Restaurants Improve Profitability and Customer Service with Robust Point-of-Sale System
Point-of-Sale System Adapts to Business Models
LionWise, LLC continues to meet the vital and evolving needs of restaurant and retail businesses, including the growing number of restaurants adding retail sales to improve profitability and address competition for the consumer food dollar. The New England-based company has developed a new hardware platform, as well as a new application, that supports the changing trends of eateries. LionWise required a lightweight, embedded operating system (OS) to run on the Posiflex KS 6315/6115 Series cash register. The solution from Taiwanbased Posiflex offers a quiet touch screen point-of-sale system well suited for hospitality and retail environments. LionWise chose Windows® Embedded for Point of Service for its flexibility and power; the .NET Framework 3.5 managed code programming model; and because the ISV concluded that the Windows platform offers more reliability and a lower total cost of ownership than competing platforms. LIONWISE® Point-of-Sale uniquely adapts to customers’ business models, desired user presentation, and back office reporting and management requirements.
Overview
Country or Region: United States Industry: Hospitality Customer Profile LionWise provides an integrated point-ofsale system designed for table and quick service restaurants, serving both restaurant-only and restaurant-retail style establishments. Business Situation LionWise needed a lightweight, embedded OS to run its latest application on a fanless point-of-sale system. Solution LionWise developers chose the flexible, yet powerful Windows Embedded for Point of Service operating system for the Posiflex KS 6315/6115 Series cash register, a touch screen point-of-sale system well suited for hospitality and retail. Benefits Windows Embedded platform offers reliability and a low total cost of ownership POS efficiencies enable businesses to deliver speedier transactions, boosting customer loyalty .NET Framework 3.5 managed code model allows adaptation to specific business models
"Windows Embedded is the only computing platform that we would trust with our customers’ mission-critical businesses."
Scott Filiault, President, LionWise
Situation
Restaurants and retailers alike want to boost revenue, manage costs, and grow profitability and their customer base by improving and maximizing efficiencies. These businesses want managers to handle back office activities, such as adjusting time cards and running inventory reports, while also servicing the needs of customers. To keep customers coming back, they need to offer diners and shoppers reliable and personalized services. Wait staff have to place customer orders and complete transactions quickly, whether in the restaurant, bar, or at the retail counter. As an independent software vendor (ISV) that provides point-of-sale (POS) solutions and services for restaurants and retailers, the primary mission of LionWise, LLC is to help businesses to operate more profitably while continuing to provide superior customer service through the use of technology. The company founders have experience in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, and applied ERP principles to hospitality and retail. “A restaurant is essentially a manufacturing plant that produces made-to-order goods with inventory, labor, and overhead costs,” says Scott Filiault, president, LionWise. “We build sophisticated workflow-based applications that support vital processes required to run the business.” Since its inception, LionWise has been a Microsoft development shop and member of the Windows Embedded Partners community. “Windows Embedded is the only computing platform that we would trust with our customers’ mission-critical businesses,” says Filiault. The company’s familiarity with and expertise in Windows technologies gives it a real edge in the restaurant POS industry. “We looked at a wide range of OSs, including Linux, but we rejected them because we found that the total cost of ownership is higher with non-Windows platforms,” explains Filiault. “Linux is a difficult platform to standardize around because of lack of third-party support.” Recently, some customers started asking the company for a fanless touch screen
system that would deliver robust performance in harsh environments like sports bars. The ISV saw an opportunity to provide not only a new hardware platform, but also a new application that supports the trend of restaurants carrying retail items. In the past, POS devices have been designed for either restaurants or retail businesses – not a combination of the two.
