The modern store is home to a variety of technologies, from the ubiquitous point-of-sale terminal to ordering kiosks in fast-food outlets. Keeping these systems operational is not only key in maintaining great customer experience, but in the case of smaller chains or independents, it is critical to conducting business itself. Here are five key takeaways to support your POS.
1. Dedicated Maintenance Contracts Offer Peace of Mind
Most retail devices come with standard warranties, covering basic servicing or parts replacement. More advanced warranties include services like advanced exchange, which offers the retailer a replacement device while the original is fixed offsite, minimising downtime.
For some retailers, the coverage offered by a standard or extended warranty is enough, but many others choose dedicated maintenance contracts. A typical maintenance contract includes onsite repairs by field technicians, as well as services like parts replacement. Depending on the specific service level agreement (SLA), a retailer could expect to see a field technician to fix a critical issue in as little as four hours, although more typical are eight-hour or next-day SLAs.
2. Self-Service Devices Need Extra Attention
The higher levels of support found in a maintenance contract means they are typically costlier than an extended warranty. Despite this, nearly 60% of front-of-store devices in major North American and European markets operate under dedicated break/fix contracts.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a high proportion of self-checkouts are covered by specific maintenance contracts. As these are customer-facing, ensuring high availability is critical for an excellent customer experience. Those that accept cash—still the majority of installations—are more complex and can be more prone to downtime. Higher failure rates make comprehensive service contracts essential rather than optional.
3. Helpdesks Play an Important Role in Retailers’ Service Strategies
For further support, retail and hospitality chains look to outside helpdesks to extend their operational capabilities. At a basic level, helpdesk agents log and track requests and dispatch field technicians. More advanced systems provide agents that can talk a store’s staff through complicated fixes, negating the need to send a technician in the first place. This “shift left” approach empowers frontline employees to address common technical problems, reducing dependence on external technicians and minimising service interruptions.
Helpdesk support contracts are not as common as those for maintenance, with some retailers using in-house teams. For those with a high number of customer-facing devices though, the ability to remotely resolve issues or quickly organise an onsite repair is highly desirable.
4. Monitoring Mobility Is a Must
The number of devices used by retailers across their stores is increasing, and some large operators choose to contract with outside firms to monitor their estates. This is especially true of businesses with a high number of mobile devices, including handheld self-scanning devices used by shoppers in supermarkets. Tracking metrics like battery levels can be vital in ensuring enough devices are available to customers.
Remote monitoring is less commonly used for devices like fixed POS, used by staff members. Some retailers have security concerns around allowing an outside firm access to their device networks.
5. Manufacturers and Third-Parties Compete for Services Contracts
Given the range of the services on offer for retailers, the number of suppliers is equally vast. Hardware manufacturers—such as Diebold Nixdorf, NCR Voyix, and Toshiba—compete with third-party service providers, like Compucom and Pomeroy in North America or Barron McCann in the UK. Many third-party firms have a strong local presence, while some specialise in certain retail segments, such as OWL which caters to fuel-convenience chains in the USA.
Many of these suppliers offer the full range of services, from maintenance to monitoring. Others are dedicated to one core offering. Some provide further services to customers via partnerships with other firms. U.S. firm Decision Point and Spain’s Tier1, for example, are among the maintenance firms working with software supplier Soti to offer remote monitoring solutions to their customers.
Potential for Development in the Service Market Remains High
As the retail technology market continues to develop, the services industry will evolve with it. Many larger providers are already investing in AI solutions, often to support onsite technicians when servicing less familiar hardware or ease helpdesk agents’ workloads by summarising case notes and scheduling technicians. AI is further used to boost monitoring capabilities and predict outages, making for a more responsive service with less downtime at devices. To dive deeper into these trends and learn more about leveraging advanced service contracts, proactive monitoring, and AI-powered support, contact our team.
