Why is it important for a campus store to keep its retail system current? Security, efficiency, operability and increased automation, just to name a few reasons. As your store is working on next year’s budget, consider which upgrades would serve your store the best. Let’s look at common upgrades that college stores may want to consider.
Why Budget for Collegiate Retail System Improvements?
Maximizing system functionality
With a rapidly changing retail and educational environment, already short-staffed stores must have a plan for how new employees can receive the level of training they need to be successful.
New and existing employees benefit from additional training and system tutorials, ensuring efficiency in day-to-day tasks as well as tasks that are only completed once or twice a year. With the scope and depth of collegiate retail systems, your store may have access to functionality that isn’t being used or could be used in a more efficient manner.
With official training, you can ensure your store has the resources to educate every new employee on your specific college store system and set aside time for current employees to learn and implement new system functionality. If your store is an MBS system partner, check out these training opportunities.
Labor savings
Software add-ons can add functionality and streamline your workload. As education and retail continue to evolve, innovative technology is constantly being developed to help your store better meet market demands.
Setting aside funds will enable your store to continue to evolve, improve your customer service, and meet the goals you have set. This will have a significant impact on what you can accomplish with limited manpower.
Investing in the future
When you think back to this term’s rush, what areas stand out as potential areas for improvement? Did you have the right number of stationary and mobile POS? Were there plenty of handheld devices for performing mobile back-office tasks?
Start thinking about the larger system additions or upgrades you might need to keep up with demands. By making sure registers and peripherals are current, you ensure your store benefits from the best performance and highest security available. You are investing in the future of your store by setting it up for long-term success.
Potential Collegiate Retail System Upgrades for 2025
Hardware
Does your store need to update or upgrade its system hardware? Check your registers, PIN pads, handheld scanners, etc. to ensure everything is current and doesn’t need to be updated. If you aren’t sure how to do that and your store is an MBS system partner, check with POS Support or your store’s MBS Store Technology Solutions sales rep. It’s important to know the EOL (end of life) date for your store’s register and sever operating system to ensure they stay current.
Your system hardware affects nearly everything you do. Out of date hardware can impact security, speed, and operability of your retail system. If updates are necessary, it is important you include it next year’s budget.
Automation
Automation can help save your store staff so much time. With the MBS system, stores have a myriad of campus integrations and resources available to help automate and streamline processes, including course import which imports the class master from the campus system, registrar link which connects students directly with their course materials, SFA batch or real-time interface which facilitates SFA payments for course materials in-store and online, and sales audit which enables mapping information to appropriate accounts on the G/L system for tracking.
Peripheral devices
While it might seem like a small thing, now is the time to confirm your store has everything it needs. Do you have stands for your Datalogic barcode scanners and/or security stands for your PIN pads? Maybe you are looking for a way to save staff time for web order fulfillment, inventory and price checking — take a look at the Joya Touch A6 for ultraportable functionality.
MBS is committed to the continued success of our college store partners. We work to bring you the best tools and resources for your unique business. To learn more about the MBS system, contact one of our system sales consultants today.
