"Lite retail store" for retail chain stores of O'STIN

The CUSTIS company developed software "Lite retail store" for retail chain stores of O'STIN. Creation of the "facilitated" workplace of the cashier — the system working without continuous communication with the accounting system of shop was a project objective. The new solution allows to refuse placement of the server in each shop, but, thanks to integration, to continue to keep full sales accounting on the server placed at the central office.

It is especially relevant for retail network with a large number of low-format shops as allows to simplify significantly the choice of premises and to reduce costs for automation.

The decision on start of the project was made by partners in December, 2010, and then the conceptual project of a system was developed. The new solution had to reduce costs for automation of shops without prejudice to sales process. It was going to lower requirements imposed to premises of shops and communication channels and also to ensure cross-platform functioning on Windows and Linux.

Specialists of CUSTIS and O'STIN jointly formulated requirements to functionality of the Lite Retail Store system. CUSTIS developers started its creation in January, 2011. The first stage — "Equipment, Cash Desk, Sales" — was complete in May, 2011. The second part of works — "Information exchange, setup" — was executed to the middle of July, 2011.

At the end of July, 2011 the first system implementation in O'STIN shop in capital Shopping Center Rechnoy based on Windows XP took place. At the beginning of August "Lite retail store" under Linux in O'STIN shop was let into Shopping Center Gagarinsky. Now a system is installed in six shops and is ready to further replication.

In the Lite Retail Store system all fixed functions of the POS terminal and a number of the specific requirements caused by features of business of the customer including support of numerous and various promotion actions of O'STIN are implemented.

• Cross-platform. A system is developed on Java technology. It provided independence of functionality and the interface of the used operating system.
• Ergonomic design. The interface of the program allows to work both with the touch (touch screen) screen, and using the hot keys on the keyboard.
• Work with the cash equipment and payment of goods. A system supports the AzimutEpson protocol (cash desks of PRIM-07K, PRIM-07FKZ, PRIM-08, PRIMAS-08v2, etc.) and allows to work with the display of the buyer, the scanner of barcodes, the magnetic card reader and a strongbox. It is possible to pay a basket not only cash or the payment card, but also using a combination of two payment types.
• Accomplishment of cash transactions. A system provides accomplishment of all necessary cash transactions, such as change opening, obtaining the H-report, collection and reinforcement of means in cash desk and also obtaining the Z-report necessary for change closing.
• Design of sale of goods. The cashier can perform the statement of goods in a basket by different methods: scanning of a barcode, input of a product code or barcode manually.
• Information exchange with the main accounting system of shop. All necessary reference books from software Retail store set on the server at the central office are loaded into the Lite Retail Store system. They contain information on goods, users, discounts and promotion actions. And data on sales of goods from software Lite Retail Store are transferred to a system Retail store: the payments appointed to a basket of a discount, reversal.
• Setup of the Lite Retail Store system for work. The administrator of the customer can do necessary setup of a system and the equipment, to get accounts of new users and to configure access rights.
• Work with a basket of the buyer. The Lite Retail Store system allows to perform different operations with lines of an unpaid basket with confirmation by the digital signature: change of quantity in a line, line delete, row splitting. A system also gives the chance of reversal of a basket with confirmation by the digital signature of the user with the administrator's rights.
• Purpose of discounts and support of promotion actions. At purpose of the operating discounts and promotion actions the cashier selects them from the reference book loaded from main system Retail store. Purpose of an arbitrary percentage of a discount requires confirmation by the digital signature of the user with the administrator's rights. There is a function of purpose of a discount on the discount card (the quantity of available bonuses is checked in office system of cards through web service).

"According to direct users from different shops O'STIN, the system developed by CUSTIS company was rather convenient for work, setup and service — Konstantin Rantsan, the head of department of information systems of retail stores tells. — Even inexperienced sellers quickly accustom in a new workplace as the interface of the program is simple and ergonomic, and the reference information is available and complete".

"Managing directors of shops note that with implementation of a new system service of buyers thanks to elimination of the problems connected with quality of communication channels between jobs of cashiers and a database server, and that is especially important accelerated the emergency shutdown of electricity indoors is not followed by a work involving all hands and loss of information any more. Now it is enough to provide with the block of uninterrupted power one workplace of the cashier — and employees continue to service buyers and to enter data on sales into the Lite Retail Store system. Also there is a wish to note that service of servers improved due to their compact concentration in one place" — Konstantin Rantsan sums up.