Is your cloud data delivery guaranteed? It should be!

With over 30,000 locations worldwide relying on our business intelligence solutions, PXtech is at the forefront of retail data analysis. But how do we make sure that the data you see is timely, accurate, and most of all, complete?

POS data is the foundation upon which business intelligence is built. Imagine a solution that missed even 1% of your sales data – it would be worse than useless. We need a dependable source of data to provide the tools that you rely on, and we've had to overcome many challenges to get it!

PXtech’s solution is nearly unique in the market, in that we’re not tied to a single POS provider – you can use our system with many types of POS system. This is great for customers because they don’t have to choose their POS solution based on the reporting they want – PXtech allows you to choose from different POS types and still use our world-class reporting package.

Historically, we have supported Windows-based tills, but recently the launch of the PXSmartHub has enabled us to move into the world of ROM-based tills. Each platform has come with its own unique challenges which must be overcome to produce a reliable source of data.

The heart of PXtech’s data solution is our agent software. This clever little application gathers data from the ePOS software and transmits it to our cloud servers for display on your screen. It was originally developed for Windows-based tills – it gets installed as a service which runs in the background, meaning there doesn’t have to be any clunky manual process to send the data. Fetching the data from the POS can be difficult – different ePOS systems use a myriad of different storage methods, and we have had to deal with obscure database formats, XML, and good old plain text in order to get the data that we need. Our development team is well-versed in working with different systems, and ensuring that we are extracting the correct information while not affecting the day-to-day operation of the till is paramount.

Once the agent has the data, we need to ensure that it gets to us so that you can see it. Our cloud servers are much more reliable than the average back office PC, but we need a dependable delivery service to ensure that the data you’re seeing is complete. All data is transmitted using industry-standard SSL encryption, so you can be sure that your sales data is safe in transit. We use a guaranteed-once delivery procedure to ensure that data is not lost or duplicated, and we’ve built a full message queue into the agents. This means that even where stores may have an unreliable internet connection, the agent will keep trying and ensure the messages make their way back once it’s back online. We even have it working over 3G!

This solution worked very well for Windows-based POS systems, but users of ROM-based systems were left out in the dark – until we developed the PXSmartHub. Because we can’t install our agent software on a ROM-based till, the PXSmartHub acts as an “agent in a box” – it’s a small unit which connects to the network in a store and gathers data from the tills. It works in the same way as our existing agents – taking live data from the tills and queuing it for transport to the cloud. However, to ensure that no data is lost due to network issues, it also performs an overnight reconciliation on the till, making doubly sure that no messages were lost during the day.

More and more multi-site operators are realising that a centralised business intelligence solution is an essential tool, is your business keeping pace?

Phil Evans, product manager, PXtech

Aiding businesses by focussing on their needs

As PXtech welcomes global charity Oxfam into its portfolio, account manager Richard Harvey explains why understanding the individual needs of a business is crucial to forging a successful partnership.

“We’re always looking at ways of improving our offering and expanding into new sectors. We know that PXtech’s solutions can greatly benefit businesses but we also appreciate that understanding how a business operates and tailoring our solutions to suit the unique needs of an organisation is key to establishing a mutually beneficial relationship.

“Our new partnership with Oxfam is a good example of how we operate. The charity needed a new EPoS system that optimised sales potential while enhancing the user experience to ensure that shop employees were guaranteed the best usability. Having previously supported the charity’s existing estate of cash registers, PXtech already had a sensitive understanding of the organisation’s needs and was trusted to provide a tailored solution. Alongside ICRTouch, we delivered a new system that incorporated enhanced features, such as colours and button sizes, and integrated seamlessly with the existing system. Given the confidence to operate these new systems with ease, volunteers were free to focus on driving sales – and Oxfam is already reaping the benefits.

“It’s about working as an extension of a business rather than just supplying a service, understanding the intricacies of the organisation, developing a trusted relationship and, ultimately, working together to deliver positive results”.

For more information on PXtech’s new Oxfam partnership, see below.

TECHNOLOGY ROLL OUT AIDS OXFAM UK RETAIL OPERATION

Oxfam’s retail operation is set to benefit from the latest in business intelligence solutions following the announcement of the roll out of a substantial technology contract to support the organisation’s full portfolio of UK shops.

