ECR Retail Systems Case Study: Midland Mainline Ltd
26 Mar 2007
ECR Retail Systems Case Study:
Midland Mainline Ltd
“Our crew members actually request shifts on trains currently running the ECR Epos system, praising it’s simplicity and ease of use.”
Midland Main Line Ltd, winner of at the National Rail Awards 2006, run intercity train services from London to the Midlands. With a fleet of over 32 trains, their services operate from London St Pancras in the South to Sheffield.
Following a previously failed EPoS venture, in January 2005 Midland Main Line Ltd looked for an EPoS company who could supply them with an off-the-shelf solution for their on board catering. ECR extensively tested their system for compliance with Rail Operations Standards and went on to successfully win the contract.
The interactive retail information system required for Midland Main Line trains, called for an industry leading, on-board customer service solution. ECR’s end-to-end catering management system included on-board point of sale equipment and software , integrated with the Midland Main Line system through an ECR head office solution.
ECR’s TouchSoft EPoS platform, which runs on static tills in the buffet bar, uses GPRS technology to transfer information in real time between the train and Midland Main Line’s head office. The system installed has a fixed thermal receipt printer including credit card facilities. Each train is stocked and its manifest loaded via the touch screen. Retail transactions are logged on the system and all sales, stock, tender and operator information is then sent back to Midland Main Line’s head office server. Midland Main Line’s catering analysers can then access in excess of 350 tailored reports, using the ECR reporting tool.
The benefits of the system include, Monitoring of ‘On Train’ catering performance, enabling Midland Main Line to tailor products to customers by journey and time of day. Cost reduction through management of stock flows. ‘On Board’ set up enhances customer service and presents a professional Image. Allows real time replenishment prompts. Reduces the need for manual completion of paperwork, allowing the catering bars to stay open longer. Electronic transfer of data means less paperwork making data more timely and accurate. Management information to help make business decisions. “Our Crew members actually request shifts on trains currently running the ECR Epos system, praising it’s simplicity and ease of use. “ Says Mark Coney, Engineering and Service Manager.
The purchase of the EPoS solution from ECR Retail Systems was ultimately driven by a desire to gain an accurate view of sales levels and have full control over the retail financial’s. The devices offer Midland Main Line Ltd the chance to improve the integrity of stock data and therefore reduce the incidence of over or under supplying a train with any given product line.
With complete visibility of every transaction made, Midland Mainline can profile each route and use the available business intelligence for effective route planning and sales forecasting.