Member Article

The Range furnishes enhanced omnichannel capabilities with PCMS

The Range, Britain’s fastest growing value retailer specialising in homeware, leisure and garden products, has completed the roll out of a new point of sale (POS) system from PCMS, a global provider of retail solutions and managed services and support provider, across its entire store estate.

The Range has followed an ambitious growth plan which has seen, on average, between 20 and 30 store openings per year for the last three years, resulting in an extensive footprint of 140 existing stores in the UK and Ireland.

With an impressive commitment to further planned openings and as it looks to establish a presence in mainland Europe this year, The Range recognised the need to future-proof its operations with a unified commerce offering. Seeking to underpin its fast-paced growth trajectory, The Range replaced its outdated legacy in-store systems in order to enhance omnichannel capabilities and improve customer experience.

Ryan Yeoman, IT Project Manager at The Range, explained: “Part of our on-going strategy is centred on extending the shop floor, so that we can take The Range to the sofas and mobiles of our customers. The legacy system couldn’t fully support us in our omnichannel ambitions, not least as we looked to combine these with a focused growth strategy. Given this, we recognised the need to future proof our in-store systems to better meet the demands of the connected customer.”

Initially piloted in two stores, PCMS’s VISION BeanStore solution was rolled out across 140 stores in a six-month period. Working around The Ranges’ trading schedule, the implementation saw 7 stores migrated in a week at peak.

The new solution not only enabled The Range to improve the in-store customer experience, with faster, more frictionless service at the point of sale, its capabilities have also ensured the retailer’s move to bolster its omnichannel offer are fully supported, as it looks to grow its ecommerce services and enhance its ordering processes further.

The solution has also significantly improved the on-boarding time to get staff trained on the tills – a key benefit for a business with an ambitious store opening pipeline and who operates a two week turn-around time for new store openings, from the point of skeletal construction phase ending to being at full trading capacity. Previously POS training for new starters took up to three full days, now it takes just four hours, which can be completed in a single shift and means staff can focus on serving the customer to improve instore encounters.

“After a collaborative workshop with PCMS’s team, they questioned our operation and allowed us to uncover new methods and processes that were available through BeanStore. They have helped us build and implement a solution to address our intended outcomes, providing consultative advice and creative solutions at every step of the way,” said Yeoman. “Thanks to this partnership-based approach, we now have the capabilities to activate an end-to-end omnichannel operation and a solution that can scale with our plans and at our pace.”

Steve Powell, Director of Sales at PCMS, commented: “Forward looking retailers, such as The Range, understand that now, more than ever, omnichannel capabilities are a ‘given’ when it comes to shopper expectations – they demand the same seamless experiences across every touchpoint, no matter what channel they choose to shop in. Over the past 35 years, we’ve continually innovated our VISION Commerce Suite to ensure its solutions and services remain ahead of the curve in meeting connected customer demands. We’re delighted to have been able to provide The Range with a solution that will enhance in-store customer journeys and support their business as it continues to grow.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Reporter .