Paper No:
STRATEGIC PLANNING AND CHANGE
HANDOVER REPORT
Project Title: Epos
From: September 2010
Author: Debbie Collins
Creation Date: 12/06/2012
Last Updated: 19/07/2012
Version: 0.3
To: July 2012
Change Record
Date
Author
12/06/2012
06/07/2012
19/07/2012
Debbie Collins
Debbie Collins
Debbie Collins
Versi
on
0.1
0.2
0.3
Change Reference
Initial draft
2nd draft
3rd draft
Distribution
Copy
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
Name
Gill Preston
Jilly Court
Phil Rees-Jones
Barry Clark
Paul Lightowlers
Rob O’Connell
Location
Change Team
Campus Services
Campus Services
Finance Services
Academic Services
Campus Services
1
Contents
1.
2.
3.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5
3.1. Project Objectives............................................................................................................................................................ 5
3.2. Expected Benefits ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
3.3. Project scope ................................................................................................................................................................... 7
3.4. Scope Change/Exceptions ............................................................................................................................................... 8
3.5. Project Activities.............................................................................................................................................................. 8
3.6. PROJECT RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................................................ 9
a) Staff ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
a) Finance ................................................................................................................................................................................ 9
c) Support & Training ............................................................................................................................................................ 10
3.7. ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT DELIVERY TO DATE ............................................................................................................................... 11
3.8. Project objectives met/not met to date ........................................................................................................................ 11
3.9. Project activities completed to date.............................................................................................................................. 11
3.10.
Benefits realised to date ........................................................................................................................................... 12
3.11.
LESSONS LEARNT ............................................................................................................................................................... 13
a) Positive lesson learnt ........................................................................................................................................................ 13
b) Constructive lessons learnt ............................................................................................................................................... 13
4. ACTIONS TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT............................................................................................................................................. 15
4.1. Resources ...................................................................................................................................................................... 16
4.2. Budget ........................................................................................................................................................................... 16
4.2.1.
Gross Profit targets ................................................................................................................................................... 17
5. CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................................................................... 19
a) Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................................... 19
2
1. Executive Summary
The goal of this project was to improve the g.p% across the shops, catering and bars by 2% by July 2011 by
purchasing a “head office” epos system. This system was expected to enable the following:
•
Improved stock control, standardised pricing, recipe management within catering areas, increased rate of
customer service, more accurate recording of sales, customer accounts for internal departments and
Improved financial reporting systems (Link: Objectives)
The original budget agreed was £341,000. The spend to date, as at July 2012 is £298,082 (Link: Finance)
Key lessons learnt to date are:
1) To ensure that the specifications in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) are absolutely clear about the UoE’s system and
support expectations
2) To visits a number of suppliers’ reference sites to see their systems in action before the supplier presentation
stage (Link: Lessons learnt)
This project is now being handed over to the Epos Administrator for completion. This document sets out the actions
needed to complete this project (Link: Actions to complete this project)and contains an updated project plan which
captures how to meet any outstanding objectives, activities and benefits .
3
2. Introduction
The aim of this document is to provide sufficient information for the project to be handed over from the current
project manager and to reassure the board that the handover is thorough.
This document will cover the following areas:
-
Background
Project objectives
Original resources and budget
-
An assessment of the project delivery to date
Project objectives, activities and benefits achieved to date
Lessons learnt to date
-
Actions to complete this project
Project plan
Ongoing resources & budget
Project governance
4
3. Background
The Campus Services management team required a campus wide Epos (Electronic Point of Sale) system to make a
substantial contribution to increased sales turnover, lower stock levels, and higher gross profit % (GP). The Epos
system was installed to enable the control of sales and stock holding and offer a set of comprehensive management
Information reports.
This new Epos system encompasses a wider range of Campus Services retail shops, catering and bars, offering a
merchandise and financial overview of the business at the touch of a button.
Campus Services needed to demonstrate their continuing competiveness, supporting the “More for less” initiative:
increasing revenue, whilst driving costs down.
The previous Epos trial in 2010 within retail showed a number of proven benefits including:



