PXtech

Retail - we know our EPOS!

2012-05-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

We here at PXtech believe that the latest EPoS systems go much further than simply helping to make sales and manage stock – and when A1 Retail Magazine called on our MD Richard Dorf for his thoughts on EPoS systems and what they can really do, he was happy to tell them all about it:

“The EPoS system itself no longer holds the key to improving efficiency. There are lots of good products out there, so once you have one the important thing is to set it up to deliver the management information you require, at the exact time you require it.

“The latest business intelligence systems sit on top of your EPoS system to monitor what is going on in the business in real-time. As well as giving you an accurate picture of how your outlets are operating on an individual and/or group basis, you can tailor the system to monitor for fraud to warn you so you can prevent losses. If an operator gets an email or text alert warning them of suspicious behaviour, they can log in to watch what’s going on and take the appropriate action there and then.

“With widespread internet access and the advent of Software as a Service what has really changed is that these solutions are now in the reach of all sizes of retailers without the need for major investment.

“SaaS business intelligence solutions such as the PXportal from PXtech allow retailers to monitor the performance of their business through the day, wherever they are allowing them to keep track of each and every event. That includes those that could be considered suspicious, but which might not otherwise be identifiable if the data wasn’t quickly and thoroughly analysed.

“Software can also link into other systems or fraud detection methods such as CCTV, so that when something has been flagged for attention, the manager has instant access to view the event. The fact that employees know they are potentially being watched also acts as a deterrent to dishonest staff.”

So there we are – EPoS, when used correctly, has the potential to make a real difference to your business. Isn’t it time you looked at what your system is delivering for you?

You can check out A1 Retail Magazine’s “Artificial Intelligence” article here:

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1wpk3/A1RetailMay2012/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.yudu.com%2FLibrary%2FA1wpk3%2FA1RetailMay2012%2Fresources%2Fflipbook.swf

PXtech in the Press

2012-04-26T03:09:00.000-07:00

Following the announcement this weekend of PXtech receiving The Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2012, we have been delighted by the level of interest in the media. In addition to broadcast coverage on both the BBC and ITV there has been extensive interest in the written media. See the attached links for some of the key coverage:

http://www.itv.com/news/central/2012-04-21/derbyshire-company-wins-queens-award-for-enterprise/

http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/69491-east-midlands-companies-queens-awards-success

http://www.creativeboom.co.uk/news/queens-award-recognises-it-business-diamond-in-jubilee-year-pxtech/

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Exports-success-win-companies-hat-trick-royal/story-15874439-detail/story.html

PXtech Receives Queen’s Award for Enterprise

2012-04-21T00:43:00.002-07:00

The PXtech team is very proud to announce that we have been honoured by the prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2012, winning the award for International Trade.

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are awarded to businesses for outstanding achievement and the award for International Trade recognises exceptional and sustained success in overseas markets.

Established by Royal Warrant, and conferred by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, they are Britain’s most coveted business awards.

PXtech managing director, Richard Dorf says: “We are truly honoured to have won such a prestigious accolade and to be recognised by the Queen’s Award in this Diamond Jubilee year makes it even more special.

“As a company we have achieved strong growth by actively engaging and investing in foreign markets, a strategy which has helped PXtech to become a truly global operator. We now work with household names all over the world, serving over 25,000 business locations in more than 50 countries – figures which are continuing to rise at a rapid rate.

“Effective partnerships with international businesses have also enabled us to consolidate sales and extend our reach.

“Our success demonstrates that, despite the global downturn of recent years, there are significant opportunities to be seized and the economic challenges are just that – challenges, but not insurmountable. The UK should be proud of its heritage as a leader in technological innovation.

“The support of our clients and partners, together with the outstanding work of the whole team here at PXtech, have been integral to our success and I’d like to extend my thanks to everyone involved. We look forward to working together for continued innovation and growth in 2012 and beyond!”

PXtech business intelligence is a walk in the park

2012-02-14T02:20:00.001-08:00

After continued expansion in the franchisee market, we’re proud to announce a new partnership with Pistachios in the Park, a London-based chain of cafés.

