Retail software as a service is retailing that makes financial sense

One of the most vexing aspects of today's IT-dependent retail environment is the challenge of financing, installing and maintaining retail software. A significant proportion of new installations fail to achieve their initial goals, and even when successfully deployed can often cost far more to maintain than expected.

In addition, depending on the number of locations and workstations, the deployment of the software can take much longer than the original projected as well as devour too much time and effort just to keep them running. Adding to the retailer’s exasperations are also upgrades that can, and usually do, require additional investments in new servers, back office and POS workstations and other IT infrastructure improvements.

Retailers trying to out pace escalating competition can no longer assume the expected financial risks as well as anticipated protracted software installations. Neither can they afford the ongoing infrastructure and staff costs of simply maintain their existing retail systems.

A New Approach -Retail Software-as-a-Service

As a result of these vexing issues, the retail industry ready for a new approach to retail software - Retail Software-as-a-Service (RSaaS) – which was devised to create a “win-win” approach for retail organizations. A RSAAS real time solution gives independent retailers the key strategic advantage of true rapid system scalability allowing for quick, smooth and easy growth.

Companies such as RunIT Systems are pioneering this new approach by allowing retailers to harness the power and speed of the internet to connect all locations and branches in real time. Retailers benefit from fast, high performance access, while administrators maintain control over the entire retail system. With up to the second access to customer and inventory information across the enterprise, sales associates are better able to service the customers and identify cross-sell, and up sell opportunities

Connect and Go - Seamless Integration and Savings

RSaaS AKA Real Time offers retailers a true thin client solution specifically designed to be accessible via the internet which in turn can significantly decrease the resources and the considerable initial capital investment needed to deploy a retail system. The retail software application is hosted, reducing the technical knowledge and startup costs incurred by the retailer, and with the proliferation of low cost DSL communication, connecting new workstations is simple and quick. Whether a retailer has four stores or 100 stores, this real time solution can scale to meet the needs of both.

“Pay As Go” Maximize Return on Investment

Real time financial strategies include minimizing retailer’s upfront capital costs, by converting them into a predictable “pay as you go” monthly subscription. This allows retailers to increase their cash flow while providing them more investment capital for merchandise and advertising. The retailer is, in effect, leveraging the power of a top end retail system but spending a fraction of the amount needed to go it alone.

Retailers are further attracted to this Real Time approach because their monthly subscription includes the complete rights to software use, automatic software updates, maintenance and technical support. This bottom line advantage means that retailers can focus on their business while the RSaaS company manages their system.

Minimize All Hardware and Infrastructure Costs

The real time system also saves retailers a significant amount of money on hardware and infrastructure investments by hosting and managing the data on their servers at a secure data center. This thereby eliminates the costs associated with an expensive onsite server and its administration overheads. By utilizing a state of art data centers, such as that from RunIT Systems, retailers can harness economies of scale to their business and take advantage of the data centers specialized infrastructure for server backups, security and power supply redundancy. Real Time systems can run on low priced PCs with a simple browser and access to the internet. Retailers can also use their existing hardware such as barcode scanners, credit card swipers and thermal receipt printers.

Eliminate Reoccurring Software and Hardware Costs

Real Time also represents an opportunity for retailers to eliminate reoccurring technological capital investments and other software and hardware lifecycle costs. Each new release and version will continue to with their existing hardware, thus eliminating the cost and inconvenience of always upgrading your infrastructure. Our clients, for example, are always looking to save dollars on technology with a shelf life; no technology director enjoys showing that section of the warehouse dedicated to their outdated hardware investments.

Real Time’s Powerful Competitive Advantages

•Increase sales, Reduce costs and Drive profitabilit

Retail Software as a Service represents an opportunity for retailers to not only keep pace in a fast paced, highly competitive environment, but also to enable them to improve their profitability and productivity, and become much more cost efficient. For many our clients, the greatest advantages real time stem from its capability to provide the decision makers in a retail organization with information they require to run a smarter business – a business that is cost efficient and profitable because decisions are made based on real time information.

Having real time intelligence of each store’s stock on hand, on order, receiving, transfers, sales and customer status, keeps retailers better informed which in turn helps them make the best business decisions. Real time access between locations let management and staff to respond more quickly to refilling store stock levels, tracking slow and fast selling merchandise and satisfying customer requests.

Different departments can benefit from Real Time solutions in a number of ways:

•Smarter purchasing - real time tracking of inventory through prevents over- or under-buying.
•Reduce inventory costs - real-time access to on-hand, in-transit and on-order status as well as automated distribution allow retailers to maintain slim inventory margins and accurately forecast needs.
•Increase store sales efficiency - real time improves the replenishment process, allowing merchandise to be delivered faster and more accurately – which means having stores always in stock.
•Improve customer service - real time updates of customer records across the entire chain improves customer service with exceptional knowledge of purchase history. This allows sales associates to anticipate their customers’ needs with familiarization of preferred brands, styles, colors and sizes as well as store credit, gift card and on account activity.
•Better accounting control - real time improves retailers accounting control with instant knowledge which customer accounts are past due and how much is owed and what bills need to be paid – providing tighter budget oversight.

Courtesy:
www.Run.it Real Time
www.extendedretail.com/