Solution
Since 2005, LionWise has been working with Posiflex, which specializes in providing point-of-sale hardware solutions for the retail and hospitality industries. Posiflex systems are used by brand name microchains, retailers, and restaurants such as Texas Dairy Queen, Big Boy, and Lone Star Steakhouse. Developers at the company chose the Posiflex KS 6315/6115 Series, a touch screen POS system that uses fanless Intel Celeron or AMD LX 700 embedded processors. This reduces the price point, lowers power consumption, and allows the system to run quietly and fit on counters. The system runs cool, with no fans, heat pipes or liquids, for reduced average time between failures. “The reliability of the fanless Posiflex system is outstanding and meets customer needs for a dependable, rugged POS device that controls the cash drawer at the front of the house and is capable of handling high volumes of transactions,” states Filiault. “We just needed a lightweight operating system to match the reduced computing resources of the embedded processor architecture.” LionWise and Posiflex selected the Windows Embedded for Point of Service OS for LIONWISE® Point-of-Sale. The OS is built on the powerful technology of Windows XP and pre-configured for point of service to support a broad range of retail applications, device peripherals, and service scenarios. Windows Embedded Point of Service is a bootable operating system, which makes it easy to configure and install, enabling faster development and delivery of applications and devices with a smaller footprint. Posiflex KS6115 running LIONWISE® Point-of-Sale
“We looked at a wide range of operating systems, including Linux, but we rejected them because we found that the total cost of ownership is higher with non-Windows platforms.”
Scott Filiault, President, LionWise
Benefits
LIONWISE® Point-of-Sale delivers significant benefits to restaurants and retailers. Business benefits include the ability to adapt to a particular business model with customized workflow and user presentation, leading to enhanced profitability and high-quality customer service. Technical benefits include peripheral connectivity support and the confidence that comes from the familiarity, increased stability, and product support lifecycle of Windows. Easy Adaptation to Business Models The technology architecture behind Windows Embedded for Point of Service makes it possible for the POS system to adapt to each company’s business model, desired user presentation, and back office management requirements. The OS supports the C# language and .NET Framework 3.5, a managed code programming model for building applications on Windows devices. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), a .NET Framework technology, provides a clear separation between the user interface and the business logic. “The .NET architecture allows us to build workflow applications by dynamically creating user interface screens and business logic and then connecting them through workflow,” explains Filiault. “For example, we can create logic that adds a new food item to a menu with a mouse click. That same logic can be assigned to any UI presentation. Thus, we can easily and quickly change our applications to suit a customer’s business requirements.” Another .NET Framework technology, ASP .NET Dynamic Data, helps LionWise build customizable, data-driven applications quickly, without writing code. Dynamic Data provides a rich scaffolding framework that is easily extensible by using the traditional ASP.NET programming model. Enhanced Profitability The LionWise application runs on SQL Server 2005 and connects with Microsoft Server systems at the enterprise level. This gives management the ability to measure and enhance profitability across multiple stores or restaurants.
“At the enterprise level, micro and regional chains need to impose tight financial controls by consolidating sales and labor data on centralized servers,” says Filiault. “They also want a reliable platform that they can depend on and have the confidence to run their mission-critical business operations on it.” With eleven locations across New England, The Meat House is a high-end butcher shop that sells thousands of specialty food items. This micro-chain was one of the first to install LIONWISE® Point-of-Sale. “We have always done a good job of selling the center of the plate,” says Justin Rosberg, co-founder of The Meat House. “With LIONWISE® Point-of-Sale, we now have a better understanding of customer buying habits around the sides of the plate – whether it’s produce, specialty grocery items, frozen foods, wines or desserts.” “We can roll out new deli items across units, run reports for system-wide sales, and proactively work with our franchise partners to fine tune their business through the use of tight financial controls,” notes Rosberg. Initial projections show an 11month ROI on a per-store basis for the Posiflex-based solution, with an increasing value proposition as more stores come into the fold. “As we’re growing from a regional to a national level, we’ll be able to harness that data from points around the country." Valuable business information, critical to controlling costs and increasing revenues, is often accessed through back office reporting. “The .NET application gives us and our customers the ability to easily create and customize reports,” states Filiault. Fast reporting capabilities mean enhanced productivity for managers. “It used to take us hours at night to consolidate financials and do closing reports,” says Joe Donovan, manager of The Baseball Tavern, a large sports bar near Boston’s Fenway Park. “That time has been reduced to just minutes with LIONWISE® Point-of-Sale." Higher Quality Customer Service Efficiencies offered by LIONWISE® Point-ofSale enable businesses to provide speedier transactions for customers, which boosts
“We have always done a good job at The Meat House of selling the center of the plate, with LIONWISE® Point-ofSale, we now have a better understanding of customer buying habits around the sides of the plate – whether it’s produce, specialty grocery items, frozen foods, wines or desserts.”
