Faster Checkouts, Faster Revenues: 5 Ways Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail POS Improves Checkout Speed

In-store sales representatives are the first, and often only, point of contact between your business and your highly-valued shoppers. They must be well-trained and dedicated to your brand, but also require the most up-to-date technology to ensure an efficient buying process.

The last thing we want to do as shoppers is spend time waiting in a long line because the cashier is struggling with a faulty or outdated system.

We've all been there: the customer at the front of the line has a shopping cart full of items, tries to claim each one has a discounted price, and then stacks several coupons toward the order. Additionally, the customer in front of you has a baby that won’t stop crying and the one to the rear keeps nudging you with a shopping cart.

Just as you’re about to abandon your items and leave, the register next door opens. You breathe a sigh of relief and rush over to pay for your items and leave.


Source: BMC

Powerful, scalable POS systems, like Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, can help combat long lines at checkout.  

Experiences like this are far too common in today’s retail stores. Your customers deserve better than this; they are spending their hard-earned cash at your business. Keep them coming to you instead of your competitors with a reliable, efficient Point of Sale system.

Why Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail POS

From clocking in to completing a variety of customer transactions, the Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail POS system is simple enough for each employee to quickly respond to customer needs and powerful enough to connect to headquarters processes alongside enterprise resource planning and financials.

Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail POS makes each step of the way easy for customer service representatives, in-store management, and corporate-level employees. The single, end-to-end solution can accelerate business success and empower employees to improve customer satisfaction. Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail is equipped to handle a variety of transactions, from the most basic sale to mix and match deals.

Please see below  the five ways  that Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail POS allows salespeople to move the checkout lines quickly and efficiently – and keep the cash flowing in.

1. Apply Discounts with Ease With this system, sales reps can easily apply discounts to orders without having to fumble for codes or overrides. For example, the system can be configured to recognize sales of different types, like bundled discounts.If the system is set to discount items after the customer purchases three or more of the same item, the system will automatically deduct the savings without any additional keystrokes from the sales associate. Please see the screenshots below for an example of how this particular discount would look on the POS.

When a customer purchases two of the same T-shirts, the POS system charges each at the full retail price of $5.99.

As soon as the third shirt is scanned, the cost of each shirt is lowered to $4.79, showing that a 20 percent discount has been applied. 

Alternatively, the system can also be configured to give mix and match discounts, like buy two pairs of jeans and get a T-shirt for free.

2. Prevent Checkout Line Hold-ups by Suspending and Recalling TransactionsIn the case that a customer wants to purchase additional items, or mistakenly grabbed the wrong size, there is no need to hold up the line while the issue is being resolved. The POS system can easily suspend and recall transactions as needed to keep the line moving steadily.

This recall transaction screen shows the cashier which transactions are on hold. A description of the items in each transaction appears in the box to the right when the cashier clicks on each check on hold.

3. Find Items/Customers Instantly with Inventory LookupsMicrosoft Dynamics AX for Retail POS provides additional advanced sales capabilities to ensure each cashier has a wealth of information at their fingertips.Cashiers can look up inventory in real time throughout the chain, add new customers to the customer database, and create customer orders with a few clicks on the screen.With the ability to look up inventory and customer information quickly and in different ways, cashiers are able to find answers in minimal time.

Items can be looked up by simply typing in a keyword, like “jean.”

Once an item is selected, the system will show which stores in the area carry the product and how much is currently in stock.

Cashiers also have the ability to look up a customer by a number of criteria such as name, email address, or phone number. This is helpful in processing returns without a receipt or to verify important loyalty information per individual customers.

This search screen narrowed down store information to show customers who have the numbers “1234” in their listed phone number.

4. Provide Customers Convenience with Different Item Pickup OptionsThe fact that an item isn’t available in-store doesn’t mean a transaction can’t still take place – cashiers are able to create custom orders in the case that an item is not available in store. Options such as in-store pickup, pick up at another location, shipping directly to the customer, or shipping to another residence can all be easily configured within the system.You can also configure the POS system to apply fees to specific custom orders. For example, if a customer wants an item that is available at a different store, a 10 percent payment fee (or whichever fee amount you wish) can be applied.

The POS system can be configured to charge a 10 percent fee toward the price of the item for customers who wish to order an item that is not available in store.

5. Customizable Point of Sale Interface – Helping Cashiers Help Themselves Be Most EfficientThe POS system is highly configurable and can be designed to have as many or few buttons on the home screen as desired for specific functionality. Retail stores can allow sales representatives to configure their own point of sale interfaces according to their preferences. For example, if an associate has certain high-use buttons, those can be preset on the screen. Additionally, the screen can be configured for left or right hand use.

This screen has key buttons on the left and a number pad on the right for item search or quantity input. There are also quick-access buttons on the bottom for dealing with different types of tender or gift cards.

This screen features less buttons, and also has an interface more intuitive to left-handed users, since the key pad and quick-access buttons are located on the left of the screen.

The examples listed above provide a snapshot into the daily functions a cashier would use in a POS system. 

Stay tuned to the Retail Blog for more articles about store manager functionality, retail headquarters functionality, and loyalty management in Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail.

Regards,

Sathish

http://sathish-ax.blogspot.com