Discuss about the Pros and Cons of POS System.
Organisations are employing information systems strategies to sustain their business progress. However, lack of enormous budgeting forces the SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) to retreat their position in technological adaptation. Hence, for the sustainable development of the SMEs POS (Point of sale) system was introduced in the market in the 1970’s by IBM (IBM 3650 & IBM 3660 store systems) (Mukherjee 2017). Since the time POS systems have undergone many changes and upgradations. However, the real upgrade was introduced in the year 1992 by Bob Henry and Martin Goodwin, when they introduced the first POS software (IT Retail) capable of running on Microsoft Windows (Mukherjee 2017).
The report is designed to offer an in-depth insight of the POS system including the advantages and challenges offered by the same. The competitive advantage offered by the system has also been evaluated along with the risk associated. Taking the support of the case study which signifies the changes that the subject brought in the Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery the system is being assessed.
The introduction of the report states that the deemed subject was designed to assist SMEs in increasing their revenue while maintaining the sustainability. Hence it is essential to measure the advantages offered by them and the challenges that are associated with same. The discussed section deals with the same:
PROS: The most significant advantage that the system offers is reduction in the effort put forth by the human resources of the enterprises while saving the capital from the expenses (Abdalla and Ibrahim 2014). The considered system also enables derivation of the sustainability strategy by analysing the profitability level of all the products offered by the firm. Safekeeping of the information is also an advantage offered by the system.
CONS: The system is an advantageous one however it also offers some challenges like keeping up with the cyber threats can be costly. The reason for stating the statement is because the system is server enabled which makes it vulnerable to cyber attacks. To prevent the attacks, the system should be continuously upgraded which is not cost-efficient (Moser 2012). Another fault of the system is that it is not immune to the physical threats.
POS system offers a highly efficient Employee Management System (EMS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that increase the image of the firm (Aleksandrovna, Fedorovich and Viktorovna 2016). The system also offers easy handling of the informative resources of the firm while meeting the time framework. The decision making and goal defining of the organisation are also enhanced after adaptation of the system. The points mentioned above can be summarised to state that the deemed system helps in resources management of the system. However, it is known that the key to competitive advantage for an organisation is to maintain its resources (Albrecht et al. 2015). Hence, it can be concluded that POS system offers competitive advantage.
Centralising the database offers multiple advantages, most significant of them being the improved integrity and reduced dismissal of the data (Plazzer et al. 2013). Other benefits include suitable data preservation methods, security notifications, proper data administration and secure data transfer. Along with the advantages mentioned above the system also offers ease of use for the users.
POS system enables the organisation with various operations of the organisation with ease and accuracy. However, ease and accuracy are not the only offerings by the deemed system. It also offers money vaults, information safekeeping, EMS, inventory management (IM) and other advantages. One of the other advantages that the system offers is that it enables the organisation in decision making which has been evaluated in this section (Ståhlberg and Maila 2012).
POS offers an innovative and dedicated approach to organisational resource management. EM, IM, CRM and all the operations of the organisations are well established by the deemed system. Self-goal setting for the employees enhances their productivity by reducing the pressure and allowing them to choose the work according to own skillset (Ståhlberg and Maila 2012). The same can be stated for the inventory, as the system helps the organisation to measure the profit based on the products. The data collected can be used to manage their inventory. Information for the future use also receives an appropriate safekeeping method. The deemed system also enables manual tracking of the information in real-time using the bar-code and other available methods. Overall, it can be stated that the system efficiently answers all the questions of an SME regarding the functionality and operations of the firm. The data collected from different operations of the system can be used for further enhancing the system and hence improving the business management.
POS is a collection of different interconnected equipment that assesses in managing the organisational resources. Hence it is mandatory to define the type of networking organisations can equip for the data communication. Depending on the geographical range the telecommunication methods can be categorised into three categories namely LAN, MAN and WAN (Vaquero and Rodero-Merino 2014). LAN (Local Area Network) is the connection of multiple systems through cables (co-axial, fibre-optical or copper cables) within a premise or campus. MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) is used for communication within a town or city through cables or wireless mode. On the other hand, WAN (World Area Network) has no limit to its range. The Internet is the most significant example of the WAN. It can range from a state to entire world. LAN is the most comfortable to maintain and offers high speed because of its short range.
