Introduction

Point of Sale system is a pointor location u here the transaction or a ’check out’ takes place. The systems are able to track the intenial stock and reschedule the restocking froiti the external source This management of nn‘cntoo is on importantaspect of the business of garden company' It is mainly mapping out everything about ink entory’ management u'liich dCals u ith replacement lcad time. carn ing cost of inventor . ini‘cntoo and demand ei aluation. stock i’isibility. forecasting of price. quality management. and management of retuni policy.

Advantages and iIisads’antages of POS system

POS sj stem is an automated system. It can be inte grated in existing tin entory control of the mnnagelnent. Whcn POS systcm was applied to garden company. they u ere able to automatically reduce the u ork. expenses and time associated u ithninning the business The sj stem helped the management of the garden company to keep track of the populariw of each item and the quantity of each item sold so that restocking can be effectii’el› managed. The sj stem helps to track seasonal grou th patterns and those related to certain events so as to plan appropriate tin entory inanageitient (Reylianoglu, 2014) On thc flip sidc POS system re quires an initial cost of setup Apart from that. it needs regular updates. Thcsc hat e to be schediilcd or the endor is to bc allot ed to doc nload and install them. These require a maintenance fee on a regular basis Each technology comes u’ith its on n pros and cons POS system also poses thTir on n kind of security risks ( Attn. Moon. Kim. Shin. & Kim. 2012). POS s› stTlns are connected to a central netu ork u'hicli has its on n drau backs. Security breach can happen if the st stein is not updated on a regular basis This could also mean leak of sensitive and protected data like bank details.

POS system helJis the busincss to gain co i›ciiii› c ad› tage

With an cffcctii e POS system in placedgarden company‘ is at a coinp0titii c add antagc POS systems fast track transactions and remo› e the need to keep the custoitier u aiting in line( Huang. D\ erson. Wii & Harindranath, 2015). This enhances the shopping experience for the custoitier making him u ant to come back for more POS system lie lps by hourly data reporting.to gis e a clear insight into times when there is need for more staff and u hen there is not much requirement of staff. If there are not enough emplo› ees to ansu’er queries of

customers and retrieve merchandise u hen needed. then the customer is bound to go elseu here for better service. The garden coiiipanv can keep itself refreshed in the customer s itiemon bj keeping in touch through social media and mail. POS sj stems help can in msrkcting of the garden company’s products across i’srioiis channels. If the customer came to buy a particular product u'hicli is not in stock, then lie is bound to go looking sorties here else. The POS system applied at the garden company hclps in kecping nu enton’ updated and drii’ing sales b› keeping it sufficiently stocked. By using a POS system. the garden company is able to allou tech savvy customers to pay in u hated er mode they u'ish. This in turn helps drii’c salcs and retain customer lo› alty.

Atllantages of ha\’ing a centralisetl ‹latabase

Centralised database storage offers some substantial adi’antages to the customers of the Four Scmsons Grcenhousc and Nurses The ccntraliscd storage often includes a backup u hich allow preservation of data. The systeiti can continue in spite of hardware failure u hich gcncrally happens in case of localised computational nct»’orks Tablets and laptops met get stolen or lost and an unattended PC is susceptible to access by aHyone. Centralised storage and serf er rooin security restricts access to a small number of people. Data stor e in the centralised version helps in keeping critical information safe as it implements encry’pted virtual private netu orks, fire»'alls and rigorous pass»'ord protection (lacobucci. 2014). Centralised system put the garden company at an add antage by reducing the costs, It is economical and less space consuming to maintain combined storage systcm than to run itiultiple ones at multiple locations.

Facilitation of dccision making by POS systcm

The neu teciuiology in the form of POS system helps accelerate decision making process and drii’e up sules. The implementation of POS system enables sales associates to lei’erage the s› stein. dcliever product rccoininendations. rcsoli’c qiicries and manj other conccrns The decision making process of the garden company i as further heightened by charting out information rclated to customers such as product preferences u hich helps in responsii’eness to customer needs. For exaitiple. promotional messages u ill itiost Iikelj be deli ered to the inbox of specific mdn iduals u ho are more likely to be mterested in the product. POS sj stems cm be cffcctii’cl› integrated into the ini’cnton’ management s› stem of the organ isation. The iitiplementation of the POS system at the garden company helped to stock up the tin enton . streamlining order fulfilment. cinpou cring the staff to scre ice the customer effcctivcl› .