The significant new deal sees leading business intelligence solutions developer and IT support provider PXtech teaming up with one of the UK’s primary EPoS software providers, ICRTouch, to deliver industry-leading hardware and enterprise software solutions across Oxfam’s estate of 690 shops.

The partnership will provide Oxfam with an enhanced EPoS solution to optimise cost efficiency and maximise sales potential throughout its shop network, with a potential uplift in income as a result of the technology’s roll out.

The new system will integrate with Oxfam’s corporate warehousing and business intelligence solution and will be tailored to suit the charity’s specific needs.  These include supporting Oxfam’s policy of inclusivity by providing a range of specialised facilities to guarantee the best retail experience for all shop staff. The look and feel of the new EPoS system will focus strongly on enhancing the ‘volunteer experience’, incorporating key elements for the visually impaired, such as colours, font size and button size.

In addition to managing the installation of Oxfam’s new hardware system, PXtech will use key components of the ICRTouchWeb software suite to control and manage the information between Oxfam’s corporate solutions and in-store EPoS systems. A raft of PXtech specialist field engineers will manage the roll out with the company also providing ongoing solutions support, including a help desk and dedicated onsite service offering.

The deal follows the success of an established working relationship between Oxfam and PXtech, when PXtech was taken on to support the charity’s existing estate of cash registers.

Andrew Horton, Oxfam’s trading director, said: “The implementation of this system marks an exciting new chapter for Oxfam shops, providing our staff and volunteers with the tools and support they need to drive sales. We’re focussed on reducing costs and increasing charitable contributions by improving our operations across our trading division, and we can clearly see the value this solution will bring to the business.

“Our shops are run by a dedicated volunteer base and this new suite of tailored software solutions will empower each of them to maximise their individual shop’s income. The user flexibility afforded by the new system’s specialised features is especially important in ensuring that our values of inclusivity are upheld at every stage of the business.”

Richard Dorf, Managing Director at PXtech, said: “We are pleased to be building on the highly successful working relationship that we enjoy with Oxfam and this latest partnership marks an important stage for the business as we expand our support of retail clients.

“We put an enormous amount of development time into our retail IT solutions, tailoring them to ensure they offer optimum value to our customers and we are eager to bring this expertise to Oxfam.  We anticipate that through the implementation of this tailored hard and software, Oxfam will benefit from an uplift in income, and look forward to helping the organisation maximise its retail operation potential.”  

ICRTouch CEO Colin Ringer said: “We have enjoyed a successful relationship with PXtech over many years and this exciting new deal enables us to deliver our cutting edge solutions and make a difference in Oxfam shops across the country. We’re dedicated to offering our customers the very best in tailored solutions and services, and this new collaboration underpins that commitment.”   

PXtech will commence the pilot in October 2013 with the full roll out starting in January 2014 and completion scheduled for March 2016. 

Caught on camera

It’s important to understand the risks that any business faces when it comes to day to day fraudulent activities. With a tightening economic landscape, any minor incident can have a knock on effect later down the line. Keeping up to speed with the latest advancements in business intelligence solutions is crucial in helping business owners tackle fraud and protect their margins.

CCTV is rapidly becoming one of the hottest topics in our sector with more and more businesses recognising the essential role it plays. Not only does CCTV act as a business’ eyes and ears, but it also monitors activity, operates as a deterrent and performs a crucial security function during the everyday running of a business.

CCTV can also monitor staff performance, register the quality of customer service and link to POS data, all invaluable tools for operating effectively within a fast-paced, increasingly competitive industry. The latest innovations have the additional advantage of real-time web-based reporting linked to CCTV footage, allowing instant access to footage of suspicious transactions.

You can read more about how PXtech is helping to protect businesses with Richard Dorf’s latest article for FRY magazine, where he offers his thoughts on fraud prevention within the fast-food sector and explains how CCTV-linked technology is tackling the problem.

A sunny outlook for PXtech

Summer has finally arrived and business is positively blooming at PXtech as our customers grow from strength to strength using our solutions.