Pistachios in the Park is an exciting café franchise offering non-greasy food that is “Jamie Oliver friendly” – no chips, burgers or other similar unhealthy foods. Pistachios aims to rebuild the community spirit by offering events such as farmers markets, organised picnics and themed parties and its cafés all enjoy continued support from their local communities.

As the business is expanding, with franchisees spreading throughout the UK, each café requires a scaleable EPoS solution which houses the same products and operational layout.

Pistachios is a community-friendly venture, so a safe environment for families is a must. A surveillance solution that oversees the whole café, in addition to PoS monitoring, is required to ensure that staff and visitors alike are safe.

This is where PXtech comes in.

We were able to offer Pistachios the ICRTouch EPoS solution, surveillance system and the PXportal business intelligence platform. This combination provides Pistachios with full real-time visibility of the critical business data from across all the cafés in the group, coupled with unrivalled surveillance footage and a PoS solution that can be used by anyone.

Aysin Djemil, Pistachios in the Park franchisor commented on the new platform: “PXportal is an essential tool for both myself and my franchisees. Business decisions can be made easily, based on the accurate understanding of the information provided. I can access the information and CCTV surveillance from my smartphone wherever I am.”

Subway Growth Plans

2012-01-27T06:44:00.000-08:00

Fantastic news today with Subway founder Fred DeLuca in the UK announcing the planned growth of the brand over the next 3 years in the UK. As Subway’s recommended ePOS supplier for Europe and winner of Subway’s Technology award, we will need to continue to provide the highest standards of product and services for our Subway customers. Subway is a very dynamic and exciting brand and we are delighted to be able to support them in achieving their ambitious targets.

PXtech makes Midlands Business Awards shortlist

2011-12-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

We pride ourselves on providing innovative business intelligence solutions specifically tailored for each client, whether they’re based down the road or across the pond.

Over the last few years we’ve been working for more and more businesses from countries all over the world, and it seems that our international success is getting us noticed here at home - securing us yet another award nomination.

We are pleased to say that we have been shortlisted for the Exporter of the Year title at the Midlands Business Awards 2012.

Coming hot on the heels of the “Achievement in International Business” gong which we received at the Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce’s Best in Business Awards, and the “Technology Vendor” award presented by Subway, making the Midlands Business Awards’ shortlist rounds off a very successful period of recognition for PXtech.

The winners will be announced at the Midlands Business Awards 2012 held on Friday 3rd February so we’ll be keeping our fingers firmly crossed until then.

PXtech wins Subway Technology Award

2011-11-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

At PXtech, we’re committed to using the latest technologies to develop and deliver leading business intelligence tools that respond to the needs of our individual customers.

We think we’re quite good at it. But it’s always nice to know that other people feel the same way. Especially when they’re one of our own customers!

(Richard Dorf, PXtech MD (left) receiving the award from Subway President and founder Fred DeLuca)

So we’re very proud to announce that SUBWAY®, the world’s largest restaurant chain, has presented PXtech with a Technology Award at its international Vendor Awards in San Francisco, in recognition of our instrumental role in the development of new technology which is helping thousands of SUBWAY® franchisees all over the world to be more profitable – which is what we’re all about.

PXtech competed with some of the world’s largest technology companies for the award, not bad for a young company from Derby!

PXtech's Marathon Achievement

2011-10-10T01:28:00.000-07:00

PXtech would like to congratulate our technical director, Adrian Howlett who has returned triumphant from taking on the famous Berlin Marathon.

The marathon saw Kenyan Patrick Makau break the world record in a blistering 2 hours 3 minutes and 38 seconds, and Adrian wasn’t far behind!

In glorious sunshine and running alongside competitors from all over the world, Adrian completed the course in a very impressive time of 3 hours, 13 minutes; proving that at PXtech it’s not just our business intelligence tools that work at breakneck pace - our people are pretty speedy too.

Congratulations Adrian, on this fantastic sporting achievement.

It's official - PXtech is the BEST!

2011-10-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce our success at this year’s Derbyshire’s BEST Business Awards, where the PXtech team topped off a busy week by scooping the Achievement in International Business Award!

