Infinity POS software RD1 case study

Infinity POS software helps RD1 deliver great customer service

The requirement: keep the customer satisfied

In the fiercely competitive rural retail market, business is built on prompt, efficient service and forging strong customer relationships.

Most RD1 customers operate accounts and visit their local store weekly and sometimes daily, RD1 Technology Manager Andrew Singers says.

“Traditionally farmers don’t come in to browse. Typically they are coming in because they need something now. Especially at busy times of the season, they want to be in and out with no messing about. Transactions need to occur quickly and smoothly.” Andrew says.

So when RD1 was looking to replace its in-house designed retail point of sale software the company was seeking something that staff could pick up and use quickly so customers weren’t kept waiting.

With RD1 being a largely account based business, the new POS software also had to be able to help the staff quickly and accurately match customers with their accounts.

As farming often requires using dangerous goods and hazardous substances, as well as firearms, RD1’s retail point of sale software needed to be able to help staff comply with all procedures associated with selling these products.

RD1 was also looking for a retail point of sale solution that could handle its larger format stores. The first of these stores was opened in Pukekohe, just south of Auckland, in March 2007. The 1,700 square metre store is open for longer hours, has more cash customers and carries a greater product range as it caters to life style block owners as well as farmers.

From an IT perspective, RD1 was looking for a POS software product that would help the retailer keep trading during network outages. Though RD1 was paying a premium for a dedicated data connection it was still experiencing up to 50 outages a month, as RD1 stores are located in remote rural areas. This was reducing its level of customer service, Andrew says.

POS software product information

“It was Murphy’s Law, outages always occur at busy times. When stores lost connectivity, staff couldn’t make price inquiries, place orders or make sales. Our customers deserved a much better level of service, for us to keep our “Great Service” promise.”

The solution: Triquestra’s Infinity POS software

RD1 with its 53 stores and plans for more, wanted a retail point of sale software system to replace its bespoke thin-client, browser-based application because the legacy software could not be scaled up to support more than 55 stores.

The search ended in November 2006 when RD1 chose the Triquestra POS software system over the Advance Retail product.

Since Infinity POS software has been rolled out on 320 PC’s across New Zealand and it will be installed on the laptops of its mobile sales force of 40 Technical Sales Representatives (TSR).

In RD1 stores, Infinity POS software is loaded into the standard PC and networked to a Back Office server and Head Office in Hamilton via an IP-based Virtual Private Network. All pricing and other changes are sent to the Back Office servers and Point of Sale terminals from Head Office.

“With Infinity POS software we probably push out a price change every couple of minutes. We are in a very competitive retail sector and we have to be able to react to the market. If our competitors have got a special on, we need to be able to match that,” Andrew says.

Operating in such a competitive market where pricing is constantly changing can be a challenge for the TSRs who are carrying out business on the farm.

“TSRs need up-to-date pricing because farmers are often making price-based buying decisions and want to know the latest price before making a decision. So TSRs are to have Infinity POS software loaded onto their laptops from March 2008,” Andrew says.

Each time TSRs connect to the network and start Infinity POS software on their laptops Infinity will be updated with the latest pricing and customer account information. This will enable TSRs will be able to give farmers a price on the spot increasing the chance of converting quotes into firm orders straight away. TSRs will also be able to use Infinity as a mobile point of sale terminal for stock they are carrying in their van.

“Having Infinity POS software available at the farm will enable TSRs to give faster more up-to date quotes. We also expect it to increase the accuracy of quoting and capturing of sales information, leading to fewer discounts because we have made a mistake,” Andrew says.

RD1 had developed a number of its own applications with functionality tailored to the retailer’s particular needs, which has been replicated in the Infinity POS system and can be upgraded at the same time as the core Infinity POS software functionality receives updates.

One example of the functionality Triquestra developed for RD1 is the ability to ensure customers are correctly identified and matched to their account, using their Fonterra Supplier Number as the primary means of identification.

