| KARAVAN Group of Companies has become the first Ukrainian retail chain to implement the Queue Killer solution in its hypermarket, the main goal of which is to relieve queues at the checkout during peak hours.
The Queue Killer solution allows you to reduce the time it takes a customer to pass through the checkout by up to 70% and simultaneously increase the checkout throughput by 35-40%. This is achieved by reducing the time it takes to scan goods at the checkout.
For example, a customer's basket consists of 30 items. The scanning time for one item is usually 3-5 seconds, so scanning all 30 items will take from 1.5 to 2.5 minutes! And don't forget that the customer first takes the item out of the cart, and then, if possible, quickly puts it back into the cart or packs it right away. If you use one barcode for all items at once, the scanning time at the checkout will be reduced to 5 seconds!
How does the Queue Killer technology work in practice? Employees of the hypermarket approach customers standing in line at the checkout and scan the goods in their cart, putting them in special bags. When all the goods are packed, the bag is hermetically sealed. The employees print out a special service barcode, which is pasted onto the bag with the scanned goods. The customer approaches the checkout, where the cashier scans the barcode from the bag once, and immediately informs the customer of the final price of his purchase.
«The main advantage of this solution is its complete autonomy. Queue Busting can work with any accounting system and any cash register equipment. The software is configured so that the cash register scanner reads a special service barcode, and the cash register itself is «sure» that this is just a list of simple barcodes that are entered very quickly. It is impossible to access the program and influence its operation, because it is not connected in any way to the general data of the system. Theoretically, this solution can also be used mobile in different stores of the same chain. The solution is built on Motorola equipment,» says Alexey Strutsinsky, Head of the Software Products Group, SystemGroup Ukraine.
SystemGroup experts note that the initial version of the Queue Killer solution, after preliminary testing by KARAVAN Group employees, underwent changes that were developed individually for the hypermarket's needs to best meet the specifics of business processes in the network. The entire range of work on preliminary consulting, training, implementation and debugging of the solution was carried out by SystemGroup engineers. During the pre-New Year and Christmas holidays, customers of the KARAVAN hypermarket were served much faster due to the 15 working sets of the Queue Killer solution.
«Undoubtedly, this implementation is innovative. Comfortable shopping conditions have been created for customers. Implementing a new solution for the first time is always associated with certain difficulties, but achieving the set goals justifies all efforts. In addition to the benefits received, the KARAVAN retail chain once again emphasized its authority as a leader and readiness for innovative solutions,» noted Sergey Boyko, Head of the Retail Group, SystemGroup Ukraine.
In 2008, SystemGroup Ukraine received a patent confirming the rights to use the Queue Killer technology in Ukraine, releasing two pilot versions of the software fully adapted to the Ukrainian retail realities. The Queue Killer solution is compatible with virtually any front-office application.
«Just 2-3 years ago, Ukrainian retailers were skeptical about the idea of implementing such a solution, but thanks to the efforts of SystemGroup Ukraine employees, we managed to change the stereotype around this technology and introduce a product to the market that is fully adapted to our mentality,» says Sergey Boyko. In 2008, SystemGroup Ukraine developed an innovative solution for inventory and audit, Mobile Assistant KAIN, individually for the KARAVAN Group of Companies, which successfully operates in two hypermarkets of the chain in Dnepropetrovsk and Zhitomir. SystemGroup Ukraine has been cooperating with the KARAVAN Group of Companies since 2003.
The KARAVAN Group of Companies was founded in 2001 and unites companies engaged in the development of projects in the field of commercial real estate and retail. KARAVAN is the management company of the KARAVAN chain of grocery hypermarkets. Today, the Company manages 6 KARAVAN grocery hypermarkets. The first hypermarket was opened in Kyiv in October 2003. Two grocery hypermarkets were opened in Kharkov, one of them as part of the KARAVAN shopping center, and one hypermarket in Chernivtsi. On September 19, 2008, the Company opened its first grocery hypermarket in Dnepropetrovsk with an area of 18,833 sq. m. The store is the anchor tenant of the KARAVAN shopping and entertainment center. On September 26, 2008, a new hypermarket was opened in Zhitomir at the address ul. Kyiv, 77. The company plans to open grocery hypermarkets in Dnepropetrovsk, Krivoy Rog, Sumy, Berdyansk and other cities of Ukraine.
SystemGroup is an international group of companies providing a full range of services for creating solutions for business automation. It operates in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia and has an extensive network of partners. SystemGroup is positioned as a system integrator and has a high level of expertise in developing solutions due to many years of experience in consulting, implementation and service management. Areas of activity: — Information and technology consulting — Development of control and automation systems — Supply and maintenance of equipment and software products
Based on materials from the b2blogger website |