The awards, organised by the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, acknowledge the very best in business from across the region and we are honoured to have been awarded this hotly-contested prize in recognition of our achievements in the international marketplace.

And although PXtech is making waves worldwide, delivering innovative IT solutions to over 13,000 business locations across the globe, we’re very proud to be a Midlands firm, working with a whole host of local companies.

We work with each and every one of our clients to create bespoke business intelligence solutions as well as EPoS, CCTV and everything in between. Is there something we could do for you?

PXtech shortlisted as one of the BEST

2011-09-06T01:36:00.000-07:00

We’re delighted to announce that PXtech has been shortlisted for the Achievement in International Business Award at this year’s Derbyshire’s BEST Business Awards!

As one of only three finalists for the award, we’re extremely proud of our achievements so far, and aim to truly put Derbyshire firmly on the map for producing innovative IT solutions.

The awards have been organised by the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce and winners will be revealed on Friday 30 September.

PXtech Helps Beef up Business Intelligence for America's Latest Burger Chain

2011-08-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

After continued success in the fast food sector, PXtech is delighted to announce its new partnership with MOOYAH, one of America’s freshest fast-casual restaurants which prides itself on only serving the very highest quality burgers, fries and shakes. With a sector as competitive as the fast food industry, MOOYAH needs a robust business strategy combined with the latest business intelligence technology; that’s where PXtech comes in.

With franchises spreading across the United States, MOOYAH’s use of PXtech’s PXportal will give the company full real-time visibility over critical business data from multiple sites. With a business focused so heavily on the quality of their products and on impeccable customer service, control of the MOOYAH brand will be paramount to their success. In the words of MOOYAH chain president Alan Hixon, ‘PXportal gives us that control.’ What’s more, by being able to closely monitor the performance of all their restaurants simultaneously, PXportal makes a complex analytical task a simple data exercise – the perfect tool for any expanding franchise company.

Subway Chooses PXtech for Worldwide Business Intelligence Platform

2011-08-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

We are delighted to announce that we have completed a deal with Subway to provide our cloud based retail business intelligence platform, PXportal, to all of their 35,000 stores worldwide. This furthers PXtech’s relationship with the world’s largest restaurant chain. Thys van Hout, Subway’s Chief Information Officer, states “We’re delighted to be working with PXtech – the implementation of PXtech’s system is the ideal addition to our exciting and fast-moving technology programme and provides excellent tools for helping our restaurant owners to manage their business."

Please click here for the full announcement

A Fresh Approach

2011-07-25T02:19:00.000-07:00

We’re delighted to announce that Finland’s leading IT reseller, Fresh-IT is the latest to join our growing portfolio of strategic partners in Europe.

Fresh-IT will offer support to the near 100 Subway stores across Finland, providing ParTech’s ePOS alongside PXtech’s flagship surveillance and SaaS business intelligence solution, PXportal.

Fresh-IT has an in-depth knowledge of the customer’s requirements and is uniquely placed to offer a local service that will perfectly complement our highly customised solutions.

Having a high-calibre partner like Fresh-IT on board enables us to offer client support both quickly and effectively, ensuring that our service is responsive and directly in line with local requirements.

New Operations Manager

2011-06-08T01:24:00.000-07:00

As part of PXtech’s continued growth we have appointed James MacLeod as Operations Manager. James, an expert in technology help desks, joins from the Tech Guys which is part of the Dixon’s Retail group where he was responsible for the management of 2nd level technical support and the training and development at the Sheffield and Nottingham contact centres.

James takes responsibility for the help desk, engineering and support teams which are currently supporting over 2,000 customer sites across Europe. The role of Operations Manager is a vital part of our business development plans and our continuous focus on improving customer service.

James comments “My focus is to ensure that our customers get the best possible service, over the next few months we will be introducing a number of exciting new ideas to improve our customer’s experience.”

The Sweet Smell of Success

2011-05-16T01:17:00.000-07:00

IT business solutions are all about delivering rapid, specialised and effective responses to the client’s needs and when leading independent greeting card retailer Penmark Cards approached PXtech to devise a till solution for their new concept store, Aroma, we jumped at the opportunity to provide a tailor-made product for a Midlands’ business that is really going places.

