Retail Management Software –The Path to Competitive Advantage
In this era of digitized commercialization, where businesses sprout at the blink of an eye offering myriads of services and merchandise, achieving sustainable growth and ensuring profit maximization are the new call of the corporate jungle. What retailers must realize is that squeezing more out of the traditional retail strategy without embracing new technology will only pave the way to doom and gloom.
The need of the hour is to gain access to a robust and effective Retail Management Software (RMS) that best caters to the interests of the organization. A Retail Management Software is specifically designed to help a retailer handle sales, customer service, flow of inventory, employee management, etc. An efficient and relevant RMS software forms the skeletal structure of a retail business, rendering support and adding value in terms of managing resources, regularizing sales order, improving sales, minimizing costs and maximizing revenues.
Parameters critical to buying the right software.
With innumerable software surfacing in the market laden with multifarious features, picking on the right software has become a daunting task. Hence, it is imperative for an organization to carefully analyze and evaluate certain parameters that are critical to buying the right software.
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Identifying Business Needs:
Picking software that best integrates with the needs of the organization is the best path to the organization’s success. Suitability, particularly in terms of the features and functions that the software has to offer, should be carefully looked into. One must make a note of the key functions that are pivotal to their retail business, to better assess the relevance of the software.
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Value For Money:
‘Never judge a book by its cover’ is the thumb rule to every purchase decision. Before shelling out a buck from your pocket, it is important to carefully assess the most intricate of details about the software that you are willing to purchase. Make every penny count by drawing a connection between the price of the software and its relevance to your business. Do not get lured by software that comes stacked with a plenitude of features. Retail software with minimal features that fall in line with your organization’s requirements will do the job.
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Tech – Support:
An important aspect of deciding to buy retail software is the technical assistance offered by the vendor. Integrating certain functions of the software with your business might require technical assistance. It is, therefore, recommended to opt for a vendor that has a dedicated tech- support team to provide technical assistance to help fix bugs and glitches.
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Customer Reviews and Feedback:
A satisfied customer is the biggest profit an organization can make. His words are more than a million bucks. Looking for customer reviews across various platforms is yet another way of grabbing the right software for your retail business. Put in that extra effort to gain access to as many reviews possible before making up your mind.
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Scope of Operation:
The usability and the deliverability of the retail software can also be assessed by its ability to accommodate extensive tasks in the future that come as a result of expansion and growth. With a business gaining
numbers in terms of employee strength, sales, and revenue, a sound retail software must be robust enough to ensure ease of operation at all times. It should act as a catalyst, helping the business channelize resources well and metamorphose into a bigger entity. Before making your mind on buying a retail management software, decide for yourself the heights you wish to scale in the near future. -
Clay – Like/Tailor-Made:
The vast expanse of the retail world is witness to the myriads of organizational set-ups. An adept Retail Management Software should offer the ease of being molded as per the needs of the organization. It should be customizable enough to help gain mileage in terms of increased productivity and better channelization of resources. On the contrary, a software that gives unlimited access to play with its functionality is tedious to make use of. Make sure you strike the right chord.
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User – Friendly:
Make sure to lay your hands upon software that is easy to work with and has a friendly user interface. Learning the ropes to working with a complex and sophisticated software can kill a lot of time, thus lowering the efficiency and productivity of your employees.
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Your ‘Cloud’ to Success:
Now get smart with your investments and make the most of cloud solutions. By paying a minimal yearly subscription amount, you can gain access to a plethora of cloud services that best suit the interests of your retail business. Updates surface on a regular note with no monetary strings attached, ensuring that the cloud software never gets outdated.
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IT Capability and Infrastructure:
Before buying a Retail Management Software, one must ascertain if the software is compatible with the existing infrastructure. Your overhead expenses can sky-rocket in case you need to upgrade your hardware. If money is a constraint, be wise with your decision and buy software that is compatible with your existing IT infrastructure.
What should you look for in a retail management software:
Just like a machine helps multiply your efforts to yield greater results, good software will primarily focus upon channelizing resources efficiently to ascertain greater productivity for the organization. To select the best from the rest, a retailer must look for the following features:
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User – Friendly Interface:
You need not be a techie to make the most out of software. Good software must ensure that the features to it can be easily accessed and customized, if necessary. Burdening the user interface panel with too many add-ons can be troublesome for most and can unnecessarily eat a lot of time. A user guide to work around problems is always a plus.
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Inventory & Order Management:
The recipe to a successful retail business is crafted out of timely and efficient management of inventory and order. A good Retail Management Software should combine all sales channels, locations and currencies to manage products, customers, and orders in one place.
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Accounting:
Accounting another feature that speaks high about the efficacy of a good RMS is its ability to automate invoicing, to help get a grip over costs and profits.
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CRM:
CRM is an inseparable aspect of every organization’s success. Keeping a tab on customer’s preferences and buying patterns, by maintaining a record of their purchase history, goes a long way in improving their buying experience. A good RMS will help set the pace for gaining customer loyalty and will greatly assist in order management.
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Inventory Reports:
Keeping a close eye on the ‘Inventory on hand’, stock value, stock availability, re-order point and the performance of the products can turn the tables for a retailer. Set your hands upon software that helps generate timely and accurate inventory reports to better manage your inventory.
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Sales Reports:
Money to a business is like fuel to a car. What keeps a business alive is the revenue it generates out of sales. Look for a Retail Management Software that helps you stay on top of your sales, with detailed and accurate sales reports that talk about the cost of goods sold, gross profit, margins, sales per product, etc.
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POS:
Is the problem of managing customer queues at the billing desk haunting you? Is it driving customers away from your store? What you need is a good RMS with an efficient billing solution that lets you manage customer queues faster.
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Making Online Transactions simple:
A good RMS should facilitate easy integration with Payment Gateway merchant account to securely process payments or refunds.
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Barcode Integration:
Make shopping a memorable experience for your customers by generating and printing your bar codes to ensure quick and efficient billing. Look for software that helps generate barcodes.
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Logistics Management:
Logistics Management software helps to streamline multifarious activities like warehouse management, processing customer requests, and orders, inventory control, sales, and distribution, etc., is the one to look out for. A good Retail Management Software will help you get rid of unnecessary paperwork and simplify managing resources.
Some of the good Retail Management Software are:
