Shoper 9 Chain Store Implementation
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Shoper 9 Chain Store Implementation
The information contained in this document is current as of the date of publication and subject to change. Because Tally must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Tally, and Tally cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. The information provided herein is general, not according to indi-vidual circumstances, and is not intended to substitute for informed professional advice.
This document is for informational purposes only. TALLY MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT AND SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE OF WHATEVER NATURE, ARISING OUT OF, OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE CONTENT OF THIS PUBLICATION, AND/OR ANY CONDUCT UNDERTAKEN BY PLACING RELIANCE ON THE CONTENTS OF THIS PUBLICATION.
Complying with all applicable copyright and other intellectual property laws is the responsibility of the user. All rights including copy-rights, rights of translation, etc., are vested exclusively with TALLY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED. No part of this document may be reproduced, translated, revised, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Tally may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written licence agreement from Tally, the furnishing of this document does not give you any licence to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.
© 2010 Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.
Tally, Tally 9, Tally9, Tally.ERP, Tally.ERP 9, Shoper, Shoper 9, Shoper POS, Shoper HO, Shoper 9 POS, Shoper 9 HO, TallyDevel-oper, Tally Developer, Tally.Developer 9, Tally.NET, Tally Development Environment, Tally Extender, Tally Integrator, Tally Inte-grated Network, Tally Service Partner, TallyAcademy & Power of Simplicity are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd. in India and/or other countries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
Version: Chain Store Implementation/1.0/February 2010
i
Contents
IntroductionImplementation
Presales ................................................................................................................................................. 3Standard Product Demo ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Understanding Customer Requirements................................................................................................ 4Design and Construct Solution .............................................................................................................. 5Customisation (if required).................................................................................................................................. 5
Conference Room Pilot (CRP) ............................................................................................................... 5Pilot run at Chosen Locations ................................................................................................................ 6
User Acceptance Testing ...................................................................................................................... 6Implementation Rollout in All Locations ................................................................................................. 7End User Training .................................................................................................................................. 8
Help and Support ................................................................................................................................................ 8Post Implementation Activities ............................................................................................................... 9
Post Implementation Support (Limited Period) ................................................................................................... 9
Implementation Closure ...................................................................................................................................... 9Further Support Services and Maintenance ....................................................................................................... 9
Best Practices for Shoper 9 Implementation.......................................................................................... 9
Introduction
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and are centrally managed and usually have common business processes and practices. In the chain store scenario, the retail components consist of,
POS/Store locations
Company Stores
Franchisee Stores
Consignment Stores
Buy & Sell Stores
Distributors
Head Office
Chain stores can be classified as:
Own stores (Company owned):These are owned by the retail company operating the chain. They receive goods from the Suppliers/Vendors on a transfer or consignment basis at the company’s distribution locations. The stock items are owned by the com-pany and will be transferred to the company showrooms. The personnel working in a company owned showroom are employed by it. Operationally, they are controlled and answerable to the head office of the company.
Franchisee or Buy & Sell stores:These are entities which sell goods supplied by the retail company either on agreed or own terms. They purchase the goods from the Dis-tributors/Vendors as per agreement with the head office. The stock ownership rests with the franchisee while the operations may be subject to a minimum control by the head office. There may be franchisee stores stocking and selling items which are owned by the company.
Following are the business activities supported by Shoper 9 in a chain store scenario:
Store is a part of a chain/network controlled by a head office.
The Vendor supplies goods directly to the POS locations, head office makes the pay-ment and tracks goods.
The Vendor supplies goods to the company’s Distributor and the Distributor sends them to POS locations. Head office makes the payment and tracks the goods.
There is constant communication between the HO and other constituents of the chain.
The data management of the retail chain is centralised at the head office.
The stores data is consolidated, replicated at the head office and analysed for decision making (MIS) and execution of future policies.
Head office is only a facilitator and does not transact data but functions as a supervisor of the chain’s activities.
1
Introduction
Implementing Shoper 9 in a chain store scenario requires proper understanding of the cus-tomer’s business needs, good planning and proper execution.
Mentioned below are the recommended best practices to be followed for a successful imple-mentation in a chain store scenario.
Presales
Standard Product Demo
Understanding Customer Requirements
Design and Construct solution
Customisation (if required)
Conference Room Pilot
Pilot run at chosen locations
User Acceptance Testing
Implementation rollout in all locations
End User Training
Help and Support
Post Implementation Activities
Post implementation support (limited period)
Implementation closure
Further support services and maintenance
However, all activities mentioned are not compulsory in all implementations. An activity like the conference room piloting depends on the request and agreement with the customer.
2
1. Implementation
1.1 PresalesPresale is the first activity where you will be prepared to engage with the prospective client.
It is a process or a set of activities normally carried out before a customer is acquired, though sometimes the activity extends into the period the product or service is delivered to the customer. The activities include the following:
Check if the client has other applications which are to be integrated with Shoper 9.
Provide approximate cost of Shoper 9 deployment based on the number of stores distributors, vendors and the requirements at head office.
Arrange for a standard product demo.
Note: All documents/tools referenced in this guide are available on the Partner Portal of Tally website.
Meet the client and discuss the require-ments.
Gather information on their past experi-ence, current business lines, product range, physical & IT infrastructure, peo-ple, etc.
Find the customer’s expectations from Shoper 9.
Appraise them of our past experience and organisational capability as a solution provider to retail chains.
Impress on the service aspect in terms of our office network, partner network, sup-port structure, satisfied customers, etc.
Highlight on the integrated offering of Shoper 9 with Tally.ERP 9 for managing both retail and accounting operations of the client.
3
Implementation
Standard Product DemoThe important points to be followed are:
Provide a demo covering all important product features
Address the broad requirements of the client
Use client’s data effectively to map requirements with product features
After the presales discussion and product demo, the prospective client places the purchase order with us. However, a few customers place orders only after a detailed demo is given.
The demo provided describes all the functionalities of the product and addresses specific requirements of the prospective client.
Once you have completed the demo for the prospect, you have to estimate the effort required to complete the planned implementation activities. Based on the scope of activities, you can estimate the effort required for the product implementation for communicating the project period and negotiating the commercials. These are rough estimates and vary based on client’s requirements and other factors. Refer the Implementation Effort Estimate Tool to estimate the effort required for the implementation by considering the various factors that affect the schedule of the project.
1.2 Understanding Customer RequirementsTo ensure that all requirements of the client are addressed, you need to understand the existing business operations and gather the detailed requirements. During this phase use the Requirement Study and Configuration Tool, to map the business requirements of the customer with the configuration settings (sysparam settings) available in Shoper 9. You can also refer to this tool while preparing the customer specific business template. Examine if Shoper 9 answers most of the client’s requirements and if there are gaps, finalise the broad areas of customisation with the client.
Other aspects to be looked into during this phase are:
Understanding the Item Master structure required by the Customer (Refer Itemmas-ter Classification.doc)
The inward and outward process
The report requirements of the chain
The hardware and software requirements
4
Implementation
For details, refer the Requirement Study and Configuration Tool document which provides the facility and flexibility to gather client’s requirement in a questionnaire format.
Design and Construct SolutionDuring this phase carry out the following steps:
Document in the Business Solution Design Document
existing business process.
requirements and recommendations for process changes for customer approval.
incorporate the recommended solution including customisations, workarounds (if any). The solution design starts after the approval from the customer.
The Business Solution Design Document spells out clearly your understanding of the cus-tomer’s business needs and helps in effective implementation of the product. The document is used as a guide to measure the effectiveness of the implementation activity.
The solution design phase for Shoper 9 implementation includes customisation of the business template, printing templates,mapping the requirements of customer to Shoper 9, interface customisation, preparation of custom installer and custom LiveUpdate. The docs mentioned are available for reference in the partner portal on our website.
Customisation (if required)For any customer requirements which are not addressed by the standard functionalities of Shoper 9, such gaps have to be met through customisations.
1.3 Conference Room Pilot (CRP)With the solution configured and ready for the customer, arrange for a Conference Room Pilot (CRP). The purpose of CRP is to validate the solution designed through Shoper 9 against the business processes of the customer. The customer’s sample data has to be used in the CRP.
The CRP is done to ascertain how well Shoper 9 meets the business needs and identifies gaps, if any, in the design phase of the project. There is an expectation that changes will be required before acceptance of the solution.
The steps carried out in a CRP are:
1. Installation of Shoper 9 HO, Distributor and POS as per the scope
2. Functionality demonstration
3. Validation of interface with the third party software, if ready
4. Work on complete business process of the client to provide inputs
Obtain feedback on the requirements and performance of respective flavours.
5
Implementation
1.4 Pilot run at Chosen LocationsImplement the proposed solution by installing:
Shoper 9 HO in the client’s head office
Shoper 9 POS/Distributor in locations selected by customer
Pepare a list of activities to be performed at these locations (Refer Implementation & Training Checklist for Rollout document)
Perform the user acceptance test
User Acceptance TestingUser Acceptance Testing (UAT) is often the final step before rolling out the application. Usually the end users who will be using Shoper 9 test the product before accepting the solution. This type of testing gives the end users the confidence that the solution being delivered to them meets their requirements.
For an effective UAT:
create elaborate business scenarios or obtain test cases from customer
test the scenarios
rectify issues found during this stage to ensure a smooth rollout
Steps to be followed in UAT:
Examine:
the data exchange activities between the Head Office and the POS locations.
generation of the related reports.
Check for the interface with other business applications like Tally.ERP 9 to ensure that it is able to generate the necessary reports for internal and external use.
To ensure a successful completion of UAT and the application readiness for roll out:
resolve the reported issues.
take a sign off on the outcome of the pilot run.
To manage changes in customer’s business rules which impact project schedules:
obtain change requests from the customer and ensure they are met by customisa-tion.
test the changes made to the product with test cases obtained from the customer.
6
Implementation
1.5 Implementation Rollout in All Locations
The Shoper 9 Custom Installer has to be prepared to ensure that the approved customer specific business template and the customisations can be deployed in the rollout locations. Please refer Shoper 9 POS Customised Installer.pdf for the creation and deployment of Custom Installer.
Refer the Implementation and Training Checklist for Rollout document to get the imple-mentation sign off from the customer.
When the client is satisfied with the product per-formance after the pilot run and sign off is received, plan the rollout programme to implement the product in other locations. Before the rollout date, the implementer has to make sure that the prerequisites are ready.
Serial No Prerequisite for rollout
Tool Responsibility
1 Shoper 9 Shoper 9 CD Customer
2 Customer Specific Business Template
Shoper 9 CD Implementer
3 Customised Exes Shoper 9 CD Implementer
4 Custom LiveUpdate Custom LiveUpdate location & patches
Implementer
5 Hardware & Software readiness for rollout locations
H/W & S/W Readiness Checklist
Customer
7
Implementation
1.6 End User Training
Help and SupportEducate the customer on the different aspects of support provided for easy and meaningful use of Shoper 9 POS.
Help file available in Shoper 9 HO & POS
Knowledge Base available on Tally website
Usage of Tally.ERP 9 Support Centre
Control Centre for licence management
Partner’s role (L1) as a primary support person
Provide training to customer personnel at HO and POS locations. Refer the Imple-mentation and Training Checklist for Rollout document for the specific areas where the customer personnel have to be trained.
Brief the users on the options that the chain uses in its operations
The training enables the customer personnel to familiarise with the Shoper 9 HO and POS features in an orderly manner.
8
Implementation
1.7 Post Implementation Activities Post Implementation Support (Limited Period)
Implementation ClosureFinally, secure a sign off that the product has been successfully implemented in the locations. (Refer Project Sign off Document)
Further Support Services and MaintenanceWork out an annual maintenance contract (AMC) to provide continuous product support.
1.8 Best Practices for Shoper 9 ImplementationDemonstrate the standard functionalities of Shoper 9
Communicate the efforts for Shoper 9 implementation after ascertaining the scope (Use the Implementation Effort Estimation Tool to calculate the approximate effort for the implementation project)
Understand the existing business processes adopted by the customer
Gather the detailed business requirements and let the customer know what can be achieved by deploying the solution (Use the Requirement Study And Configuration Tool to gather the requirements of customer)
Document the requirements, the proposed solution and get the sign off by the cus-tomer (Use Business Solution Design Document)
Arrange for a Conference Room Pilot to validate the proposed solution and document the changes required post CRP
Do a pilot run of Shoper 9 at select locations and validate test cases provided by cus-tomer and ensure acceptance by user
Monitor the product’s performance for a limited time frame (usually 7 days) and provide support to minimise the issues faced by the client. Guide the client in using Shoper 9 options and make them feel confident and comfortable.
9
Implementation
Take the sign off after a successful pilot run and provide a rollout plan
Collect the implementation and training checklist from all locations where Shoper 9 implementation has been done
Plan for post implementation support period depending on the customer installation size
Collect the project sign off after the completion of the implementation (Use Project Sign Off Document)
10
Related Documents