The team at Aroma was looking for a till solution which encompassed all the key controls needed for their store set-up including sales, labour management and stock control but most importantly, the management team needed business performance information at their fingertips, delivered in real-time.

We put together a solution using the PXportal product linked to ICRtouch POS software, providing the all-essential live access to real-time sales data allowing them to:
• effectively monitor the store’s performance
• identify the success of individual product lines and store layouts
• drive Aroma’s business performance forward

The solution was up and running within two weeks of order, providing the controls the business needed, as swiftly as it was needed so that Aroma could get on with bringing handmade, natural cosmetics and all things home fragrance to their customers.

Subway Support Spreads Across Europe

2011-05-05T01:45:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce the continued expansion of our support to the Subway network, with stores across Sweden, Norway and Portugal now benefitting from PXtech’s business intelligence and security solutions.

PXtech will be providing a number of integrated solutions to these three growing markets, from ePOS and surveillance to our flagship SaaS business intelligence solution, PXportal and a full portfolio of support services.

This also marks another step in the global relationship with leading systems provider ParTech, whose state-of-the-art POS hardware is incorporated as a key component of the solution.

The expansion into these three new territories means that PXtech now provides integrated solutions to more than 1,600 Subway stores in 12 countries across Europe including the UK, Eire, France, Spain and the Netherlands – a list which keeps on growing!

Nobody loves labour's lost cost

2010-06-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

Managing labour can be tricky – so we thought we would share our experiences. One of the most common problems when managing labour in industries where an hourly wage is earned, is ensuring that employees are only paid for the hours that have been worked and authorised.

Many of PXtech’s customers have identified thousands of pounds of additional labour cost when comparing rotas to actual hours worked but have found the administrative effort in reviewing this on an ongoing basis too onerous. So as a result, we recognised the potential savings that could be delivered through software that could automate this and developed their Plan & Pay solution.

Additional labour issues, such as being able to accurately schedule staff and inform them about their rotas, were also identified for business owners to have better organisation and clarity between both parties.

This is particularly prevalent amongst multi-unit retailers says PXtech’s director Malcolm Mailer, who has experienced such issues first-hand throughout his 30-year tenure in the retail, leisure and fast food industries.

“The only way to control your payroll is to actively monitor the hours claimed by staff,” Malcolm commented. “This is virtually impossible to carry out if you have multiple stores, unless you are prepared to spend many valuable hours manually collating the information!”

With new developments in PXtech’s labour management software Plan & Pay, these problems have been addressed, so that senior management can instantly reduce time-consuming administration tasks and costs, react quickly to any payroll discrepancies, provide a consistent and fair way of payment for staff, and ultimately increase labour productivity.

“Some applications can be bolted onto existing infrastructures for very little outlay, providing a long-term, cost-effective solution,” continued Malcolm. “I have even heard of business owners reporting savings of more than £2,400 each month, having only initially invested a small sum of around £500 for such software – this is certainly a lucrative return on investment that retailers should investigate in 2010.”

In addition to utilising specialist labour management software, business owners should also follow a few more obvious, but necessary pointers of advice:

1. Staff training is crucial in any environment where customer service is key. It must be updated and carried out on a regular basis, particularly in the retail sector and when new EPoS technology is at play.

2. Alert employees to the fact that a labour management software tool is being used to organise payroll and workload, as monitoring activity will save on any staff discrepancies on wages and hours worked.

3. Internal processes must be clear and precise before any employees are approached regarding such discrepancies, so the HR manager must keep up-to-date with ongoing HR changes and regulations.

4. Make sure that the software is scaleable and that it works with the existing hardware, so there is no need for any great upheaval and it will be flexible enough for the future of your business.

5. Finally, whatever steps business owners take to labour management, they must be sure that the financial cost of the solution is viable, updated when necessary, and brings a quick return on investment that will reap rewards for years to come.

Exporting Success for PXtech’s Portal

2010-02-08T03:22:00.000-08:00

PXtech are proud to announce they have been awarded the prestigious “Midlands Exporter of the Year” title at the 2010 Midlands Business Awards.

