategically plan and manage the store operations. Some of the functions are:
- Define and update product catalogue and prices
- Maintain inventory balance using real-time stock to respond immediately to store needs
- Reconcile inventory levels in real-time
- Set up inventory distribution plans for better logistic
- Accurate and detailed sales and inventory analysis reports from any store or all stores
- Analyze customer profiles for product and promotion planning
Now, the question is, Does your business needs a RMS? Or you just need a POS that can be integrated with your Accounting system if it is what you need! You can get a great POS for few hundred dollars plus few thousands for the infrastructure. Very cheap in comparison to over $100,000 (starting from) for a RMS and the infrastructure it would need.
