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Whitehall Garden Centres - Case Study
Whitehall Garden Centres Using Microsoft Retail Management System and DigiPoS Blade Systems
Whitehall Garden Centre is a family-owned business based in Wiltshire spanning three generations. The Garden Centre itself was started in 1972 by the Self Family and today has two sites, one in the National Trust Village of Lacock, Wiltshire and the other in Whitchurch, Bristol.
The Lacock site covers over 21 acres and offers far more than the typical Garden Centre. The site is structured across a range of departments including a plant area, garden shop, houseplants and giftware, providing postcards, candles, fine pottery, fruit trees and various tools. Whitehall is probably one of the largest plant retailers in the South West of England.
Whitehall's also have the highly successful Wild Poppy Restaurant and Farm Shop which provide a wide range of refreshments, fresh produce and frozen foods which involve weighted products for which individual barcodes and labels are produced, allowing for ease of scanning at
the checkout.
Microsoft Retail Management System
Both Garden Centres use the Microsoft Retail Management System, a complete point-of-sale system. Using Store-Operations at the individual store level, HQ integration is delivered through HeadQuarters, providing real-time updates for both stock and sales across stores at the touch of a button.
Whitehall's also run a highly successful customer loyalty points scheme for Garden Club Members, whereby members can provide their loyalty card for collection of points at any time during the transaction. The data collected provides a valuable insight into customer buying patterns and trends, used to create detailed analysis reports and allowing for very precise future marketing activities based on previous and associated purchases.
DigiPos Hardware
With fifteen state-of-the-art DigiPoS Blade units across the two sites and using the standard Net Display within Microsoft Retail Management Systems, the 15" customer display screens were modified to display high impact product information during the transaction, thereby creating a more pleasurable and unique sales experience at the till for the customer.
The cashier screen has an MSR to allow customer loyalty cards to be swiped and all transactions logged to the particular customer in a secure and easy manner.
The Digi-Pos Blade system is designed to allow for ease of upgrade in future years as businesses develop and expand.
Use of the Bluetooth Metrologic cordless scanners allows for easy scanning of bulky or heavy items in the customer trolleys without the need for their removal.
Davidson Richards Ltd
Davidson Richards is an award winner for Microsoft Retail Management System, with an established track record in the garden centre sector. Also providers of the DigiPoS hardware, Davidson Richards provides a complete service from consultancy, hardware and systems implementation, infrastructure and communications, training and ongoing support. DR's Retail Director, Keith Bateman comments "The project's implementation and go live has been smooth-running from a software, hardware and communications viewpoint. The DigiPoS Blade hardware delivers a robust and well-designed solution which together with Microsoft Retail Management System, enhances the point-of-purchase experience for the customer". Peter Self, Director of Whitehall Garden Centres adds, "We are delighted with the new Microsoft Retail Management System and have found the DigiPoS hardware to be durable and easy to operate".
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