Stateways

Stateways Sept-Oct 2014

StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions

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37 StateWays Q www.stateways.com Q September/October 2014 smaller independent retail operations. Set up with Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE), STG's POS assures that no customer data is ever stored by the retailer or transmitted during a trans- action, virtually eliminating the retailer from any po- tential PCI compliance risks. The company partners with Shift4, a leading payment solution gateway, on its security features. "Retailers are paying very close attention to PCI and se- curity in general," states Jeff Davis, Project Manager with STG. "It's probably the most important feature that any business owner should start with when investigating a new POS system. STG is unique because we offer a top-of-the line secured system that's also extremely customizable." STG was the ideal fi t for the Vermont Department of Liquor Control. In 2012, Commissioner Michael Hogan and his team began the long process of selecting a new POS to replace the in-house program the state had de- veloped nearly 30 years prior. While Hogan was intent on fi nding a product that was generally more effi cient all around, security is- sues were his primary concern. "With the widespread use of credit cards at our agencies, customer secu- rity is of utmost concern," Hogan says. "The new [STG] system will provide a more effi cient check-out experience for the consumer while being fully compliant with current and proposed PCI rules." After much time was spent re- searching various vendors, Vermont ultimately chose STG due to its en- hanced security measures, fl exibility, and integration with existing systems. They also checked references and were impressed with what they heard from other STG customers. "STG had done a similar implementation for another state, and we spent some time reviewing that installa- tion with the users and came away feeling positive about STG's ability to listen to their client and to provide a customize solution to meet their needs," Hogan states. Another selling point of STG is that the company partners with Microsoft to offer a seamless user experi- ence with the same familiar look and feel of other Mi- crosoft products. For Vermont, the system's integration with Microsoft Dynamics NAV ensured a stable oper- ating environment from which to build on. Additional features of STG include an age verifi cation tool and 24/7 support. Davis says that STG's commitment to the system implementation process makes transitioning to a new POS a relatively seamless process. At the start of a new contract, STG performs a comprehensive needs analy- sis in order to get a thorough understanding of the way the client operates and what its specifi c needs are. De- tailed project planning, software set-up, and training result in a smooth transition when the "go live date" fi nally arrives. "If proper preparation is carried out, go live is a non- event because we have taken all the steps needed to pre- pare everyone for it in advance," Davis says. "Of course, STG supports the retailer during every step of the transi- tion process." Vermont offi cially launched the planning process with STG in April 2014. Central system testing is scheduled to begin in September, with full system testing launching in early 2015. The target go-live date for the department's central offi ce system is July 2015. Rolling out the new POS to the agencies will occur in small fl ights until all agencies have been converted to STG before the busy 2015 holiday season. Pricing for STG POS systems is determined by a number of factors and is assessed after an individual con- sultation with the company. Finally, as far as security is concerned, remember to consider data back-up as part of your security and support needs. If some- thing happens to one of your computer terminals or registers, will you be able to access your old data? That won't be a problem for Wolf Track Software customers. Their Li- quor POS has been focused on the beverage industry for more than 20 years. Although the company is a SAS provider, the software isn't housed on- line: it can be downloaded to retailers' own machines. And if anything hap- pens to those machines, Wolf Track Software is ready to assist. "Our main selling point is that we make sure that we keep working for our customers, and we make sure they can keep on working, no matter what happens," assures Chris Kindred, a Developer with Wolf Track Software. "If anything happens, such as an employee spilling coffee all over one of your local computers, call us and we can get them back up and running within a matter of minutes. No data will be lost." Wolf Track Software is available for $35 per month, per register. The off-site database backup feature costs an additional $20 per month, per store. PARTING THOUGHTS W ith so many POS options to choose from, retailers should take some time determining what their pri- mary business needs are. There's no one-size-fi ts-all POS option: every system and business is different. Interview multiple vendors to fi nd the right one that works for you. Follow up with that vendor's other clients to get fi rst- hand information about what the implementation was like for them. Finally, work closely with your new POS provider to ensure that the transition to the new program is a smooth one. Systems Technology Group (STG) is another POS vendor that focuses closely on secu- rity, encryption, and support.

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