Scope, Objectives, and Approach

Paper No:

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND CHANGE

HANDOVER REPORT

Project Title: Epos

From: September 2010 To: July 2012

Author: Debbie Collins Creation Date: 12/06/2012 Last Updated: 19/07/2012 Version: 0.3 2 Change Record Date Author Versi Change Reference on

12/06/2012 Debbie Collins 0.1 Initial draft 06/07/2012 Debbie Collins 0.2 2nd draft 19/07/2012 Debbie Collins 0.3 3rd draft

Distribution Copy Name Location No

1 Gill Preston Change Team 1 Jilly Court Campus Services 1 Phil Rees-Jones Campus Services 2 Barry Clark Finance Services 3 Paul Lightowlers Academic Services 4 Rob O’Connell Campus Services

3 Contents

4 a) Executive Summary

The goal of this project was to improve the g.p% across the shops, catering and bars by 2% by July 2011 by purchasing a “head office” epos system. This system was expected to enable the following:

• Improved stock control, standardised pricing, recipe management within catering areas, increased rate of customer service, more accurate recording of sales, customer accounts for internal departments and Improved financial reporting systems (Link: Objectives)

The original budget agreed was £341,000. The spend to date, as at July 2012 is £298,082 (Link: Finance)

Key lessons learnt to date are:

1) To ensure that the specifications in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) are absolutely clear about the UoE’s system and support expectations

2) To visits a number of suppliers’ reference sites to see their systems in action before the supplier presentation stage (Link: Lessons learnt)

This project is now being handed over to the Epos Administrator for completion. This document sets out the actions needed to complete this project (Link: Actions to complete this project)and contains an updated project plan which captures how to meet any outstanding objectives, activities and benefits .

5 6 b) Introduction

The aim of this document is to provide sufficient information for the project to be handed over from the current project manager and to reassure the board that the handover is thorough.

This document will cover the following areas:

- Background

Project objectives

Original resources and budget

- An assessment of the project delivery to date

Project objectives, activities and benefits achieved to date

Lessons learnt to date

- Actions to complete this project

Project plan

Ongoing resources & budget

Project governance

7 c) Background

The Campus Services management team required a campus wide Epos (Electronic Point of Sale) system to make a substantial contribution to increased sales turnover, lower stock levels, and higher gross profit % (GP). The Epos system was installed to enable the control of sales and stock holding and offer a set of comprehensive management Information reports. This new Epos system encompasses a wider range of Campus Services retail shops, catering and bars, offering a merchandise and financial overview of the business at the touch of a button.

Campus Services needed to demonstrate their continuing competiveness, supporting the “More for less” initiative: increasing revenue, whilst driving costs down. The previous Epos trial in 2010 within retail showed a number of proven benefits including:

 The ability to monitor and control gross profit: any deviations from expected gross profit % are reported for remedial action  Remote access leading to improved time management for users  Timed control for special offers enabling special offers to be run during set times of the day or a set period: starting from and to

In addition to these benefits, it was felt a wider roll out of an Epos system would offer benefits in: turnover & profitability, customer service, stock management, management benefits and technology. The original scope covered the installation of 55 Epos tills across Campus Services; 30 for catering, 14 for bars, 11 for shops.

3.1. Project Objectives

To improve the g.p% across the shops, catering and bars by 2% by July 2011 by purchasing a “head office” epos system which will enable:

• Improved stock control through wastage and profit margin monitoring, purchase orders and tracking of inter outlet stock transfers • Standardised pricing • Recipe management in all catering outlets and bars • A facility for a complete price file enabling the scanning of all products will increase the rate of customer service • Increased sales due to targeted promotions e.g. Meal deals and linked deals. Staff prompts for up-selling • More accurate recording of sales made through smart tills • Customer accounts for internal departments Improved financial reporting systems

8 3.2. Expected Benefits

Managers can access the system remotely from any computer, enabling greater flexibility and improved time management.

More special offers – Simplifies the process of which offers run and when promotions can be date or time specific.

In addition to these benefits a wider roll out of an Epos system will offer benefits in:

Turnover & profitability

An increase in GP % through the calculation of optimum selling price and improved stock holding mix.

Accuracy of selling prices due to the use of bar-code scanning at the till point and buttons for items

The system will flag the need for price increases when goods are bought at higher cost prices.

The identification of low margin lines will increase the control of margins at each outlet and will allow for the agreed differentiation of selling prices.

