fbpx There are countless challenges in running a retail operation. What merchandise should I select? How should my store be organized? Where do I look for customers and how do I get them to come through the door? Beyond some of these retail fundamentals, you also have to decide on numerous business processes that will define the everyday operations of your store. For new business owners, determining these specific business processes can be a matter of trial and error. If you have experience in the industry, you probably have some basic ideas about the processes you want to implement inside your operation. As your business continues to grow and becomes more successful, you’ll experience process refinement and fine-tune all these business operations that have aided your success. Managing these processes as an owner operator is the best way to ensure process continuity. But as you grow and become busier, it generally becomes necessary to bring in help to run your store.  People are an important asset and hiring people who will embrace your processes is key. Regardless, you’ll be there to make sure things are running the way you envisioned, right? But what happens when you open that second store?  What about a third? You have now encountered a whole new set of challenges around new business processes, in addition to trying to exercise oversight of your original vision. Now you need help. The best tool for tackling these multi-location retail challenges is a cloud-based POS and inventory management system. Being able to look in one place and oversee your entire operation, in real-time, is a key to effective organizational management. You need real-time reflection of inventory levels for evaluating transfer and purchasing decisions.  You need real-time insight into daily store/salesperson performance.  You need to see what products are turning over quickly, company-wide and in individual locations. RICS Software has been providing its retailers with a real-time solution for years. Being cloud-based has ensured that our retailers are no longer worrying about being in the IT business.  They can see across their organization in seconds. They can get real-time access to countless evaluative metrics for gauging their locations’ performance. RICS is helping retailers with multiple locations buy from themselves (transferring inventory) instead of ordering more from suppliers. It also has the business intelligence capability to analyze how your inventory is performing across all locations and recommend those inventory moves, saving you countless hours of analysis. Set yourself up for success from the start. Selecting the right inventory management system will be quintessential to your growth. Find the right system from the beginning and feel confident that a POS technology is something you want from a partner, not a provider. For more information, check out our Guide to Multi-Store Management.