Integrated POS system: the key to your omnichannel strategy

To the German article

A consistent customer experience is crucial to the success of your business. Only those who offer a well-designed customer journey can maintain their market position in the long term. Many customers expect a holistic corporate image alongside with as much flexibility as possible, which cannot be provided by a pure online store concept alone. A purchase in a local store is often preceded by a search for information on the Internet. For consumers, this results in a twofold advantage: they can make targeted purchases without facing possible complications in terms of delivery times and availability. They expect the best of both worlds – independence through presence on the web and direct availability as well as good advice and service on site.

Successful companies therefore rely on an omnichannel approach and meet increasing customer demands by merging their local store and online store. In this article, our technology partner Pickware explains why an integrated POS system is the key to your omnichannel strategy. 

A system that is reliable and offers all the functions you need both online and at the POS is at least as important as a sophisticated strategy for your sales channels. Linking the local and online store with the help of an integrated POS system offers many advantages. Pickware POS is embedded into Shopware 6 and can be booked online via Pickware. It enables you to effortlessly tap into the "local store" sales channel while offering the greatest possible convenience. 

All important data centrally accessible

The requirement for cross-channel retailing is a central inventory management system that creates a common database at all times and thus avoids problems like overselling. With Pickware you will be getting real time access to the current stock in the warehouse and in your store. Sales or reservations are taken into account in real time and synchronization is automated.

This means that you can offer returns in your local store for items purchased right there as well as for online orders. Moreover, the central database is the prerequisite for features like Click & Collect or ship-from-store.

Optimized sales processes - for you and your customers

In Addition to an always up-to-date inventory, the POS system offers you useful product information, customer data and many other functions that simplify selling at the POS. Integrated interfaces make it possible to accept card payments as well as mobile payments (e.g. Apple Pay and Google Pay) at the checkout. Accepting cash payments is also simplified thanks to intelligent quick buttons that automatically calculate possible payment amounts based on the value of the shopping cart, so you don't have to type in the amount received manually.

Through personalized customer cards, you create an individual bond between your customer and company. You can also implement vouchers, shopping cart and item discounts and the differentiation between different customer groups in your POS system. Furthermore, you can use the integrated Rule Builder in Shopware to for example map customer-specific prices.

All this is incorporated in a modern and clean design, combined with high functionality and is easy and intuitive to use for everyone in your sales team.

Write your own omnichannel success story

A good POS solution must be fully integrated in two respects: The actual system must harmonize with the hardware on offer - easy to use and visually appealing. Secondly, the system should be able to be smoothly integrated into an existing infrastructure or a new one being set up. Because only then it guarantees an improvement of the customer experience and subsequently increases the company's sales.

Pickware POS offers all the features that make your omnichannel strategy a success. Through integration with Shopware 6, it's ready for you to use right out of the box.

No bulky hardware is required to use the integrated POS system: The POS app is iOS-based and therefore runs on an iPad or iPhone, which you can connect via Bluetooth to an external barcode scanner, receipt printer and mobile card terminal and thus operate via touchscreen and use flexibly at any location. Whether in a local store, at trade fairs, in a pop-up store or via the online store – you avoid unnecessary interfaces between the sales channels and sources of error. In addition, with Pickware you are always legally compliant and meet the requirements of the German “Kassensicherungsverordung” (KassenSichV).

Simplify your processes now and increase the satisfaction of your customers – make Pickware POS together with Shopware your omnichannel solution.