Using the Infinity POS system unique Extended Service Module (ESM) architecture, changes such as this can be applied rapidly to, and upgraded alongside, any instance of the core product. This means RD1 can use a generic solution proven worldwide across multiple retail verticals while not compromising on their own industry and business specific requirements.

Infinity POS software also enables staff to check that customers purchasing products classed as hazardous substances are registered as having approved handling certificates.

For customers buying dangerous goods, the system gives the user the ability to automatically print out the dangerous goods declaration. Infinity POS software also prompts staff to obtain customer details, including firearms licence when selling guns or ammunition.

The benefits: Easy-to-use Infinity POS software improves services and keeps working when the network isn’t

From a business point of view, RD1 chose Infinity POS software over Advance Retail because it was easy for staff to understand and use, helping the retailer deliver on its service promise.

“New staff can come in and use the Infinity retail point of sale system almost immediately. People pick it up very quickly. That’s really important when you have a customer standing in front of you who is in a hurry to get back to the farm,” Andrew says.

“Our promise is ‘low prices, great service’ and we have to deliver on that. With pricing being so competitive we are a low margin business and market share is critical, so we are really focussing on our service,” Andrew says.

“Triquestra International specialises in retail point of sale software and it shows in lots of little ways, it’s very intuitive to use,” Andrew says.

Retail point of sale software: the Infinity Solution

Other business reasons for choosing Infinity were that the POS software was scalable and had the ability to handle complex pricing, while also being adaptable enough to meet the needs of the larger format store RD1 had introduced in Pukekohe.

From an IT perspective, Infinity POS software was hard to look past because of its offline capability, Andrew said.

Infinity POS software: more info

Infinity POS software operates at three tiers – Head Office, Back Office and Retail Point of Sale. Unlike other Retail Point of Sale systems that rely on a server-client relationship, each of Infinity’s POS system tiers can retain sales information during network outages, seamlessly downloading data when the network is restored.

This means Infinity POS software can keep trading even when the network is down. “That’s important to us because if farmers can’t get what they want from us they will just walk over the road to the competition,” Andrew says, “Combined with a UPS and store and forward EFTPOS option, we can trade through power cuts as well”.

It also means no sales data is lost during network outages. The Infinity POS software unique proprietary replication software, The Linker, ensures that data gets pushed up and down the network once the outage has been fixed, automatically updating databases on all three tiers. “The POS system has been in for almost a year now. It is reliable and proven,” Andrew says

The ability to operate during outages means system updates can be carried out even while stores are still open with no disruption to trading. This feature is becoming more important with the move in rural retailing to longer trading hours, Andrew says.

With Infinity POS software, data changes are replicated to stores eliminating the need to replicate entire data files over night. “We don’t have to send out entire data files, The Linker is smart enough to pickup new or changed data.,” Andrew says.

The POS systems ability to handle outages means that RD1 has been able to save on telecommunications costs because it no longer needs to pay for a premium data connection. “By putting in Infinity inventory management software we have been able to change the network to run over an Internet based Virtual Private Network which has enabled us to make significant cost savings,” Andrew says.

With their extensive range of farm supplies, RD1 stores can be a tough environment for retail point of sale hardware. Because infinity POS software can be easily downloaded into a standard PC, it’s simple and comparatively cheap for RD1 to replace retail point of sale terminals when they fail – making it the perfect POS software for a retailer supplying tough, hard working farmers with what they need to get the job done.

About RD1

RD1 is New Zealand’s largest retailer of agricultural services to dairy farmers
It is also increasing sales to lifestylers, dry stock farmers and horticulturalists
It operates 53 stores, with more planned, and has a mobile sales force of 40 Technical Service Representatives
It also operates the highly popular RD1.com website and a customer call centre
RD1 is a subsidiary of New Zealand’s largest company Fonterra and employs 400 people
Head office is in Hamilton, 130km south of Auckland, in the heart of the lush Waikato dairylands

Download RD1 POS software case study

Contact Infinity about a POS system for your company

Other Infinity POS Software Case Studies:

Infinity POS System Case Studies