dbe in partnership with toshiba provide flexible pos for diverse ethnic product range.

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Case Study - World Wide Foods

DBE in partnership with Toshiba provide flexible PoS for diverse ethnic product range

Company Background

Worldwide Foods is a family owned grocery chain, with products ranging from traditional fruit and vegetables to specialist products such as halal meat and poultry, lentils, beans, spices and pulses for all culinary needs. As market leaders in the ethnic supermarket sector, the company prides itself by offering an unrivalled choice of quality products, at prices that never fail to astonish first time shoppers.

The Challenge

With rapid business expansion, the current system, comprising proprietary cash registers, required a large number of Product Look Up (PLU) Codes to accommodate the wide range of fruit and vegetables sold. With an ever growing product range and hundred’s of new items imported from across the world, it became apparent that the old system was coming to the end of its natural lifecycle.

The Solution

Worldwide Foods’ looked to their existing PoS supplier to propose a suitable solution for their trading needs. With years of experience of working with WWF, Direct Business Equipment Ltd had a strong relationship with the company and was ideally placed to understand the requirements of the business. Their recommended solution consisted of Datasym.POS software on Toshiba’s ST-6500 modular PoS terminals and Toshiba Touch LKBST-Operator Display and Keyboard (ODAKS) screens.

Installation on the first of the six stores took place overnight, with the store being up and running the next morning, ensuring uninterrupted trading. Direct Business Equipment staff were on hand to support operators with any last minute ‘live’ training requirements, however the Toshiba Touch ‘ODAKS’ screens proved so simple to use that any initial staff fears of a new system were overcome within the first two hours.

Toshiba’s ST-6500 modular PoS terminal, with its robust and versatile design integrates power and connectivity into a very small footprint optimising essential selling space, perfect for a store requiring the maximum amount of space for the large range of products on offer. The flexibility of the Datasym.POS software was ideally suited to cater for Worldwide Foods specific requirements and the proven quality and long term reliability of the Toshiba hardware, ensured a total low cost of ownership.

The Benefits
With the new solution in place it is now a straightforward and easy process to set up and sell the vast array of fruit and vegetables and specialist products, imported from around the globe. All the operator needs to do is place the produce on the integrated scanner scale, touch the product picture on the screen and the item is automatically weighed and sold at the touch of a button. As seasonal produce comes into stock, new products can be quickly added to the till screen live from a remote office. The Toshiba Operator Display and Keyboard touch screens are simple to use, with product hot keys and tender types.
Full colour touch screen technology quickly guides staff through intuitive menu options, ensuring minimal staff training is required and resulting in reduced operator errors. The addition of receipts showing itemised listings ensures a professional company image is portrayed to all customers, a facility not previously available on the cash registers.
Speedier customer service has resulted in reduced till queues and enhanced customer satisfaction. The ensuing improved store throughput has increased profitability, allowing the stores to deal with more customers - especially important for WWF’s busy stores which trade seven days a week. Prior to the installation of the new system, staff error reporting was manually highlighted via scanning of till rolls. The new solution supplied by Direct Business Equipment introduced precise monitoring of all operator transactions, making staff more accountable and enabling fraud to be accurately pinpointed. Extra security measures, such as refund control, were added for improved security. Live sales data is now available in real time, replacing the previous end of day reporting. Whilst the system is not currently being used to its full capacity, the sequel based back-office software can be easily expanded in line with the company’s planned growth, ensuring Worldwide Foods are future-proofed for planned new promotions, such as customer loyalty schemes, for example. When asked about the business benefits of the solution Javid Kashif Worldwide Foods, General Manager said ‘since the system was installed, the increase in customer throughput has been very noticeable, in addition we are able to present a much more professional image, increasing customer confidence, as well as improving customer service and satisfaction’. Commenting on the overall installations, he continued, ‘we have always found the service provided by Direct Business Equipment to be fast, efficient and friendly. Their confidence in the flexibility of the software and the excellent reliability of the Toshiba hardware was the main reason for our choice. We now have a system equal to that of any of the large supermarket chains – reduced counter space, fast & efficient customer transactions, durability and an overall low cost of ownership’

The Future
With the roll-out of the remaining three stores due for completion 2005 and the addition of integrated Toshiba scales (SL-9000) in the fresh meat and deli departments, Worldwide Foods is confident it has a future - proofed solution in place, ready for it’s planned developments for continuous growth and improvements to the business.