POS Rollout: 4 Advanced IT Deployment Best Practices
A point of sale (POS) system is the cornerstone of your retail business, providing you with tools to increase customer engagement, track sales and inventory, and optimize labor. Your POS system is an integral branch of your IT system, and in order for it to function and perform well, you need a successful IT deployment and ongoing support. A point of sale system and IT deployment have many moving parts, so to ensure your POS rollout stays on-time and budget follow these best practices:
1. Have Devices Arrive at Your Locations Ready To Go
Having devices that are ready to go out of the box can save your retail business time and money during your IT deployment. Leverage IT services that configure, stage, kit, and tag IT assets before they arrive at your stores for a seamless user experience. These configuration services save you time and money by making it easier for onsite technicians to get each piece of equipment integrated into your IT infrastructure, saving valuable time when those technicians have to travel from one store to the next. By utilizing IT hardware that is plug-and-play, your devices will be ready to go when they arrive, making the transition faster so that your staff can start training staff right away.
2. Consistency is the Key To a Great User Experience
When deploying large IT rollouts, it’s important to ensure that each device is explicitly configured for your environment and use case. The right IT services partner will develop and test the correct device image, select and stage the right accessories, and deliver it to the correct location precisely as required for a seamless implementation. To encourage user adoption and reduce end-user escalations, IT services providers should have a detailed installation, training, and onboarding process. This includes not only in-depth training on the technology but also best practices for alerting internal IT staff or IT services partners about technology issues.
3. Deploy a Solution for Device Management, Visibility, and Security
With supply chain issues running rampant and a shortage of microchips, it has never been more difficult to source affordable IT hardware and repair legacy equipment. A successful POS rollout strategy must ensure that your organization has visibility into the location, status and security of IT equipment. An IT service management (ITSM) portal can most effectively provide that visibility.
An effective ITSM solution can provide the following benefits to your organization:
- Manage IT equipment, spares, and maintenance through a single interface
- Manage more IT equipment with less staff or resources
- Ability for employees to login and create a ticket or view the status of a repair
- Remotely monitor deployed IT equipment for proactive resolution
- Reduces the number of escalations to management and IT staff
- Meet security and PCI compliance requirements
4. Select a Single Source Provider for Your POS Rollout
Nothing is worse than having an IT issue that involves several technology vendors. That can lead to never-ending finger-pointing. Partnering with the right IT service provider who can handle your entire IT lifecycle is critical to the success of your POS rollout. The ideal partner will have the product knowledge to help you select the right IT hardware for your environment, strategic partnerships to help you procure POS equipment, and the expertise to deploy, install and train staff for optimal user adoption. Your IT services partner should also future-proof your rollout by ensuring the right number of units are available to handle not only what you need in-store but also to stock your repair depot in the event that there is product downtime or failure.
Three critical elements of a healthy POS rollout that will help your organization streamline service and maintenance of your IT hardware include:
- The ability to procure and stock IT hardware so you have a healthy spare pool
- Proactive monitoring of existing IT hardware to resolve issues before they lead to downtime
- An ITSM that allows staff to submit and monitor the status of service tickets
Project Success Starts with Finding the Right IT Services Partner
Every major IT project has a timeline and POS rollouts are no different. Take the time to vet potential IT service partners and evaluate them to determine if they have the industry expertise, track record of handling IT deployments of your size and scope as well as a reliable network of field service technicians to handle your POS rollout.
The ideal IT services partners will have established templates and procedures outlining the steps, resources, and schedule for your POS rollout with contingency plans if your project is delayed. Orchestrating synchronized deliveries and schedules is challenging, so having an IT service partner with project management policies and procedures is imperative. This team of professionals will help ensure the right IT hardware arrives on schedule and coordinates field resources to ensure you get the most out of the field tech’s time on site.
