For Peter Haley of Bumps Snowsports, a custom-tailored POS and retail solution was crucial to maintaining their market leading position.

Changing POS systems is a challenging task for any retailer. It’s difficult finding the right system and making the transition without interrupting day-to-day operations. Univex helped Bumps Snowsports retain historical data and provide new, customised functionality. Switching POS was not only easy it was essential to improving operational efficiency provide a fantastic customer experience.

Background

Bumps Snowsports is a Melbourne retail institution. Established 40 years ago by Peter and Glenda Haley, Bumps is the city’s premier destination for ski and snow equipment, apparel, service, and expert advice. Their success is built upon a foundation of superior customer service.

The Challenge

Bumps’ existing POS software provider was no longer innovating and able to adapt to changing needs. It was a reliable system but rigid in its operation. Customisation and feature development wasn’t available. The link to the website was primitive and required staff to perform manual operations when orders were received or gift vouchers redeemed.

Ongoing software customisation is desirable to Bumps to maintain customer service levels. For example:

  • Extra receipts need to automatically be printed for ski purchases to be sent to the fitting department.
  • On completion of layby list all the products purchased on the final customer receipt.
  • Purchase orders placed on supplier portals needed to be imported in to the inventory system to eliminate data re-entry which is time consuming and prone to error.

Customisation of software is a frequent problem faced by successful retailers. Most retail software vendors do not provide a customisation service. Instead, they tend to supply a one-size-fits-all product that their retail store customers are expected to adapt to. Cloud-based POS systems are often impossible to customise.

In addition to customisation there it was important to bring data across from the existing system. The seasonal nature of selling ski gear makes it important to retain detailed records of customer purchases and preferences over many years. When a customer needs to replace or upgrade their equipment, purchase accessories, or requires service, Bumps staff refer to that customer’s transaction history to retrieve style, sizing and other information. This historical sales information is stored digitally in their POS and inventory database. It was imperative that this data be retained to maintain Bumps’ reputation for high levels of customer service.

Peter from Bumps reached out to Univex in early 2022 to see whether there was a complete solution available that addressed both customisation and data conversion, and that we were capable of supporting the retailer’s continued growth.

 

The Journey

Staff from Univex visited Bumps on numerous occasions and listened to understand exactly what was needed for a successful implementation. Key success factors were agreed upon:

  1. Retention of historical customer, sales and purchasing data.
  2. Two-way connection to their Magento 2 website to automatically upload product data and download new orders.
  3. System to kept gift voucher balances synchronised between website and POS, and allow either to be redeemed in the other system.
  4. Various other customisations to POS and backoffice to improve operational efficiency and customer experience.

In subsequent weeks Univex staff collaborated with Bumps to refine requirements and review progress, particularly with data conversion. Sample databases were presented to Bumps for evaluation. This gave both parties confidence that data was being brought across correctly and that the installation would go smoothly. Additional customisations were made in response to confidence in the Univex solution.

Maintaining Flexibility

The ski season ramped up quickly in June 2022 and with it a sharp rise in sales activity for Bumps to meet customer demand. The best approach for Bumps was to defer installation until Spring when the rush of ski season has passed. This allowed even more customisation and fine tuning to be done before the installation begun in September 2022. Flexibility and friendliness are the hallmark of Univex customer service.

Today

Univex went onsite prior to installation, and onsite again for the installation to facilitate a smooth transition from old system to new. There was no downtime on day one. All historical data is imported, and even improved by repairing errors and inconsistencies in their previous database. The improved link to their eCommerce site was turned on and provided immediate benefit with 2-way data synchronisation to eliminate manual data entry. Additional software improvements are being released each week and regular communication is maintained. Bumps staff have embraced the change and already reaping the benefits of a more streamlined POS and retail management system.