The ability to monitor and control gross profit: any deviations from expected gross profit % are reported
for remedial action
Remote access leading to improved time management for users
Timed control for special offers enabling special offers to be run during set times of the day or a set
period: starting from and to
In addition to these benefits, it was felt a wider roll out of an Epos system would offer benefits in: turnover &
profitability, customer service, stock management, management benefits and technology.
The original scope covered the installation of 55 Epos tills across Campus Services; 30 for catering, 14 for bars, 11 for
shops.
3.1.
Project Objectives
To improve the g.p% across the shops, catering and bars by 2% by July 2011 by purchasing a “head office” epos
system which will enable:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Improved stock control through wastage and profit margin monitoring, purchase orders and tracking of inter
outlet stock transfers
Standardised pricing
Recipe management in all catering outlets and bars
A facility for a complete price file enabling the scanning of all products will increase the rate of customer
service
Increased sales due to targeted promotions e.g. Meal deals and linked deals. Staff prompts for up-selling
More accurate recording of sales made through smart tills
Customer accounts for internal departments
Improved financial reporting systems
5
3.2.
Expected Benefits
Managers can access the system remotely from any computer, enabling greater flexibility and improved time
management.
More special offers – Simplifies the process of which offers run and when promotions can be date or time specific.
In addition to these benefits a wider roll out of an Epos system will offer benefits in:
Turnover & profitability
An increase in GP % through the calculation of optimum selling price and improved stock holding mix.
Accuracy of selling prices due to the use of bar-code scanning at the till point and buttons for items
The system will flag the need for price increases when goods are bought at higher cost prices.
The identification of low margin lines will increase the control of margins at each outlet and will allow for the agreed
differentiation of selling prices.
The availability of customer accounts will lead to an increase in turnover. Not only will it ensure the recording of
sales that are currently written on paper transfers, it will increase the number of departments that are able to use
the facility.
Stock management
Epos decreases the incidents of theft because it eliminates under-ringing and label switching. It provides tighter
control of stock. Epos introduces a deterrent effect for theft, by quickly identifying problem area/times, allowing
close monitoring of shrinkage levels. Improved stock control. Stock will be accounted for not only in terms of sales,
but stock holding, recipe management and rolling stocktakes will ensure that stock holding values are accurate and
up to date.
Purchase orders raised via the system will decrease the delivery input time. Once the delivery has been confirmed as
correct against the purchase order and invoice, the delivery can be automatically put into stock at the touch of a
button.
Management benefits
Administration will be streamlined: less paperwork and less dual reporting. This will be apparent within Campus
Services, the Cash Office and Finance & Systems. The interface to Aptos will enable the direct transfer of predefined
information from Epos. Real time financial reporting: The head office system can offer a “live” business overview,
products sold, gross profit achieved, volume of sales per trading hour across the trading accounts as a whole.
Increased management effectiveness, as processes are streamlined, managers can focus on other aspects of the
business.
Improved management information to aid decision making. Managers can review their top sellers, allowing them to
remove items that do not sell well and to increase volumes of more popular lines. Promotions can be directed at
products that achieve a high profit margin to drive increase sales etc. With all of this information available through
6
the system and formatted into easy to read reports will free up the managers’ time to focus on other areas of the
business.
Management control: The reports that are to be produced at “Head office” level will highlight the performance in
each area, allowing key personnel to set sales targets and other KPIs.
Improved training: Staff that work at a number of different sites will only need to be trained on 1 till and/or 1 back
office computer, as the equipment and software functionality will be the same at each site.
Technology
Interface to smart card technology: The system will be ready to offer a University smart card solution, should the
University choose to adopt a “cashless” system. This would enable Campus Services the ability to offer “Cashless”
sales to the students, staff and visitors.
Linking technology systems to create an Interface to Aptos will save time and money. It will alleviate double entry of
data for both Finance & Services and the Cashier’s Office. This would serve to automate the transference of the
following information:
Supplier invoice costs - per supplier / per invoice.
Sales income – Breakdown of cash/card payment/cheques/on account/coupons.
Accounting data - Sales - VAT & cash overs/unders, wastage, stock losses & gains, stock valuation.
Customer service
The introduction of integrated chip & pin will reduce card payment time from 49 seconds to 10 seconds: reducing
queuing time.
More efficient service at the till point: The service will be faster due to the ability to scan each product within retail
or press a preset button relating to the product for catering and bars.
Better customer service, due to ability to add prompts – “good morning”, “that is on a buy one get one free offer”.
The ability to “layaway” sales, especially in bars, enables staff to hold a customer's sales information whilst they
serve another customer then they can return to their previous customer to complete the sale: reducing; queuing
time.
3.3.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Project scope
55 epos tills across Campus Services; 30 for Catering, 14 for Bars, 11 for Shops
5 integrated scales /1 scales with label printer
Stock control
Interface to Aptos
Recipe management
Integrated chip and pin
Customer accounts
Financial control and management information system
Interface for smart card
7
3.4.
Scope Change/Exceptions

