Do You Have the Best POS Solution for Your Business Needs?
With so many POS software vendors on the market, picking the right one for your business can be overwhelming. Now, more than ever, leaders in the retail hospitality and restaurant industry must ensure they have a POS solution that works for their specific requirements. Furthermore, the POS system should integrate with existing platforms, like click-and-collect systems, in-store or restaurant pickup, delivery, and current API and eCommerce platforms.
Other considerations include how the POS might work with subscription-based services that reduce shopping trips and interactions, and even how a POS may connect to electronics and other devices that support home-based transactions and experiences.
At Olive, we aim to bridge the gap between buyers and sellers, and it is our mission to help you source the best POS software solution for your unique and evolving business needs. We believe the secret to finding the best POS is to lead with these business needs.
Unfortunately, current software procurement practices fail to deliver on their expected returns for many retail and hospitality industry CIOs seeking POS systems and other technology solutions. The process is lengthy and prone to bias. For this reason, many companies skip over carefully evaluating solutions against the business needs and go straight to demo and shortlisting. Often this results in POS solutions not meeting company expectations.
When sourcing POS vendors, it’s crucial to take a strategic approach to ensure the chosen solution aligns seamlessly with your business needs. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the key considerations for selecting the right Point of Sale (POS) solution, emphasizing the importance of understanding your unique business requirements.
The Complexity of Choosing the Right POS Solution
In the bustling landscape of Point of Sale software vendors, the multitude of choices can make the decision-making process daunting. The retail, hospitality, and restaurant industries, in particular, demand tailored solutions that go beyond just processing transactions. A holistic POS system should integrate with various platforms, such as click-and-collect systems, in-store or restaurant pickup, delivery services, and existing API and eCommerce platforms. For example, the best POS for a Restaurant Chain will be very different to the best POS for a Grocery Chain.
Beyond Transactions: Adapting to Changing Business Dynamics
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the adaptability of a POS solution is paramount. Consider how the system accommodates subscription-based services, reducing physical interactions and enhancing customer convenience. Moreover, the ability of the POS to connect with various electronic devices, supporting not only in-store but also home-based transactions and experiences, is a vital aspect of future-proofing your business operations.
Olive’s Mission: Bridging the Gap
At Olive, our mission is to act as a conduit between buyers and sellers, facilitating the process of finding the best POS software solution tailored to your business needs. We firmly believe that the key to discovering the optimal POS solution lies in prioritizing your unique and evolving business requirements.
The Pitfalls of Hasty Procurement
Regrettably, many businesses fall victim to the pitfalls of hasty procurement practices when selecting POS solutions. Rushing through the evaluation process and skipping over a careful examination of solutions against business needs can lead to suboptimal choices. Simply relying on demos and shortlisting without a comprehensive understanding of your requirements often results in POS solutions that fail to meet company expectations.
A Strategic Approach to POS Vendor Selection
When sourcing POS vendors, it’s imperative to resist the urge to shortcut the evaluation process. Instead, take a strategic approach:
1. Identify your needs and goals
Googling “Top POS platforms 2020” will not deliver a specific result based on your needs. What works great as a POS for a grocery store chain may not be the best POS for a Hotel chain. With an endless collection of POS systems to select from, it’s essential to examine your business goals and objectives, know your customer’s needs and behaviors, and use this information to define what you need from a POS system.
2. Define and Rank your POS requirements
Now that you have identified your needs and goals, the next step is to define your specific POS requirements and rank these needs against your business objectives. The more stakeholders engaged at this point, the more complete your list of POS requirements are, and you will be more precise on what “best-fit” means for your organization.
3. Explore the available Options
Now that you have clearly defined the POS features and integrations you need, with the input of essential collaborators, the next step is to look at that long list of vendors and narrow the choices down to a shortlist of solutions.
Traditionally, this is done by reading and finding testimonials from other organizations, or searching for POS reviews on Capterra or G2Crowd. Still, it’s essential to consider that these vendors pay to play in this space, and there may be some bias attached to the options presented. With Olive, we don’t charge vendors, so you can be confident that there is no bias on the shortlist.
4. Evaluate vendors
Now that you have a shortlist of 3-5 vendors who meet your goals and requirements, it’s a good idea to ask for a use case example and a demonstration of the product.
5. Make the best choice for your business needs
When making the final decision in securing a POS System, it is imperative to do your due diligence in ensuring that you are choosing a POS based on your business’s needs and goals, without bias, with plenty of input from various stakeholders.
Finding the Right POS for Your Unique Business’s Needs can be an Efficient and Collaborative Process
Olive has helped companies like Freddy’s source the right POS Vendor for their needs. Olive takes the best process for procuring software and makes it easy for you to collaborate with your stakeholders to identify and rank your requirements. With Olive, you can anonymously review all the POS systems and integrations available in the space, within the context of how these POS systems meet your evolving business needs. Olive takes this long list of vendors and boils it down to a shortlist that is assured to meet your needs. Searching for POS reviews on Capterra or G2Crowd, can deliver biased results, but with Olive, we don’t charge vendors, so you can be confident that there is no bias on the shortlist.
With Olive, you can check out various project requirements ahead of time and easily filter out vendors based on these requirements. Easily filter out vendors who don’t meet your needs, and ensure the POS addresses new business concerns.