Firstly, we’re delighted to announce that North American brand Pita Pit is opening its first French store, in Nantes, with our PXtech solution for EPoS, CCTV and, of course, PXportal. Launching at the end of July, Pita Pit has ambitious plans to spread across the country and will be supported in their growth by PXtech’s French partner, Subito.

Obviously, c'est une très excellente nouvelle for both PXtech and Pita Pit and we look forward to fully supporting them in their expansion into Europe.

Along with this, our relationship with POS solutions provider Uniwell is proving to be an excellent partnership. With the global release of a specialised version of PXportal, UniPortal, we’ve seen new markets open up across the world including, countries further afield, such as Australia, Pakistan and Canada. 

Further building on the fantastic exposure we gained from winning the Queens Awards, we hope these two new ventures will help to seal 2013 as a brilliant year for PXtech.

We’re going to need a bigger shelf!

Last night, PXtech proudly added to an already impressive selection of accolades, by winning the Technology Award at the 2013 Insider Made in the Midlands Awards.

PXtech scooped the award at a star-studded gala dinner, which celebrated the very best names in manufacturing from across the region – and with companies such as AGA Rangemaster, Portmeirion Group and Dunlop Goodyear shortlisted for awards, we were in pretty good company!

In addition to being celebrated for our success in delivering the biggest global roll-out of BI solutions in the hospitality industry, we were also recognised for the very real benefit that PXtech’s solutions bring to our customers – and for us that is what it’s really all about.

This award is the latest acknowledgement of PXtech’s continued success both in the UK and abroad – in the last 18 months alone we’ve won five major gongs, including the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade. There’s only one problem with all this award-winning – we need a bigger display shelf…!

Proud to be Made in the Midlands

This month PXtech will be attending a flagship regional awards ceremony - Midlands Business Insider’s Made in the Midlands Awards Dinner.

This awards ceremony celebrates the very best of Midland manufacturing and we are proud to be shortlisted for the Technology Award. 

With internationally-renowned names including Rolls-Royce, Jaguar Land Rover and JCB all previous winners at the dinner, it’s a good reminder of just how strong the region’s businesses are on the world stage.

PXtech’s international reach is itself pretty impressive - we work with clients in 50 countries and service over 35,000 business locations, providing our customers with the very latest in SaaS business intelligence tools, EPoS and CCTV to create a full management solution, tailored to their specific needs. 

Bespoke solutions to 35,000 businesses and growing? We’re pretty proud of that.  And we’re very proud to be Made in the Midlands.

Improving profits without counting the beans

At PXtech we understand the hospitality sector inside out, so when the café industry were looking for a keynote speaker for its flagship event Caffe Culture, it was only natural that they came to us.

Our managing director Richard Dorf shared with delegates how, with the right BI tools and just 15 minutes a day, café owners could boost their yearly profits by the equivalent of 20,000 new customers.

Richard showed how using tools such as BI solutions, EPoS and CCTV to concentrate on three core areas – maximising profitability of sales, reducing costs and protecting cash (anti-fraud measures) – can yield transformational results.

Richard says: “The café sector has grown exponentially in the last few years, from small family coffee shops to some of the biggest names on the High Street.

“Independent cafes have realised that it’s time to adopt the technology which will enable them to compete with the big boys – and as the latest tools are scalable and require minimal capital outlay, it’s never been easier to make sure the business is delivering.”

For further information on how PXtech’s solutions can boost your profits call 01332 921 300 or visit www.pxtech.net

PXtech takes to the track for charity

 

A speedy team of PXtech employees have laced up their running shoes to raise money for charity at the annual Derby 10k.

Racing the Cooper-Parry business challenge event, the PXtech team raised funds for Sporting Futures, a local charity that helps young people in disadvantaged areas of Derbyshire to engage in their local communities via sport.

First PXtech runner across the finishing line was software developer Kerry White, who clocked in an impressive 47 minutes.

Speaking of the race, technical director Adrian Howlett said, “It was a fantastic day and the whole team pulled together to put in a sterling performance. It’s very rewarding to support a local charity and we’ll definitely look forward to entering a team next year.” 

The sell-out event, now in its twelfth year, took place on Sunday 28 April, and is Derby’s largest road race.

Team PXtech (pictured from left to right) are Adrian Howlett, Mark Lindsay, Kamran Akhtar, Nick Shardlow, Kerry White and Colin Jackson.

