Clarity Hospitality
EPOS system and infrastructure software: Laurel Pub Company
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Laurel Pub Company, one of the UK's leading managed house operators, has invested in a complete new POS system and infrastructure software from hospitality specialist suppliers Clarity Commerce Solutions. The prime focus was head office software that would allow Laurel to link centrally to the whole chain of managed house pubs within the group. With over 600 sites and over 2500 IBM touchscreens the logistics behind this are obvious for everyone to see.
Client
Laurel is one of the UK's leading managed pub groups, employing around 11,500 staff and operating over 600 managed pubs and bars spread across residential and city locations throughout the UK.
Laurel pride themselves in being as dynamic, forward-thinking and successful as any pub operator in the country, with a team of winning people dedicated to driving the business forward.
Brief
Laurel's prime focus was head office software that would allow them to link centrally to the whole chain of managed house pubs within the group. With over 600 sites and over 2500 IBM touchscreens the logistics behind this are obvious for everyone to see. With a March 2002 to August 2002 rollout it was necessary for Laurel to select a company that they could build a close working relationship with quickly.
Laurel had been in discussions with other suppliers within the industry, but felt after just a short space of time talking with the Clarity team that they had found a group of people who they could work with.
One of Clarity's strengths was an ability to bring to the table already industry proven products and adapt them quickly to Laurel's requirements.
Bruce Gardner, Laurel IT Director states that
Clarity stood out from the crowd in respect of the simplicity of use of their software, the instant availability of an end to end solution, and the flexibility and attitude of the company.
Solution
Working with Laurel's project team Clarity identified early on what the requirements of the system were and the various stages that were necessary for them to achieve the final aim. This enabled them to put in place a plan that allowed them to control a roll out of this size, in very short order.
As well as Clarity there were two other main suppliers who had a bearing on the outcome - IBM and Microtrain Resource. IBM was supplying the project with their SurePos 500 terminals.
Rollout
Microtrain Resource was chosen by Laurel to project manage the actual rollout across the estate. Microtrain, who are part of the Clarity Commerce Group, won the contract based on their industry experience with existing clients such as Six Continents and Scottish & Newcastle, proving that they had the expertise for a project of this size already.
Andy Miller, Microtrain's Managing Director stated
For a project of this size and complexity to run smoothly it is necessary to get the right people at the right time, and we were sure we could achieve this.
Achieve this they did, recruiting over 40 individuals who were trained in the Clarity product and then used as implementers across the Laurel estate.
Outcomes
POS as everyone knows is just the beginning of the subject. In its own right POS is just a till system, however the data it can give you and the subsequent information when analysed can be the difference between profit and loss. Clarity provided a complete system infrastructure which gave managers a certain amount of control over such things as cash management and stock reporting. At Laurel head office Clarity Central software provides the group with complete control and brings together the data from all 600 plus sites.
Graham York, Clarity group CEO stated
Our software has proven itself over a number of years across the industry and we were convinced we had the range of products Laurel required.
Using Clarity Central, Laurel is able to link into other finance packages and EDI systems, providing them with a complete retail management system. Being able to set up stock and pricing policies, alongside promotions and supplier links and getting estate wide reporting information through Cognos the leading business intelligence software. The outcome is a system that provides Laurel with the day to day control a company of their size requires.
The roll out started on time in March and will continue through until August. In some weeks there will be as many as 40 installations going on simultaneously.
Bruce Gardner stated
The control we have now has given us the ability to react to market conditions at any given time, and that is what is required in the modern business world.
