ePub: The electronic eye
Scottish bar and nightclub operator Castle Leisure Group (CLG) is already enjoying the fruits of new EPoS and back-office systems installed earlier this year across the six-strong chain.
CLG specialises in large venues that incorporate sports bars under the Sportsters brand clubs and restaurants, and was struggling to control businesses which might have more than 20 tills spread between the different parts of a single operation.
"We might have a stocktaking discrepancy of 200 bottles of beer and have no idea where the problem was because stock moves around so much," says chief information officer William McAinsh.
Its new Radiant Systems EPoS, incorporating the US-based company¹s back-office application MenuLink, is web based, meaning that hourly updated stocks and sales information for each outlet is available to head office online.
"It has changed the way we operate," says McAinsh. "We can keep an eye on trading at each of our units and the system is able to track the movement of stocks around the estate and within each business.
"It has been running at two trial sites since February and in all our outlets for seven weeks and so far it¹s proved to be 100 per cent accurate every discrepancy has come down to human error." CLG first approached Radiant 18 months ago after experiencing problems with its existing EPoS system, but it wasn¹t until the beginning of this year that improved flexibility meant the technology could effectively do what the company needed it to.
The next step is the introduction of back-office labour management tools that should enable CLG to measure staff costs through the day in each bar and gain a better control over budgets.