retriei’e the demanded product and ei’en drop ship it if necessan The st stein helps the Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursen to act more effectii eIj because of analytics and reporting capability u hich help in interpreting business trends and accurate forecasting The statistics gencrated b› thc POS s› stein hclps to better manage thc business b› proi’iding access to quick-glance at sales nuitibers, staffing let els. trends, and location dashboards Moreoi er the information can also bc tracked manqall\ and cffectively fulfilling an order

Telecommunication options

Types of rich ork are differentiated based on their size u hich means in terms of number of maJincs: their data transfer speed and their oiitrcach. Depending on this. the netu’orLs can be LAN (Local Area Nets ork). MAN (Metropolitan Area Nets ork), WAN (Wide Area Netu’ork)

Local Aren Nctu orks (LAN) arc the nctu orks internal to the organisation that menus connections between the machines that belong to the specific organisation. These can be connected to thc internet using interconnection cquipment u hcn thc busincss needs to communicate u'ith its custoitiers or staff u ho may phj sicallj located atlong distance. But this mskes data i’ulnerable as it trai’els through a public domain (Mastroeni & Naldt. 2G 10). For this reason. the information u hich is cnicial and sensitii’e for the organisation should not be sent though this route. Additionally . if it still needs to be sent. security can be tightened by encapsulating it in tunnclling protocol u hich means crcation of a Virtual Prii’atc Nctu’ork A promising telecommunication option for the garden centre.

Metropolitan Area Netu ork (MAN) connects close bj LANs u hich are not too distant geographically in an area of fen dozen kilometres at high speeds. MAN iisiiulli u’orks through fibre optic cables and is connected via switches or routers. MAN corrects tu o remote LAN as if they u ere a part of same LAN. This mode can be used u hen the garden centrc scnles up its business,

side Area Netu ork (WAN) connects multiple LANs to each other over huge geographical distances. The speed depends on the cost of connections u hich is in direct connection u ith the distance it travels ( Mastroeni & Naldi, 2010). WAN s operate using routers u hich itself chooses the appropriate path for data transfer, The internet is the best example.

There are dix’erse telecommunication solutions: the most common being u ireless technology and u ired technology such as copper and fibre optic cables. While both have their on n pros

and cons. the u ireless technology is being more frequently coining into use Wireless technologies are easy to install, run and maintain. There are inane factors that hat e an iitiportant role to play like cost savings. flexibility and ponder consuitiption (Mar, 2012). Communication netu’orks are critical iiiilities security’ and indie idual needs u ill decide upon the best solution ( Mastroeni & Naldi, 2010)

Types of risks u hich come u ithPOS system and business protection

Cj ber security is a major issue in even business conceni Large amounts of information is stored and transferred betu ecu cloud systeitis. The Point of Sale is the i eakest point in the security’ plan of a business Hackers can steal i’aliiable information regarding customcrs like their credit card details. bank account information and other i itals POS teclmology should be kept on a separate password encr\ pted netu ork to address the issues (Kienie. German. Tilley & Muller. 20GS).Keeping sofiu are updated is criticalto address sccurity. prii’acy and confidentiality issues The devices need to be secured with passcodes Prin acy is much easier to iin mdc as the POS systems operate on World Wide Web u hich is on open source medium The probleiti becomes more acute if the operating systeiti isout dated as then it can become easier and free for hacking bj cjber thie es. Ei en though a majorit› of us lead normal. boring lii’es brit data about us u hich includes clients is being gathered continuously It may lead to synthesising of innocent looking data into creation of a profile use may not u ant: moreoi’er it mai lead to identity thefi. Prix’acy concern may not seem to be an issue right non but it can become one am time in near fiitiirc because it is liLe somcone is kecping a u’atch ei cry second. Client confidentiality ensures that information pertaining to a client u'ill not be rei’caled to a third party u ithout thc consent of the client or their legsl adi’isors The issues can be addressed by folIou ing protocol and secure back office sj stem

Conclusion

Points of Sale system automatcs man\ proccsses of Four Seasons Green house and Nurser› . iitipro es security and brings add- on i alue for the customers of garden centre. POS sj stem isdesignedand suitablc to all scales of business. especially SMEs. it is perhaps the most re liabIc, robust and dj nainic solution for the retail management It is practically thc most simple and cost efficient management of the dii erse em ironment as it is a one stop solution. It also keeps track of customer consideration for future use. Using a POS system is a u isc decision as it is a scalable model but necessay actions need to be taken to address issues pertaining to sccurit› . privncj‘. confidentiality‘. cost and maintenance issues