The number of tills rolled out decreased from 55 to 33. This included 6 tills no longer needed for Westpoint

4 tills have been transferred from the bank of conference tills; an additional till for La Touche, an additional
till for the Terrace, 1 for Queens Cafe and 1 for Holland Hall

1 till to be transferred from Queens Cafe and 1 till from Harry’s to the Market Place
3.5.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Project Activities
Procure (via tender) required epos hardware and software
Install necessary data cabling and power requirements
Rollout Epos hardware and software install in 1) retail 2) catering and 3) bars
Develop price file for retail, catering and bars in line with pricing policy and g.p requirements (taking into
account premium pricing for specific outlets), minimum & maximum stock levels for suggestive ordering,
supplier reference numbers
Catering to agree a common menu (where possible) for recipe management
Test system and interface to Aptos
Pre rollout preparation e.g. Training (tills, software, recipe management , Stocktake)
Go live
Train staff on required management information reporting
Build and deliver communications plan
Update policies and procedures
Benefits management
8
3.6.
Project Resources
a) Staff
The project team to date:
Job Title
Name
Days required or % of time
Project Board
Jilly Court (Project Sponsor), Phil Rees-Jones,
Barry Clark, Paul Lightowlers, Rob O’Connell
Monthly meetings (1hr)
Project Manager
Debbie Collins
80% fte to Jan 2012
10% Jan – July 2012
Epos Administrator
Rob O’Connell
100% fte
Systems Accountant
Martin Henson
418 hours since mid sept
2011
Terrace, PCC. Harry’s & Queens Kellie Greenwood
Manager
70 hours during set up
Reed Hall Manager
Paul Weller
20 hours during set up
Retail Shops Manager
Mat Blee
700 hours during set up
St Lukes Manager
n/a (with support from project manager)
20 hours during set up
a) Finance
The current spend against the original budget:
Project Setup Costs - Year 1
Hardware
Hardware Support
Software
Annual hosting fee
Installation costs
MCR costs total
Network installation
Additional costs
Staff costs
Legal
Contingency
Budget
120,000.00
12,000.00
60,000.00
5,000.00
19,000.00
216,000.00
17,000.00
0.00
86,000.00
2,000.00
20,000.00
July
82,658.00
6,367.00
15,960.00
7,603.00
21,006.00
133,594.00
11,644.49
12,295.39
118,548.00
2,000.00
20,000.00
Variance
37,342.00
5,633.00
44,040.00
-2,603.00
-2,006.00
82,406.00
5,355.51
-12,295.39
-32,548.00
0.00
0.00
UoE costs total
125,000.00
164,487.88
-39,487.88
Total
341,000.00
298,081.88
42,918.12
9
Ongoing operational costs:
CaS Running Costs
Budget
Actual May
Years 2-5
Years 2-5
Hardware Support
12,000.00
10,611.90
Software inc hosting fee
11,000.00
12,184.50
MCR costs total
23,000.00
22,796.40
Staff costs - Head Office UoE
23,386.00
23,386.00
Total
46,386.00
46,182.40
c) Support & Training

