A few months ago we announced the introduction of Multi-Branch Eureka for clients who use our own in house Point-Of-Sale systems. We have now completed development & testing of Multi-Branch Eureka for clients who use weighing scales at the point of sale. This blog article gives a brief overview of how Eureka can fit into your multi-branch / multi-site business.
The system has been designed to accommodate the wide ranging requirements of retail businesses already using Eureka and can operate in a variety of different modes depending on your specific requirements.
Product Maintenance
The system can run in either “Head Office Mode” or “Branch Mode” :-
Head Office Mode
In “Head Office Mode” changes made to a product at Head Office are automatically applied to the same product in every other branch. This ensures continuity and consistency of your product catalogue across each store; and one person can effectively maintain the product database across all your shops.
It is possible to have multiple locations set up with “Head Office” permissions so that product changes can be carried out at multiple locations – of course, any changes will still apply to all branches regardless of where the change was made.
Pros:
- Continuity & consistency of product catalogue
- Ease of administration
Cons:
- Product information & pricing must be the same across all branches
Branch Mode
“Branch Mode” offers more flexibility for your multi-branch business as it allows different product settings for the same product in each Branch. For example, you may have different selling prices in each branch, or slightly different Till Descriptions for the same product.
If you make a change to a product while logged in as a “Head Office” user you will be prompted to select the branches to which the change should be applied.
Pros:
- Greater flexibility to have different product pricing & settings
Cons:
- Additional administration to maintain diverged product catalogues
Infrastructure
When we talk about infrastructure we refer to the physical Scales, Servers, Computers, Routers and connections between each branch. There are two main ways in which Eureka Multi-Branch can be configured.
Centralised Eureka
In a centralised Eureka system you will have the Eureka software installed at the Head Office with only one database. You can of course have multiple PCs running Eureka at this Head Office location.
In the other branches you just have the Scales. You will have a network which connects all of your shops together – this could be a broadband based network, or just using a standard telephone line.
Product additions & changes are sent out to the scales from the Head Office location – and sales figures are collected each evening by the Head Office.
Pros:
- Simpler to setup & configure (and therefore cheaper!)
- It’s not necessary to have IT literate staff in all branches as everything is controlled from Head Office
Cons:
- Not having Eureka on a PC in the branch makes it very difficult to operate a proper Stock Control system
- Shops cannot view or print their own Eureka reports
- Individual shops cannot operate the Eureka Purchase Order / Goods In systems
- Additional administrative burden on Head Office to have to carry out end of day procedures for each shop.
Distributed Eureka
A distributed system has Eureka running on a PC in each branch. We use an industry standard replicated database system to keep changes in sync across all your branches. A distributed system can be operated in Branch Mode or Head Office Mode and offers the full Eureka-experience in each Branch.
Pros:
- Ability to use Eureka to the full in each branch for Reporting, Stock Control, Purchase Orders, Goods In etc.
-Very flexible and reliable system with the added benefit of having an offsite backup of your database in each branch
Cons:
- More difficult & therefore expensive to set up
Reporting
Regardless of the Mode or Infrastructure choices you make it will always be possible to centrally view and print reports for each Branch. This enables you to keep your finger on the pulse of each Branch from your central office.
Other stuff
Our FareEnough Restaurant system and the Eureka POS can also be fully integrated into your Multi-Branch Eureka system. And of course, all of the other add-ons which we offer can be used with a multi-branch system, including Handhelds for Stock Taking & Shelf Restocking, and Labellers.
Our integrated warehousing & internal branch order/delivery systems are currently under development and we will keep you informed of progress with these.
Note: There are many many combinations of these scenarios which enable the system to be tailored to individual businesses. Please speak with one of our technical staff if you would like further information or advice.