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Product category: EPOS and retail hardware and software
News Release from: Toshiba TEC | Subject: ST-70
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial Team on 25 October 2006

Soho Sandwich Company improvements with
Toshiba

Soho Sandwich Company improves customer accounts and business management with a POS solution from Toshiba and Datasym

Toshiba and Datasym have supplied Soho Sandwiches with a point of sale solution over three sites as they wanted to offer customers an account facility Before the new system, the company found it difficult to keep accurate records of customer accounts and reporting was not satisfactory

The new system is based on Datasym software and the Toshiba ST-70 touch screen terminal.

They chose Toshiba EPoS for their reliability, ease of user operation and the fact they are spill proof - vital in a hospitality environment.

The new system allows Soho Sandwiches to track customer account balances easily and accurately.

The speed of service has been another benefit - serving up to 500 people between the peak time of 12-2pm.

The company has also taken advantage of the latest Biometrics technology from the Toshiba / Datasym system.

Staff sign-on is via unique fingerprint ID, improving security, which as Adam Gilbert, Soho Sandwich Manager says, "this means the system is not open to abuse, the onus is on staff to clock in and out, ensuring we are only paying for known hours worked and allowing us to control staffing costs".

The Soho Sandwich Company has improved customer accounts and business management with a point of sale solution from Toshiba and Datasym.

Unlike traditional sandwich shops in high street environments, the philosophy of the Soho Sandwich Company is to meet the needs of companies; it has sites in Highgate Studios, a coffee shop in Hendon Library and the most recent acquisition, the Loughton sandwich cafandeacute; shop, on the ground floor of a multi storey office block.

With a high number of corporate clients, the option to offer customers an account facility is an important part of the company's business operations.

When The Soho Sandwich Company started with its single Highgate Studios site, the company found it difficult to keep accurate records of customer accounts through its existing Point of Sale system and reporting was not satisfactory.

When the Loughton and Hendon sites were acquired The Soho Sandwich Company turned to Aufait Systems to recommend a new EPOS solution to meet the growing requirements of the business and enable them to accurately manage and track their corporate customer accounts.

The new solution comprised Datasym.POS software installed on Toshiba ST-70 Touch screen terminals.

Commenting on the decision Adam Gilbert, Soho Sandwich Manager said, "We had past experience of Toshiba tills and were very happy with the reliability of the hardware.

When Aufait Systems carried out a demonstration of the Datasym.POS software at our Loughton site on Toshiba's ST-70 touch screens, we were impressed by the flexibility and ease of use of the software.

The compact, fanless and spill-proof design of the Toshiba ST-70 Touch screen terminal was ideal for our operating environment as we serve hot and cold food and drinks, and, with its stylish design and small footprint the ST-70 fitted very well into our counter space".

With the Toshiba / Datasym solution in place, The Soho Sandwich Company is now able to track individual customer account balances easily and accurately.

Adam explains, "The Toshiba / Datasym solution enables customer accounts to be pre-set on the system.

All items are processed through the PoS terminals giving us visibility of each customer spend at all times.

We use the system to send each customer a monthly report of all purchases, taken directly from the till utilising the back office and can also provide customers with a summary of their complete account history".

"When a customer comes in to settle their account we print out two receipts from the Toshiba ST-70 terminals which the customer signs.

The customer keeps one of the receipts which displays a running total of the account balance and acts as a manual record which can be kept by the customer if a paper trail is required.

We keep the second receipt for our own records.

With Account customers making up 50% of our business, this is an important facility for us to offer customers".

Speed of service has been another important area where the PoS system has helped Soho to deliver on customer service.

The Toshiba tills with intuitive layouts and the bright touch screen make it easy for staff to navigate, ensuring customers are served quickly and efficiently.

Serving anything up to 500 people at any one site between the peak times of 12.00 - 2.00pm, the company can not afford any delays at the till.

On this point, Adam Gilbert says, it's not just speed of service, reliability of the till system is also critical to us.

For example, if one of the two till at Highgate or Loughton went down at lunchtime it would cause us huge problems, possibly resulting in loss of customers as this is our busiest time.

Reliability was therefore a very important factor when selecting the Toshiba tills".

As well as managing customer accounts, Soho uses the Toshiba / Datasym system for improved reporting, providing invaluable information for business decision making.

Real Time multi-site sales information allows the company to look at sales and margins remotely to see exactly what has been sold across different product lines.

Adam Gilbert continued, "The system is very easy to use, simple to add new items and I can change prices in a matter of minutes".

Because Soho offers a range of hot and cold specials and custom made sandwiches, there is a facility in the new system to implement specific offers, promotions and meal deals.

The reporting functionality provides complete visibility of which specials and promotions have been successful, allowing the company to review trends giving important management information for future decision making.

According to Gilbert, "Better understanding of our customers helps us plan marketing initiatives for potential growth".

The company has also taken advantage of the latest Biometrics technology from the Toshiba / Datasym system.

Staff sign-on is via unique fingerprint ID, improving security, which as Gilbert says, "this means the system is not open to abuse, the onus is on staff to clock in and out, ensuring we are only paying for known hours worked and allowing us to control staffing and costs".

One future development Soho is considering is the use of an additional Toshiba till to act as a portable unit for sandwich rounds.

This portable unit would be run on Datasym.POS software and networked to the main system, but set up as a separate location.

Once back on site, the unit is simply reconnected to the network with sales data downloaded automatically onto the system.

Another possible future development is to link the Toshiba / Datasym POS system to The Soho Sandwich loyalty card scheme currently in operation, rewarding regular customers.

Linking the scheme to the till system, would enable Soho to automate the points allocation process, eliminating human error and the need for printing of cards.

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