POS at the LPGA
A Small Business with History
For over 27 years, The Wegmans Rochester LPGA has been one of the most popular stops on the LPGA tour. It combines the world’s best golfers, the most enthusiastic crowds and many eager volunteers that join to raise funds for special causes. Disabled Children of Monroe County (DCMC), benefiting Camp Haccamo and the Sunshine Campus, uses the Wegmans Rochester LPGA as their main fund raising event. DCMC operates a store front that sells thousands of hats, shirts, shoes, and umbrellas during the week long event. The success of the event for DCMC increases every year, and the importance of correctly stocking, monitoring and reporting sales in such a short time frame increases each year as well. With this event being the main fund raiser for DCMC, “we just can’t have anything go wrong during the week” says Tim Groth, head of technology for Disabled Children of Monroe County.
The Technological Problem
“Our prior DOS based system was brutal,” states Tim Groth. “It was so difficult to use that we ended up with inaccurate data of what was sold. To add to the problem, the final inventory count must be completed before the vendors pick up their merchandise within hours after the tournament ends. The sales staff just could not keep up. By the end of the tournament they had no idea what they had sold,” Groth adds. It was obvious that help was needed in four main problem areas. First, DCMC needed a system that provided accurate inventory control and monitoring of shrinkage. Second, the system must be easy to implement and use, especially since the staff had little computer training and, in fact, were fearful of using new technology. Third, the system had to provide for quick and easy check out since there were a large number of transactions that were to be performed throughout the day. Fourth, the results had to be fast since this operation begins and ends in one week’s time! The challenge was to make the sales run as smooth as the green!
The Wasp QuickStore™ POS Solution
What these busy sales people needed was an easy and efficient way to checkout customers and manage inventory. Since time constraints in this tournament gave little room for training, the program had to be quick to install and easy to use. Wasp QuickStore Point of Sale™ fits these requirements with features like intuitive simple screen layouts, on-screen teaching tutorials, detailed sales and inventory analysis, and rapid credit card processing. QuickStore™ streamlined the information processes, resulting in improved sales and accurate inventory records. “Volunteers who had never touched a computer were able to step in and use the system,” said Mr. Groth. The QuickStore interfaces are very intuitive and the steps for check-in and check-out could not be simpler. Moreover, the point-of-sale, inventory control, and barcoding features are ideal for stores with a variety of merchandise with both cash and credit sales. Marilyn Bastain, head of merchandising for the tournament, was thrilled with the addition of barcodes. The integrated labeling software made bar-coding easy and efficient. It brought the LPGA sales staff into the 21st century and the results could not have been better!
As a result of the Wasp QuickStore™ implementation, the 2003 LPGA Rochester Tournament sales ran smoothly. The staff scanned merchandise with accuracy, inventory was organized and complete, and even the customers were delighted with the speed of check out. “And it was all so easy,” sums up Mr. Groth. Wasp QuickStore™ met the challenge of the greatest tournament in the LPGA tour and became their sales solution!
