Point-of-sale systems have evolved from simple cash registers just 30 years ago to the core of the modern retail financial ecosystem.
POS systems have become the retailer’s last mile, allowing data collection, mobile virtual network operator and banking strategies to be deployed and managed over vast consumer bases, delivering competitive advantage and a customer excellence edge to retailers.
But to capitalise on the opportunities new POS technology offers, retailers have to move fast, strategically and with the right partners.
As a specialist in retail IT systems that supports over 50% of leading FMCG retailers in South Africa, Trade Link has helped customers evolve with the changing market for 30 years. We were the first to assist South African retailers to transition from cash registers to integrated POS terminals, and today we help national and multinational retailers stay at the forefront of customer experience by investing in our teams, customers and technology from product development all the way through to deployment and call centre management of inbound and outbound solution offerings.
POS – the smart core of business
As retail competition increases and margins shrink, POS has become the heart of the business and a competitive advantage.
Modern POS infrastructure is advanced, complex and critical financial infrastructure that gives retailers the ability to take cash or digital payments – be it through an app or an e-commerce website or in the store.
POS must support different trading environments – for example, being able to take purchases that are generated online and finalised in store and vice versa. This makes this environment more complex than it’s ever been.
Addressing unique retail requirements
Achieving the right POS hardware, software and configurations to deliver on strategy is a complex matter and depends a great deal on working with an expert partner that understands bespoke retail environments – from the geographical layout of trading stores to the intricate networking and setup of individual stores and head office infrastructure.
Trade Link has built its success on the design and implementation of retail IT systems that deliver a competitive advantage, with some of our customers having trusted the company since our inception in 1994 and still forming a part of our daily journey.
As a retail-focused specialist, Trade Link has built deep industry knowledge and world class solutions through our customer-centric approach to FMCG retail and close partnerships with retailers, banks, software suppliers, banking switches, hardware vendors, and other local and global partners.
We understand the full circle of the retail landscape, the nuances of the retail business and what contributes to the best customer experience. Retail IT systems are highly specialised, and each system should be customised to align with the organisation’s strategy. This is why we have curated an exceptional, vendor-agnostic product portfolio and an engagement-driven approach informed by customer strategies and business requirements.
Trade Link constantly grows and upskills our team to allocate a dedicated business unit to support each customer. With over 500 staff members including technical experts and project managers, we ensure excellence in design, implementation and support.
We create solutions based on customer outcomes/expectations that are solution and or service level driven – customised for each customer.
Project management excellence
Delivering at pace and scale is our speciality – a differentiator that requires exceptional project management and teamwork with our customers and multiple vendors through a methodology Trade Link has built over decades in business.
Recently we completed two projects that illustrate this expertise. One involved POS conversions at stores nationwide for a customer, the other saw our teams deploy a new layer within a customer’s POS environment. These were carried out simultaneously, with our teams successfully completing work on a total of nearly 50 000 terminals across South Africa in just six months.
We have executed some of South Africa’s biggest-ever POS projects quietly and successfully. This is all the more noteworthy because most of this work had to be carried out at night to avoid disrupting trade.
Behind the scenes, this means our project teams must create and manage the complete project life cycle – from in-store change management to hardware preparation and shipping and logistics of “man and machine” over a national and or international footprint. Despite careful planning, unexpected external events can occasionally occur. Our teams collaborate live on various communications channels to ensure that such events don’t derail our schedule.
At the peak of one recent project, our teams were carrying out POS upgrades at a rate of 35 stores a night, and the stores were always up and open for trade on time the next morning.
To achieve this level of service delivery, we draw on our streamlined processes, agility, national footprint and deep understanding of each customer and their environment.
Now is the time for retailers to move to next-generation systems that enable efficiency and better customer experience. To ensure that they get maximum performance and value from their systems, retailers need to partner with a specialist like Trade Link, which has extensive technical expertise and deeply understands their business and environment.
About Trade Link
Trade Link is a leading retail innovation and support services partner to retailers in South Africa and the rest of Africa. We are a strategic partner to global leading point-of-sale and retail solution providers, with wraparound support, development and professional services. It is our experience and deep retail knowledge that makes the difference to our customers, we are the “Trade Link” between retailers and their customers.
- The author, Ahmed Laher, is CEO of Trade Link
- Read more articles by Trade Link on TechCentral
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