0870 495 2792 Image Retail Solutions, 19 Chiswell Road, Poole, Dorset BH17 9FB. Tel. 0870 495 2792. sales@imagesoft.co.uk. Wholesaler names are not an indication of endorsement or recommendation. E&OE. Statistics on the advantages of EPOS... Concrete figures on the benefits of an EPOS system are hard to come by, but there are some compelling figures available.... “Retail-out-of-stock: A worldwide survey of causes, extents and consumer responses” conducted jointly by the University of Colorado in the U.S. and the IE Business School, Madrid shows that in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market, out of stock lines are on average standing at around 8%. In monetary terms, this equates to an average 4% of revenue. 50% of out-of-stock lost-sales are due to ordering and forecasting causes - in other words, poor stock management (poor merchandising and logistical issues accounting for the other 50%). Implementation of EPOS to address these issues would result in a 2% immediate increase in revenue from implementation of the EPOS system. Even on a modest £250,000 turnover, this equates to an increase in revenue of £5,000. In itself this is enough to pay for the implementation of the EPOS system in the first year alone. In addition to improved stock management, security measures in the EPOS system (especially when used in conjunction with the CCTV overlay functionality) can prevent and quickly detect employee theft. A dishonest member of staff on average accounts for a loss of £872 according to the Retail Crime Survey 2009 (from the British Retail Consortium) - this is only if they are caught early - if not, the theft can continue for several months (or even years) undetected, with the loss figures then running into the thousands of pounds. A number of retailers implementing EPOS have detected and effectively dealt with existing staff theft resulting in an immediate return on investment. Deterring staff theft is an additional benefit - it removes the temptation from staff members who would otherwise take advantage of lax procedures. Keying errors are another issue which EPOS effectively addresses. In a survey commissioned by IBM, a staggering 1% of revenue is “lost” due to keying and operational errors on a manually operated cash register, such as transposed digits (91p entered as 19p) or missed key presses (91p entered as 9p). On a modest annual turnover of £250,000 this equates to £2,500. Of course here we are just focusing on the losses which an EPOS system prevents. Of course this is of great importance and immediate benefit to the retailer but also one must consider the areas where an EPOS system can actively increase revenue. On immediate implementation of the EPOS, many users will identify their top selling lines - to those they will make a marginal increase to the selling price - this has the snowball effect of dramatically increasing bottom line margin without the perception of increased pricing to the customer. An EPOS system gives you a clearer idea of what is happening within your business, allowing you to make these key decisions, fully informed. Cost saving calculation of an EPOS system based on improved stock management, detection and deterring of theft and elimination of keying errors, assuming an annual turnover of £250,000: Improved stock management (reduced OOS) =   £5,000 Prevention of shrinkage due to staff theft =      £872 Avoidance of keying errors by eliminating manual entry =   £2,500 Total reduction in financial loss from implementation of EPOS =   £8,372