Industry
Retail & venues - digital solutions.
Digital solutions for venues and multi-site operations.
When clients usually bring us in
- the existing system no longer keeps up
- the work happens in spreadsheets
- data is duplicated across systems
- you need a new application
- you want to modernise an old system
- you're building a new digital product
What this means for you
- a solution that respects how your sector actually works
- we start with the part that pays off first
- one team for the digital and the physical side
What we can digitalise
- loyalty and digital cards
- QR check-in and visits
- bookings and payments
- multi-site in one system
- inventory and revenue analytics
- digital signage and promo
What actually runs the system in retail and at venues
Multi-site businesses almost always run into the same thing: every location has its own code lists, prices, promotions and visit records. Once a month the data is merged by hand into a spreadsheet that is out of date before management sees it.
The answer is not one big replacement but a single system in which locations are records rather than separate islands: shared code lists, per-location permissions, a shared visit record and reporting that refreshes itself.
- shared product, price and promotion lists across all locations
- per-location and per-role user permissions
- records of visits, entries and check-ins
- digital loyalty cards and credit
- bookings, time slots and payments
- connection to the POS and till system
- in-venue screens: announcements, offers, music
- reporting per location and comparison between them
What usually goes wrong in retail
| Problem | Why it happens |
|---|---|
| the same customer in three places | the till, the loyalty card and the online sign-up share no identifier |
| a promotion applies at one location but not another | price lists are maintained by hand at each location |
| visits counted twice | check-in is not linked to the purchase |
| the report is always retrospective | data is merged by hand once a month |
| staff do not use the system | the interface takes more steps than paper did |
The last row is the most common reason such projects fail. A system that needs five taps at the till instead of two simply does not get used, however good it is underneath.
What we need from you
- a list of locations and who decides at each
- which till system you use and whether it has an interface
- how you record visits and loyalty today
- an example of the monthly report you now build by hand
- who will use it daily and how much time they have to learn it
A typical case
The example illustrates the type of task, not a specific client.
A company with seven locations runs loyalty on plastic cards and counts visits by hand. The same customer exists as three separate records across three locations. The system merges card, visit and purchase into one customer record, promotions are set once for all locations or for one, and a per-location visit and revenue report is available daily instead of monthly.
How such a project runs
Process mapping
A site visit and a record of what staff actually do at the till and at entry.
Requirements and criteria
What the system must do, how many taps it may take and when it beats paper.
Design and prototype
A clickable prototype of the till and management screens.
Phased build
One location first, then the rest once the routine settles.
Rollout and support
Training staff on site, not by email.
What you receive
- a working system in production, with a separate test environment
- documentation of the process, the rules and the integrations
- user guides and training for your team
- test scenarios and acceptance test results
- access, source code and data under the agreed model
- per-location reports and comparisons between them
Signs that it is time for a change
- you are opening a new location and the current system cannot take it
- the same customer exists as several different records
- the revenue report is assembled by hand from several sources
- loyalty is on plastic cards and visits are counted by hand
- staff bypass the system because it is slower than paper
- the current vendor no longer responds
How we work in this sector
Where we start
We look at which processes run manually, where data is duplicated and what would deliver the biggest effect.
First step
We start with a bounded scope that can be rolled out quickly and measured.
Scaling
Once the first part works, we add the next step of the process or the next location.
Support
After rollout we stay available with an agreed response time.
Related work
FAQ
Can the system connect to our existing till?
It depends on what the till system exposes. If it has an interface we use it; if not, we use file exchange or a scheduled import. We establish this during the analysis, not mid-build.
Do we have to roll out to all locations at once?
No. We recommend one location first so the routine settles, then the rest. Mistakes then show up at one location instead of seven.
What about our existing loyalty cards?
Existing cards usually stay in use and are linked to the new customer record; the move to digital happens gradually.
Related solutions
Sounds like your project?
Send us the project description, your existing system, the tender documents or the event date.