Justin Rosberg, co-founder of The Meat House
customer loyalty and retention. For example, users can access any function of the LionWise Retail POS System with just two touches. “Our establishment is spread out on four floors with the kitchen on the second floor and a total capacity of 550,” says Donovan, The Baseball Tavern. “Before LionWise, it was a totally chaotic environment during peak hours. Now with faster and more accurate communication between the front- and back-of-the-house, we are running a smooth, controlled operation.” Restaurants and retailers want their most valuable employee, the general manager, spending time on the floor in front of customers. The .NET Framework allows LionWise to move many back office management functions to front of store or restaurant. “Previously, a manager would perform updates in the back office,” Filiault explains. “The ability to adjust inventory or pricing at any terminal allows the manager to be at the counter or in the dining room where he or she has better control over operations. The Windows architecture is what enables us to take back-of-the-house code and then use business layer logic to bring it forward without rewriting any code,” says Filiault. Connectivity with Retail Peripherals Windows Embedded for Point of Service provides support for “plug and play” connections and swaps of peripheral devices. The POS system, for example, enables the business owner to effectively manage inventory through the use of barcode labeling. Barcode scanning is used at the point-of-sale to create sales and purchase history. The data enables restaurateurs to track sales, make inventory adjustments, and process returns.
“When we write to POS standards, it allows us to work with any hardware on that standard without changing any code,” says Filiault. “Retailers feel confident that LionWise and Microsoft will support any OPOS-complaint peripheral, from advanced digital signage to basic cash drawers.” Confidence Today and in the Future For LionWise and its customers, trust starts with Windows Embedded for Point of Service’s business class reliability and stability, which Filiault deems “critical for a sales order execution system.” Additionally, Microsoft’s assurance of world-class support, system updates, and 10-year product support lifecycle give the company’s customers long-term confidence in Windows Embedded. The Windows Embedded architecture assists with Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance through tools to harden the system image and reduce the attack surface. With the latest security updates from Windows XP Pro Service Pack 3, Windows Embedded for Point of Service enables LionWise to configure its system according to a customer’s security environment. Recently, LionWise released LIONWISE® Enterprise to market, which includes Windows Presentation Foundation and Windows Communication Foundation as well as .NET Framework 3.5. “Today we see Windows Embedded POSReady as the next evolution in our mission to help businesses operate more profitably through the use of leading edge technology, and we are eager to take advantage of its new features across our entire product line,” concludes Filiault. Keywords: Point of Service Devices; Retail Point of Sale
Windows Embedded
The Windows Embedded family of products includes Windows Embedded CE, Windows Embedded Standard (the next generation of Windows XP Embedded), Windows Embedded Enterprise, and Windows Embedded for Point of Service. Offered under the Windows Embedded “Ready” moniker, our new connected device category solutions, NavReady and POSReady will ship as preconfigured toolkits with additional category specific functionality and integration. Each Windows Embedded operating system is deployed in demanding embedded environments, providing the proven platform you need to accelerate the development of the next generation of smart, connected, service-oriented devices. For more information visit: www.microsoft.com/embedded
For More Information
For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-ofhearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com For more information about Posiflex products and services, visit the Web site at: www.posiflexusa.com For more information about LionWise, LLC products and services, visit the Web site at: www.LionWise.com
Software and Services
Windows Embedded for Point of Service
Hardware
Intel Celeron M 1.0GHz CPU (Posiflex
® ®
Microsoft Server Product Portfolio − SQL Server 2005 − − − − .NET Framework 3.5 POS for .NET ASP .NET Dynamic Data Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
KS6315)
15" LCD, 250 nits,1024x768 dual, display
Technologies
mode supported
AMD LX 700 CPU (Posiflex KS6115)
40GB HDD or CF device
Partners
Posiflex
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published January 2009