The networking of the systems can also be categorised based on their connection type. Wired and wireless are the divisions depending on the connection type (Perrig and Tygar 2012). Wired connection refers to the communication system where the data is communicated through cables as the channel. While, wireless mode represents the mode where transmission is done through waves (electromagnetic, radio waves or any other waves). SMEs like Four Seasons should equip LAN as the networking type. The reason for the statement made above is that their need is geographically limited and also high speed and less maintenance of LAN are desired for the SMEs. The recommended networking type is also cost-efficient when compared with other modes of networking.
POS systems manage all the resources of the organisation and stores the data collected from it in a single database. Also, it should be noted that the system is connected to a server for the purpose of maintaining all the equipment of the system. The server-based system and storing data in a single database develops risks that are associated with the security, privacy and confidentiality (Cunninggham et al. 2015). In case, the central server is breached all the information that includes, the financial details, employee detail, strategic plans and others related to the organisation will be vulnerable and hence can be exploited. Hence, to prevent any of these threats for arising the organisations should consider the following recommendations:
Conclusion:
The discussions made in the report suggests the importance of the POS system for the SMEs to gain competitive advantage and manage their resources more efficiently. The system also assists the organisation in decision-making by putting forth all the data that can help the latter in making appropriate decisions for the well-being of the organisation and the stakeholders. The report has even offered an insight of the telecommunication methods while recommending the most suitable mode for SMEs like Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery. Risk assessment of the deemed system has also been done to offer recommendations for avoiding security threats. Hence, the report can be concluded to emphasise that the deemed system has the capability of making an organisation more efficient through appropriate management of its operations.
References:
ABDALLA, M.A.A. and IBRAHIM, Y.A.H., 2014. Android Point of Sale (Android POS) (Doctoral dissertation, SUDAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY).
Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. and Saks, A.M., 2015. Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), pp.7-35.
Aleksandrovna, M.E., Fedorovich, N.A. and Viktorovna, P.T., 2016. Potential of the Internet network in formation of the assortment of the trade organizations. European science review, (1-2).
Cunningham, C., Good, T., Kearney, S.P., Miraglia, M., Amundsen, T., Giordano, P., Wang, Y.P. and Zhu, X., Metrologic Instruments Inc, 2015. Point of sale (POS) based checkout system supporting a customer-transparent two-factor authentication process during product checkout operations. U.S. Patent 8,976,030.
Moser, H.G., 2012. PoS (Vertex 2012) 024 3D Interconnection with TSV.
Mukherjee, K., 2017. Technology at Point-of-Purchase-A Journey from Electronic Cash Registers to all Inclusive Point-of-Purchase Systems. Asian Journal of Applied Science and Technology (AJAST), 1(8), pp.01-04.
Perrig, A. and Tygar, J.D., 2012. Secure Broadcast Communication: In Wired and Wireless Networks. Springer Science & Business Media.
Plazzer, J.P., Sijmons, R.H., Woods, M.O., Peltomäki, P., Thompson, B., Den Dunnen, J.T. and Macrae, F., 2013. The InSiGHT database: utilizing 100 years of insights into Lynch syndrome. Familial cancer, 12(2), pp.175-180.
Samek, J. and Hernandez, M., Honeywell International Inc, 2013. Encoded information reading terminal in communication with peripheral point-of-sale devices. U.S. Patent 8,550,335.
Ståhlberg, M. and Maila, V., 2012. Shopper marketing: How to increase purchase decisions at the point of sale. Kogan Page Publishers.
Vaquero, L.M. and Rodero-Merino, L., 2014. Finding your way in the fog: Towards a comprehensive definition of fog computing. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 44(5), pp.27-32.
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