The point of sales system in the local retail sector

• Main Authors: Ang, Suat Hong, Chew, Siew San, Wang, Liew Cheng
• Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/58580
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The electronic point-of sales (POS) checkout system was first launched in the United States in the early seventies to address the front-end bottleneck that delayed customers. For the last decades, Singapore had been experiencing tremendous growth in her economy. It meant that Singaporeans were becoming more affluent and as a result the local retailing industry became more competitive. The local retailers responded to the stiff competition by importing the latest technology to sustain their market share. POS system was initially adopted by large and subsequently small firms as a strategic tool to gain competitive advantage. Hence, the authors researched on whether the local POS users had in fact reaped the alleged benefits to a considerable extent, through questionnaires and informal discussions. In addition, major drawbacks of the POS system were highlighted. In a capsule, the POS system was generally deemed as a useful device to help retailers survived in the competitive local retail market. It represented a package solution to users in reducing queueing time and generating error-free reports on fast-moving items.Together with benefits such as efficient price updates and automated re-orderings, the POS system had given retailers the flexibility in changing marketing strategies and responding to market changes. Furthermore, firms would be able to minimize cash sunk in holding excess inventory and invest in more profitable projects. The project had also covered emerging applications of POS such as enhancement in the security control of displayed items. In conclusion, the authors had consolidated results and attempted to reflect a realistic scenario of the application of POS system in Singapore. Recommendations to further improve its usage were also presented in a simple and concise manner.