The IT Solutions Company, who employ 25 people at their new offices on Pride Park in Derby, were presented with the trophy at the competition’s Gala Dinner held at The Hilton Birmingham Metropole in front of 600 business people from around the Midlands region.

Reflecting on a demanding and extremely busy twelve months, Richard Dorf (Managing Director) enthused about how quickly the company had progressed with their export business during 2009.

“I was pleased to accept the Award on behalf of PXtech. It is a great honour for everyone in the Company and a true reflection of all the hard work that our team has put in during a difficult economic period. To deliver a strong export performance when the climate is tough shows a real strength not only in our product range, that delivers tangible financial benefits, but in our people who have met the challenge and delivered outstanding levels of customer service.”

The growth in their export business has been spread evenly throughout the Euro Zone, providing on line Business Intelligence and Fraud Management solutions for customers in France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Netherlands & Belgium. The company now supports over 1400 locations on a 24/7 basis and has big plans for the future.

2010 promises to be another fast moving year, with development and partner contracts already signed with UK and overseas companies, who are looking to maximise their profits by integrating PXtech’s innovative solutions into their daily operating procedures.

PXtech – IT Solutions that deliver a clear view of your business.

For more information please contact our Customer Services team on 01332 921300

PXtech helps to get the world snogging

2009-12-10T04:17:00.000-08:00

We have won the contract to supply a complete scalable EPoS solution for the exciting new chain SNOG Pure Frozen Yogurt.

You may remember SNOG hit the UK high street in 2008? It currently has three bustling company-owned shops in London, with another opening in Covent Garden in February 2010.

We will initially be providing SNOG’s South Kensington, Westfield London and Soho shops with EPoS, CCTV and schedule and payment systems, all backed by a 24/7 support facility to allow real time monitoring of POS data such as sales and product mix. Visit our website for more details about these products and services - http://www.pxtech.net/.

We will then go on to provide this package for all new SNOG shops as the destination brand continues its rollout of further UK shops and launches its franchises in Brazil and the Middle East.

SNOG director, Pablo Uribe, explains why they have selected us:

“SNOG decided to work alongside PXtech as they were knowledgeable of the needs of businesses in our sector.”

“Their product and service offer will not only provide us with a great customer-focussed POS, but will also serve as an enterprise solution for the business as it grows and the franchises multiply - enabling us to see exactly how each shop is performing.”

PXtech managing director Richard Dorf believes SNOG will be a big global brand in the near future.

“One visit to a SNOG shop tells you that this will be a globally recognised brand in a few years time.”

“We are excited to be involved from the start, offering a solution that will effectively multiply the capabilities of the SNOG team and future franchisees, allowing them to grow and successfully manage a portfolio of shops very quickly.”

Planning pays dividends thanks to PXtech...

2009-11-13T04:38:00.000-08:00

Subway franchisee James Fleck is already seeing cost savings amounting to thousands of pounds a month thanks to new technology from retail IT solutions provider PXtech.

James, who has two outlets in Evesham, has recently implemented PXtech’s Plan & Pay, software specifically designed to manage labour activity and costs while freeing-up significant administration time.

Plan & Pay provides the tools to schedule staff rotas, and when it comes to working out the payroll, offers automatic reconciliation which compares staff clock-in times with the rotas to make sure staff are only paid for when they are there, and when the business owner wants them to be working.

James is also the Subway Development Agent overseeing 60 stores for the Five Counties territory, and has reported a saving of £2,400 each month, meaning that he will save more than £28,000 over a financial year.

He commented: “By letting you see how to optimise your labour cost when you build the schedule, and by automatically verifying the clock-in times against the schedule, it enables you to manage outgoings effectively across a number of outlets.

“As a multi-store owner, Plan & Pay has been instrumental in enabling us to standardise our operations, and has made it easier for us to keep control of the management of the businesses whilst saving us a lot of valuable time and money on costly payroll administration and staff overtime.”

PXtech's P3 software is an education for Authority's Early Years service

2009-10-20T04:40:00.000-07:00

Intelligent software PXtech is making the sharing of information easier for Early Years services in Derbyshire.

