by John Mark V. Tuazon
Computerworld Philippines
October 1, 2009

As the pace of change in technology hurries alongside increasing demand from global companies to be able to deliver goods and services at a more efficient manner, executives and decision makers—especially in the retail industry—should keep in mind that technology plays but a single factor in raking up sales and profit.

According to Dr. Lemuel Braña, president of the Philippine Computer Society, socioeconomic forces have historically impacted the retail industry more so than technological forces. “Technology, such as a POS (point of sale), is not the only solution to gain more sales,” he explained during Computerworld Philippines’ recent executive briefing on “Point-of-Sale Systems.”

The Philippines’ archipelagic nature, Braña pointed out, contributes to the challenge technology faces in the retail industry. “There is a difficulty in determining how to efficiently deliver the products across the country,” he explained.

Despite this, Braña remarked how the retail industry has grown and evolved over the years. He noted how the diverse and continually multiplying population of the Philippines can greatly benefit the industry, mainly due to its reliance on consumption. “The market is growing and is relatively young,” he said. “Many economies will reap the benefits of these demographic dividends.”

Retail, according to Braña, actually makes up 14% of the country’s GDP. Furthermore, 98% of SMBs—which comprise the vast majority of businesses in the Philippines—are from the retail industry. This employs a strong 18% of the nation’s labor force, roughly equivalent to about 5.25 million workers.

With a diverse population and an industry that cuts across all segments of the market, Braña said retailers have a very high chance of ringing in profit, especially if they are selling food. “The Filipinos are always having a fun time with food,” he remarked, adding that food is deeply entrenched in our culture.

The Evolving Retailer
The evolution of the market brought forth a subsequent change in the way retailers are doing their business, according to Braña. “The retailers are not anymore waiting for their clients,” he said. “Malls are no longer viable locations for selling, especially because the cost of doing business has increased due to increasing rent.”

Braña further posed that any product can now be sold anytime, anywhere, especially because the market also doesn’t want to spend a lot of time buying products and services. “Selling products also doesn’t happen in restaurants or boutiques anymore, as evidenced by the spread of fly-by-night stores,” he added.

With this changing retail landscape, Braña highlighted the role of technology in consolidating information and helping cut operational costs. “We’ve had a client who’s a large retail chain in the US and Canada where we implemented a system to be used by its employees dispersed at more than 1,000 locations in the country,” he shared. “Data integrity was enhanced by providing real-time data transfer from multiple locations to the central employee service center.”

Benefiting From POS Systems
Sta. Lucia Group of Companies, a mall and department store operator, is one local user of point-of-sale systems. Dennis Samson, the company’s IT Manager, said they have a significant involvement in implementing the technology. “The company requires the use of POS for its percentage-based tenants,” he explained. “Our department store, on the other hand, employs 57 POS terminals in its retail operations, while the supermarket has 35.”

Samson said the POS systems have become a way for the mall management to monitor income and profitability of their tenants. “With the availability of data, we help the tenants become more profitable, which in turn increases our company’s bottom line,” he shared.

Because of their use of POS systems, Sta. Lucia has increased sales throughput through the introduction of movable counters as “queue busters”; increased speed of checkout lanes; gradually eliminated dependence on paper forms and logbooks; and began operating on a wireless POS network.

Despite the benefits, Samson advises potential users to scrutinize POS systems thoroughly. “Not all POS solutions will fit the users,” he warned. “But they should attempt to wrap around your business process.”

In choosing providers, Samson suggested a careful examination of the vender’s client history and background. Because of their success with the POS systems they have been using, Samson said the company is now embarking to upgrade their units. “We now have three solutions, which we are looking to integrate into one system this time around,” he explained. This, according to Samson, will further help them streamline their operations.

Possibly Related Posts:

• The Cloud: Waiting to Descend or Forever Up in The Air?
• Moving Through the Supply Chain
• Data Recovery– Riding Through The Chaos
• Mitigating the Risks
• Greening the Workplace

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