RETAIL REVENUES SOAR WITH Concessionaire Analyzer+ FROM SHIREBURN
Centralised POS Captures Transactions and Integration with Retail and Flight Information Systems To Enable Concessionaires to More Easily Target Promotions
July 2006
With low-cost airlines having an impact on the traditional revenue generation methods of airports, protecting such funds has become a priority for airport authorities and operators.
Traffic to regional airports and increased passenger footfall at main terminals gives such operators – who derive revenue from sales both land and air-side - an opportunity to upgrade their existing retail IT infrastructure and derive the correct percentages of turnover, whilst capturing the all important transactional data and destination / time specific shopping habits for stock control and marketing purposes.
Using the expansion to allow for the increase in routes and airlines servicing the country, Mediterranean based operator
Malta International Airport (MIA) has recently implemented what Information Systems Manager Ruth Delia calls “ the Nirvana of EPOS systems for operators with retail revenue-share models.” The
Concessionaire Analyzer+ and the
Airport POS system from Shireburn Software enables MIA to see, in real-time, all transactions from all concessions and slice and dice that data to meet theirs and the concessionaires various reporting needs.
Prior to installing the system, the MIA team used to collect and collate data from the concessions and have to manage the various files to integrate them into one system to have a single view of the transaction turnover. This method was cumbersome and time consuming and impacted on the accuracy and speed of revenue collection from the concessionaires.
“Using
Airport POSthe concessionaires have more power to provide the right goods and services to customers at the right time. The system is not only centrally managed, but, uniquely, is also connected to the Flight Information System, we can now scan boarding cards to determine a passenger’s destination, to effortlessly calculate excise duty and VAT/Taxes and even transit passenger allowances in accordance with the airport’s policy. This feature also allows us to build a truer picture of what types of people travel at certain times and to any of our destinations; and an idea of what they habitually purchase. This ensures that offers can be targeted and the correct stock is on site,” states Austin Calleja, CFO, MIA. “This promotes sales by the concessionaire and in turn, protects our revenues.”
The
Airport POSsystem from Shireburn is designed specifically for the sector and is user friendly, maximising ‘touch screen’ technology and using airport terminology with bespoke features and centrally managed multi-currency, multi-payment methods.
The system allows the concessionaire to manage price points and discount bands etc., either from the POS system itself, or via an Excel spreadsheet, or from the concessionaires own systems, integrated via a standards-based secure web service. This method enables the real-time up and download of information necessary in the fast-paced airport retail market.
Another differentiator in
Airport POS is that credit card payments are authorised after passing through the EPOS system so a complete view of transactions is assured.
The concessionaire can update pricing, manage promotions or even change security and staff authorisation settings as well as manage the complete hour/day/week transaction history to granular level, i.e., cash drawer activity, and as each receipt is visible, complete journaling and audit trails are available to monitor sales and administer commissions etc., All this can be done by integrating the concessionaires system or via Excel spreadsheet via a secure web service.
John Coney of Custom Jewellery based at MIA. “
Airport POS allows me to view the sales and audit data via an Excel spreadsheet from my downtown office or over the Internet giving me instant access and allowing me to keep an eye on our operations, 24 hours a day. We are able to personalise the message on all our receipts too, which is a really nice touch. We can manage layaways as well, so if ‘the other half’ is carrying the money or travel documents, the purchase can effectively be
paused until they can return with funds or boarding pass. These kinds of benefits would be too costly for a small outlet like ours to own alone – so we are benefitting from the combined requirements of the other larger outlets and the support of MIA’s IT team.
“Airport POSis also suitable for catering establishments and with the increased traffic and rise in global security – and the knock-on effect these factors occasionally have on flight delays –
Airport POS’ ability to accept tour operator / airline vouchers in exchange for food and beverages and our ability to report on payment methods, means that the concessionaire can appropriately be reimbursed for goods that have been ‘purchased’ using such vouchers,” added Calleja.
“The centralised administration delivers many benefits,” adds Delia. “With security being ever tightened, we now have just one company (Shireburn) servicing the retail units; so have much more control as to who is on site at any time. In fact, Shireburn has remote access to the system and can manage the support element remotely.
Built using MySQL, Shireburn sells the
Airport POS licence to the product and offers installation, training, support and maintenance – which includes upgrades as appropriate. The airport authority’s own IT department receive training in installation so when new retail outlets are added or a unit closes, the reconfiguration can be handled ‘in-house’.
With numerous shift based retail assistants, ad-hoc queries and general support is already running at about 50% of that prior to installation, allowing the MIA IT team the time to more effectively monitor the under / over performance of a unit and also manage any issues that may arise. This extra time also enables the team to focus on other tasks. Although the system has USB and hard disc backup as standard, MIA are responsible for the scheduled and unscheduled backup; from full site to single POS – which can be instigated in advance of a specific outlet’s upgrade for example.
“We did look at other suppliers but none could offer the granularity in reporting nor link us to the Flight Information System.
Airport POS really has changed our
retail operation for the better,” adds Delia. “We are in control of what we need to be in control of, the concessionaires still have access to their data and so are happy and confident using the system and we have a great, innovative and supportive team at Shireburn behind us. These factors have contributed to our measurement of our ROI on the project and along with the single view of data and less time answering basic queries – I am perfectly happy that we made the right decision for the business."