How much do your ‘sweethearts’ cost you?

Most of us will be familiar with spending money (sometimes a little too much!) on our loved ones. But from a business perspective, have you ever considered how much ‘sweethearts’ are costing you on a daily basis?

Sweethearting - a term coined to explain the process of staff members giving away free goods to friends and family at till points, is fast becoming a trend that retailers could really do without. Say, for example, one of your employees gives away goods to the value of £10 a week. That’s £520 a year. Now imagine that happens in each of your ten stores - £5,200. Not to mention the chance that if one employee is doing it successfully, it can quickly spread.

Although often seen by employees as a ‘perk of the job’ such theft may leave retailers feeling frustrated and out of pocket. However, having the right EPoS solution in place can help, as PXtech MD Richard Dorf explained to the Independent last week.

Richard said: “The personal nature of these thefts leaves retailers feeling helpless but having the right technology in place can catch the culprits. By linking each till with CCTV the proprietor can pinpoint the specific “sweetheart” down to an individual transaction. This was once a technology reserved exclusively for the big corporate chains. But these days cheap cameras and efficient but affordable software means anyone can be caught.”

And it’s not just the financial repercussions of theft that have to be considered, but the effect on customer service too. Richard added: “Classic scenario - one restaurant outlet had a store that increased daily turnover by £400 a day (about 20%) by removing staff operating a fraud.  Why? Not because they were necessarily stealing £400 a day, but whilst they were busy working the scam they weren’t looking after customers, upselling or cross- selling.”

Richard’s comments on the topic have appeared in the Blog section of the Independent, which you can read in full here.

Is it easy to be green?

Economic working is top of the agenda for most businesses these days – not just for the benefit of the environment, but as a way to cut down on costs too.

So when Retail Systems ran a feature on green retailing, we knew our client Pistachios in the Park would be the perfect fit. With a chain of cafes based in local parks throughout London, Pistachios in the Park is committed to selling locally and ethically produced produce – making them the perfect advocates for green retailing.

Aysin Djemil, operations manager at Pistachios, said in the feature: “Ethics and fair trade are very important. Lots of consumers are looking to buy organic, fair trade and equal opportunities products. And although Pistachios came from humble origins, we stipulated that whoever we go into business with must be ethical.”

They may have started from humble beginnings, but Pistachios’ success meant they soon enlisted the help of PXtech to remotely implement a company-wide sales drive and oversee brand management, while responding to local needs in real time across multiple locations.

PXtech Managing Director Richard Dorf added: “PXtech’s scalable solutions enable a family run business such as Pistachios in the Park to use tools which offer a level of insight previously only available to large corporates.”

Maybe it is easy to be green – so long as you have the right tools at your disposal!

If you would like to read the feature in full, please click here.

A busy Christmas and a happy New Year in the press for PXtech

December is a busy month for everyone – but aside from Christmas and end of year meetings, PXtech was also keeping busy in the press. Managing Director Richard Dorf kicked off proceedings by sharing his predictions for the hospitality sector as we head into 2013, with his article appearing in influential trade title Retail Technology.

 

Richard explained that whilst the dawn of a new year is an exciting time for any business, it is also important to remember that a fresh start often comes complete with fresh new challenges. He cited efficiency, delivery and strong in-house controls as his tips for success in 2013, and explained how effective EPoS solutions can vastly improve all-important profit margins.

 

In the article he concluded: “2013 will, without a doubt, pose a number of challenges to the hospitality and foodservice retailing sector – but with the right technology to hand these challenges can be met with efficiency and professionalism, and ultimately help to protect the all-important profit margins which are so integral to overall business success.” You can read the article in full here.

 

And we’re pleased to say that 2013 got off to a great start for PXtech, with Richard again sharing his knowledge with the hospitality press – this time for the January edition of Bar Magazine. In this article Richard explained how CCTV-linked BI tools can tackle industry fraud in the pub and bar sector – citing access to real-time data as the most effective component when combatting staff fraud and theft.

 

The online edition of Bar Magazine is available to read here, with Richard’s comments featuring on pages 57-58. Stay tuned for more news on PXtech in the press during 2013!