The initial role out training was provided by MCR

Training within the outlets is managed in the workplace by the site manager

The Epos Administrator carries out the training on the back office functionality

The system is supported by MCR’s support team – site managers check with Rob first and then escalate to
MCR
10
3.7.
Assessment of Project Delivery to date
The project objectives, activities and benefits not met to date as set out below are related to the delayed recipe
management roll out and the anticipated management information that is to be produced. The tasks to achieve
these objectives have been added to the project plan (Link: Project Plan)
3.8.
Project objectives met/not met to date
Objective
Increase g.p. by 2%
Improved stock control through wastage and profit
margin monitoring
Purchase orders and inter outlet stock transfers
Standardised pricing
Recipe management in catering
Stock management in bars
Customer service improved by the input/scanning of all
items
Increased sales from targeted promotions- eg meal deals
More accurate recording of sales through smart tills
Customer accounts for internal departments
Improved financial reporting systems
3.9.
Met
(34.4)
Retail
Not met
Catering
Met
Not met
(60.9)
✓
Bars
Not met
(65)
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
n/a
n/a
Met
✓
n/a
n/a
✓
✓
n/a
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
n/a
✓
✓
✓
✓
n/a
✓
n/a
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Project activities completed to date
Project activity
Met
Epos hardware and software procured
Data cabling and power requirements installed
Epos hardware and software installed
Price file developed
✓
✓
✓
✓
Common menu agreed for catering
n/a
Test system and interface to Aptos
Pre rollout preparation
Train staff on management information reporting
Build & deliver comms plan
Update policies and procedures
Benefits management
Retail
Not met
Mins &
max
n/a
Catering
Met
Not met
Met
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Met where
possible
✓
✓
✓
n/a
✓
✓
✓
Bars
Not met
✓
✓
✓
Project Board & working group formed
On -going
See below
11
3.10. Benefits realised to date
Expected benefits
Retail
Met
Not met
Catering
Met
Not
met
Bars
Met Not met
Remote any for managers to the system
The system flags if goods have been bought at a higher
price
Introduce customer accounts to increase turnover and
remove the need for a paper-based process
Epos will decrease the incidents of theft through stock
loss reports and till/clerk reports
Streamlining administration work – less paperwork & less
dual inputting
Improved management information produced via the
system to aid discoing making for managers
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Reports produced allow key personnel to set targets and
KPIs
Improved training – staff can move between sites
without the need for additional training
Interface to smart card technology is available via the
system
Integrated chip and pin to reduce card payment time
Improved customer service with till prompts
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
La
Touche
& XFI
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Need
dev
✓
✓
12
3.11. Lessons Learnt
Key lessons learnt to date are:
1)To ensure that the specifications in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) are absolutely clear about the UoE’s system and
support expectations
2) To visits a number of suppliers’ reference sites to see their systems in action before the supplier presentation
stage.
a)

b)
Positive lesson learnt
The sales reporting function has proved more effective than expected
Constructive lessons learnt
Procurement
The TUCO framework was the chosen procurement framework because it:



Had 5 suppliers deemed “fit for purpose”
Managed the incumbent
Reduced the length of the tender process by a number of months
An EU tender would have offered more possible supplier options in number, however pre-procurement research at
trade shows and via telephone conversations showed that many systems were not all encompassing (to cover retail
and catering operations)
Supplier selection: How to avoid misleading sales pitches or incomplete information when purchasing hardware and
software

Visiting potential suppliers’ reference sites (at the expression of interest stage) ahead of the tender stage is
necessary to capture any hidden double handling, software and hardware issues so these can be negated by
the specification. Members of the project team visited Reading University but didn’t see the software in
enough detail to capture any such issues.

MCR started delivering equipment, software and support before the agreement was signed. This decreased
our level of control as a customer because it meant we had no legal leverage for poor performance from the
supplier.

The handheld scanners were supplied free of charge because the suppliers were unable to interface with
retail’s existing handheld scanners. As they were supplied free of charge, the UoE were unable to with-hold
any payments when delivery dates were missed the technology was not as advance as we had been led to
believe. Although there was legal redress in the contract the situation was not deemed serious enough at this
stage
13
Resources

The Epos Administrator was not appointed until mid January of 2012. This, coupled with managers’ busy
schedules, meant there was not sufficient resource available for the initial set up and roll out of the tills. In
future it would be important to manage project roll outs according to realistic timescales and reflect this in
the project plan

The administration workload was far heavier than expected and it has been difficult to manage 2 areas at
one time. The project plan has been updated accordingly to ensure a smooth roll out of the rest of the
project
The delay of the handheld scanners and the issues thereafter has caused increased administration work for
ordering and stocktaking within retail. This has been reflected in the budget forecast

It Support

The Epos-Aptos interface discussions have been ongoing since November and we have not yet found a
solution. IT involvement at the beginning of the project would be advisable in future to create the
specification for the interface for the ITT (the need for this interface has become more important as the
project has evolved with the introduction of P2P)

There were issues with the network connectivity during the install for some of the areas, I had liaised with IT
prior to the install to ensure the roll out was problem free. It may have been better to have an IT technician
present at each go live to deal with any issues as they arrived

The suppliers’ support times of 09.00 – 17.30 Monday to Friday and out of hours service from 17.30 – 22.00
Monday to Friday and 09.00 – 22.00 Saturdays and Sundays has proved inadequate as there is a longer wait
for problem solving out of hours and many of Campus Services’ areas operate during those times
A future solution would be to procure additional support hours so that issues are dealt with more
efficiently.

