Computerized technology is priceless when it comes to the analysis of inventory turnover and gross margin return-on-investment (GMROI) for jewelers. Today’s point-of-sale (POS) software systems offer many tools that can help you track inventory, customer history, employee commissions and overall business finances for increased productivity and reduced shrinkage.
Here we discuss the five main points to consider when purchasing a POS software system for your jewelry store.
Inventory Management
Using a POS system with inventory management decreases inventory-taking time considerably while improving accuracy. A handheld scanner easily scans products in and out of the system while the software tracks their every move. This allows for exceptional accuracy as inventory movement reports can be generated on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
Rick Albert of Tyler Retail Systems states, “a good system will adjust by seasonality. It knows by vendor how long it takes to receive merchandise, what the selling rate is and can recommend how many items to purchase so you don’t overbuy.”
Inventory Reports
As a jeweler, your inventory is expensive, yet small enough to “walk away” without anyone noticing. Real-time reports enable a dealer to make the best use of the store’s capital and assets while keeping tabs on shrinkage.
Critical reports that play a role in that analysis include inventory, buying and analytical.
These reports should help you find old stock to discount, top sellers, reconcile quantities in stock and give you a snapshot of your inventory status.
“Most importantly, it needs to know where inventory is, what inventory is in what building, what inventory is on display as opposed to back stock,” Albert advised. “And the system needs to have a good stock transfer system that controls inventory. Intelligent reporting gives the dealer details on each product’s GMROI.”
Employee and Commission Tracking
It’s impossible for you to oversee and track employee sales 100 percent of the time.
POS systems can be used to monitor who is running the register, who made the sale and if commissions are due. A good jewelry POS software system is also capable of generating comparison reports for GMROI per salesperson.
Customer Tracking
Loyal customers, the lifeblood of your business, deserve a special place in the POS system.
Customer information can be captured to track buying histories and for use in customer relationship management (CRM). Data such as name, address, birthdays, anniversaries, spouse’s birthday, etc. can be collected and used as a “reminder” for future purchases, loyalty rewards programs or marketing campaigns, both direct mail and e-mail.
During the transaction process, a good POS system offers the salesperson the ability to view add-on selling suggestions as well.
Hardware, Labels and Digital Images
Tedious labeling and inventory count are made easier with the hardware included for POS systems.
POS systems typically use a register/monitor, handheld scanner and label printer to create the appropriate bar code tags. Customarily, barbell tags are printed and affixed to the item for scanning at checkout.
Digital images of jewelry items are often useful for a dealer’s website or for creating e-mail and catalog marketing campaigns. Check to see if the POS system has an application for digital imaging. This is usually a standard feature, depending on the software.
Cost and Conclusion
There are many variables to consider when purchasing a POS system, such as how big the company is, turnover rate and what functions you
require. Software prices run the range, depending on how comprehensive the functionality is.
POS systems have a wide range of capability and most of them can be customized to assist in tracking inventory movement, sales, customer history, accounting and more. Using computerized technology is the most efficient way to give you the information necessary to make intelligent and sound business decisions.