PXtech, has just installed its P3 software system, specially designed to collate information and present it to education professionals in an accessible manner, for Derbyshire County Council’s Early Years services.

It gives each individual user the information they need on a certain topic, together with their actions and early warnings about actions related to their roles and responsibilities.

And not only does the system collate information from the council’s own departments, it also takes information from national sources so that a full picture of a situation can be given.

Richard Dorf, managing director of PXtech, based on Pride Park, Derby, commented: “We are delighted that we have been able to install P3 to assist Derbyshire County Council in this important department.

“The real benefit of P3 is that it takes information from sources, without the need to replace existing operational systems. More than just an information tool, individual users have different levels of access and each is notified when they need to implement an action.”

Awards nomination for PXtech!

2009-09-30T03:11:00.001-07:00

The team at PXtech is very proud to announce that the company has been shortlisted for this year’s Retail Systems Awards.

Nominated in the Technology Vendor of the Year category for our continuing work with fast-growing sandwich chain, Subway, we will find out our fate at an Awards Gala Dinner on Thursday 29th October 2009, which will be hosted this year by the comedian Chris Barrie.

Please visit our blog shortly to find out whether we can conquer the stiff-opposition to lift the trophy…

Etiquette for improved security

2009-08-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

Essential POS etiquette when it comes to security, according to Richard Dorf, MD of PXtech

Employee fraud is one of the many challenges facing retailers none more so in retail environments which are largely cash-based. This is another area where effective use of the EPoS can help retailers to reduce the opportunity for theft.

It’s important that your EPoS system prevents staff trading with the till open, instead only allowing a sale to be rung up when the drawer is closed. Your system should also be capable of tracking adjustments such as price overrides and other opportunities for staff to commit fraud. Set up your systems to recognise these transactions and make them stand out. Such systems can also offer you the opportunity to track your staff and see when they arrive and leave and identify who is managing each transaction.

If your tills are connected to the internet, make sure that they are secure and locked down so that staff cannot access the internet through this connection. The tills need to be connected to transmit sales data, but make sure that this is all that they do. Don’t forget that this is a till and is the most important piece of equipment in the store. It takes the money and this is the reason that you are there - so make it secure.

Etiquette for improved customer service and revenue

2009-08-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

Richard Dorf, MD of PXtech, discusses essential POS etiquette when it comes to customer service...

To service customers effectively, it’s important that retailers learn to utilise EPoS to allow staff and the brand to communicate effectively with customers. Clearly you need to make sure that customers are fully aware of what they are being sold, how much it is going to cost them and that you’re making sure that they receive the correct change.

However, it’s also important for your EPoS to communicate with and assist your staff. It could be that you use your system to alert staff to up-selling opportunities or promotions, which trigger when purchase combinations are made. This demonstrates efficient service, but can also make a significant impact on transaction values.

The way the information is presented to your staff on the EPoS, needs to support a good dialogue with the customer. For this, promotional materials and up-selling opportunities need to be clear at the appropriate point in the transaction. Once the sale is made, there are also further opportunities to promote products and encourage return visits, including receipts showing promotions, loyalty vouchers etc.

Make sure that if a customer responds to such promotions, the product they are buying is ready at the point of sale so that queuing times aren’t lengthened, as it is fetched from elsewhere in-store. When queues do form, staff with handheld devices walking down the queue to serve customers, are excellent for ‘queue busting’ and again improving the customer experience.
In addition to working on a practical level, it’s essential that POS is discreet and able to embrace its environment and supports the image of the store.

Master the etiquette of great sales

2009-07-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

All good retailers practice professional etiquette throughout their stores, and few are as important as great etiquette at the point of sale (POS). As this is the place where the sale is made or lost, it’s essential that the environment is fine-tuned to service the customer effectively and ensure that money can be taken securely. This etiquette involves the electronic POS equipment (EPoS) as well as the actual physical environment.

Check back next week when Richard Dorf, MD of PXtech, will share some knowledge of essential POS etiquette that can help retailers make all the difference to this crucial area of the store...