Running a multi-store retail business can be incredibly challenging as the formula for success radical changes from store to store. However, Opus Retail Solutions is here to provide you with steps that can ensure all your retail stores run as smoothly and are as profitable as possible. With the right tools, people and processes, you’ll find the whole operation more manageable than originally expected.
Real Time Analytics & Reporting
With real time reporting and data analytics, you can have all the information you need to run a successful multi-store retail business at your fingertips.Opus Retail Manager provides you access to create customisable dashboards that give you an instant overview of your entire business, providing real time product and sales information from any device. Showing you exactly what’s making you money and what isn’t, so whether you’re opening your second store or your 33rd, you can use our real-time insights to make, smarter, more profitable decisions.
Use this data to compare performance between stores, evaluate individual status reports or when you require a complete overview of your entire operation. Having this up-to-the-minute information on how your business is performing will enable you to get a more accurate view of your retail chain and help you better understand your business.
Hybrid EPoS solution – Cloud & In-house
We believe that the more complex the retailer requirements the less suitable Cloud systems are. The basis of any Cloud system is that it requires a connection to the internet. If the internet connection is lost for any reason, then the system must go into ‘local’ mode to allow the users to trade. Then it must revert to normal mode once the internet connection is available again. From our experience in speaking to users of these systems this process is rarely seamless.
Retail Manager takes the opposite approach. Each till is fully self-sufficient in that it doesn’t need an internet connection or even a Local Area Network connection in order to function. Even if all around it has failed the tills will function & the retailer can continue to trade. In our experience this is the logical way for an EPOS system with multiple tills to function. Sales data is stored locally & transferred seamlessly to Back Office & then up to Head Office in a multi-location environment.
Standard Operating Procedures
Start establishing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for how policies and activities should be carried out throughout your stores. This will make operations manageable and will help provide a consistent experience from your brand to customers. The types of SOPs as well as how they’re implemented will vary, depending on the business.
Inventory Optimization
Controlling your inventory can be challenging when you have just one store, let alone several. By implementing Opus Retail Manager in your processes, your business can benefit from a centralized system from which you purchase, receive and transfer stock for all your store locations. Stock takes can be performed in minutes rather than hours and any stock variances can be instantly highlighted with intelligent reporting. Additionally, without having to go into the back office or stock room, staff can get an instant visibility of stock at any location to help customers quickly get the product they want if it’s out of stock in one of the store locations. This will prevent customers from going to the store down the road or buying online instead.
Hire a secret shopper
By bringing in someone to shop at all of your stores you can get a clear indication of the level of consistency that you offer. This can include your brand, the service provided, your product range, store layout and the entire experience of shopping with you. Having this information will allow you to make the necessary changes to ensure that your business is providing a consistently good service across the board.
Communicate Constantly
Building a coherent culture becomes more difficult with more locations. Stop by your stores frequently, since there is some information you can only obtain by periodical in-person visits. If this isn’t possible, use video calls to see what’s going on. Do what you have to do to enable consistent communication flow across your stores.
Using the tips above you can run a successful multi-store retail business. Don’t be afraid of taking a dive and moving on an opportunity for growth.
Let Opus Retail Solutions take this journey with you
Opus Retail Solutions specialise in providing Retail, Wholesale, & Integrated e-Commerce Solutions through its Software suite Opus Retail Manager. Opus has been developing software for over 30 years and was one of the first Windows based EPoS systems in 1997. Opus Retail Manager is hardware independent and we offer hardware depending on client requirements, policy or budget.
The key to Opus’s success lies with its ongoing investment in Research and Development and Training to keep our Software products and services and staff world class. Services range from specifying client requirements to providing custom modifications, system implementation, training with a special emphasis on after-sales support so our customers can get the most from their system. The Company invests c £100k pa in R&D to ensure it’s software remains world-class.
The entire Opus operation is managed from Opus’s Headquarters in Belfast, Northern Ireland, along with regional development and support offices in the UK and Russia. Opus has partners all over the world and currently ships the software in five languages. Please contact us if you would like to discuss a partnership.
Although our Retail Manager Software and services procedures have evolved over the years from DOS through Windows enabling us to stay ahead of the curve, our core objective is still to provide innovative, best in breed, easy to use and robust EPoS solutions, no matter what the industry, the size or the individual need.