There have been connectivity and speed issues with the software as it is a web based system. Future
consideration could be given to managing the software via a university server rather than the supplier’s
14
4.
Actions to complete this project
15
4.1.
Resources
The budget below includes the additional resources to complete the project as per the project plan.
Additional resources included are:

3 months additional administration to support the Epos administrator to enable effective review of
management information (£4,800)

Acting up allowance for the Epos Administrator to complete the project (£2741.25)

Stock taking provision for retail (£6,000)

Labour for the reconfiguration of the Market Place counter to install an additional 2 tills
4.2.
Budget
Project Setup Costs - Year 1
Hardware
Hardware Support
Software
Annual hosting fee
Installation costs
Budget
120,000.00
12,000.00
60,000.00
5,000.00
19,000.00
July
82,658.00
6,367.00
15,960.00
7,603.00
21,006.00
Forecast
0.00
0.00
1,080.00
0.00
0.00
Total
82,658.00
6,367.00
17,040.00
7,603.00
21,006.00
Saving
37,342.00
5,633.00
42,960.00
-2,603.00
-2,006.00
MCR costs total
Network installation
Additional costs
Staff costs
Legal
Contingency
216,000.00
17,000.00
0.00
86,000.00
2,000.00
20,000.00
133,594.00
11,644.49
12,295.39
118,548.00
2,000.00
20,000.00
1,080.00
0.00
250.00
13,541.25
0.00
0.00
134,674.00
11,644.49
12,545.39
132,089.25
2,000.00
20,000.00
81,326.00
5,355.51
-12,545.39
-46,089.25
0.00
0.00
UoE costs total
125,000.00
164,487.88
13,791.25
178,279.13
-53,279.13
Total
341,000.00
298,081.88
14,871.25
312,953.13
28,046.87
The saving of £28,046.87 as set out above has been achieved by the following:


Reduction in scope from 55 to 33 tills
Savings on the original budget set up costs (additional to the savings on till reductions)
Additional costs that have not impacted on the savings include:

Additional administration support to manage the heavy workload
Additional costs that may impact on the saving include:

The cost of the interface to Aptos. The budget has allowed for £6,666 in staff costs to cover the IT support of
an F grade for 2 months, however, the budget does not have an allowance for possible costs from the
supplier
Currently, at completion, the project should see a saving of circa £48,000 if the contingency is not required.
16
4.2.1.
Gross Profit targets
To allow for a thorough assessment of the financial benefits still to be realised from this project, it has been agreed
that the gross profit targets for the new financial year 2012/2013 will be used to measure success. These targets are
as follows:
Area
Target Gross Profit
Business School Food
62%
Terrace Food
60%
Functions & Events Food
63%
Peter Chalk Cafe Food
53%
Function & Event Bars
68.5%
Market Place Retail
35%
St Lukes Retail
31%
St Davids Retail
29%
Birks Grange Retail
29%
Cornwall House Retail
39%
17
4.3.
Project Governance

The Epos administrator to become the Project Manager to guide the completion of this project

Project Board Meetings to continue on a monthly basis

Quarterly meeting with the supplier to manage relationships and performance
4.4.
System Ownership

Campus Services are the “owner” of the system

MCR are the supplier of the hardware and software support, including the server

UoE IT will support the Aptos Interface when it is installed
18
5. Conclusions
The roll out of the tills has been a success; the staff find them easy to operate, prices are more accurate and
we are receiving useful management information.
The roll out of the stock element of the software has been more labour intensive than anticipated.
Continuing issues with software updates and faulty hardware (barcode scanners) have caused delays and
required additional labour resource.
Due to the amount of resource that it takes to set up a system of this nature, this project is being handed
over before completion. Ongoing works include:


Review of the recipe management pilot and scoping the scale of the roll out to the other catering
areas
Completion and implementation of the interface to Aptos
The main objective of an increase in gross profit of 2% has not yet been met across catering and bars.
Overall, the software is very effective and future functionality developments will be of great benefit to
Campus Services
a) Acknowledgements
i.
Project Board – Jilly Court, Phil Rees-Jones, Barry Clark, Paul Lightowlers
ii. Others – Rob O’Connell: Epos Administrator
Author: Debbie Collins
Title: Project Manager
Date: 25/07/2012
19