The availability of customer accounts will lead to an increase in turnover. Not only will it ensure the recording of sales that are currently written on paper transfers, it will increase the number of departments that are able to use the facility.

Stock management

Epos decreases the incidents of theft because it eliminates under-ringing and label switching. It provides tighter control of stock. Epos introduces a deterrent effect for theft, by quickly identifying problem area/times, allowing close monitoring of shrinkage levels. Improved stock control. Stock will be accounted for not only in terms of sales, but stock holding, recipe management and rolling stocktakes will ensure that stock holding values are accurate and up to date.

Purchase orders raised via the system will decrease the delivery input time. Once the delivery has been confirmed as correct against the purchase order and invoice, the delivery can be automatically put into stock at the touch of a button.

Management benefits

Administration will be streamlined: less paperwork and less dual reporting. This will be apparent within Campus Services, the Cash Office and Finance & Systems. The interface to Aptos will enable the direct transfer of predefined information from Epos. Real time financial reporting: The head office system can offer a “live” business overview, products sold, gross profit achieved, volume of sales per trading hour across the trading accounts as a whole.

Increased management effectiveness, as processes are streamlined, managers can focus on other aspects of the business.

Improved management information to aid decision making. Managers can review their top sellers, allowing them to remove items that do not sell well and to increase volumes of more popular lines. Promotions can be directed at products that achieve a high profit margin to drive increase sales etc. With all of this information available through the system and formatted into easy to read reports will free up the managers’ time to focus on other areas of the business.

9 Management control: The reports that are to be produced at “Head office” level will highlight the performance in each area, allowing key personnel to set sales targets and other KPIs.

Improved training: Staff that work at a number of different sites will only need to be trained on 1 till and/or 1 back office computer, as the equipment and software functionality will be the same at each site.

Technology

Interface to smart card technology: The system will be ready to offer a University smart card solution, should the University choose to adopt a “cashless” system. This would enable Campus Services the ability to offer “Cashless” sales to the students, staff and visitors.

Linking technology systems to create an Interface to Aptos will save time and money. It will alleviate double entry of data for both Finance & Services and the Cashier’s Office. This would serve to automate the transference of the following information:

Supplier invoice costs - per supplier / per invoice.

Sales income – Breakdown of cash/card payment/cheques/on account/coupons.

Accounting data - Sales - VAT & cash overs/unders, wastage, stock losses & gains, stock valuation.

Customer service

The introduction of integrated chip & pin will reduce card payment time from 49 seconds to 10 seconds: reducing queuing time.

More efficient service at the till point: The service will be faster due to the ability to scan each product within retail or press a preset button relating to the product for catering and bars.

Better customer service, due to ability to add prompts – “good morning”, “that is on a buy one get one free offer”.

The ability to “layaway” sales, especially in bars, enables staff to hold a customer's sales information whilst they serve another customer then they can return to their previous customer to complete the sale: reducing; queuing time.

3.3. Project scope

• 55 epos tills across Campus Services; 30 for Catering, 14 for Bars, 11 for Shops • 5 integrated scales /1 scales with label printer • Stock control • Interface to Aptos • Recipe management • Integrated chip and pin • Customer accounts • Financial control and management information system • Interface for smart card

10 3.4. Scope Change/Exceptions

 The number of tills rolled out decreased from 55 to 33. This included 6 tills no longer needed for Westpoint

 4 tills have been transferred from the bank of conference tills; an additional till for La Touche, an additional till for the Terrace, 1 for Queens Cafe and 1 for Holland Hall

 1 till to be transferred from Queens Cafe and 1 till from Harry’s to the Market Place

3.5. Project Activities

• Procure (via tender) required epos hardware and software • Install necessary data cabling and power requirements • Rollout Epos hardware and software install in 1) retail 2) catering and 3) bars • Develop price file for retail, catering and bars in line with pricing policy and g.p requirements (taking into account premium pricing for specific outlets), minimum & maximum stock levels for suggestive ordering, supplier reference numbers • Catering to agree a common menu (where possible) for recipe management • Test system and interface to Aptos • Pre rollout preparation e.g. Training (tills, software, recipe management , Stocktake) • Go live • Train staff on required management information reporting • Build and deliver communications plan • Update policies and procedures • Benefits management

11 3.6. Project Resources

a) Staff The project team to date:

Job Title Name Days required or % of time Project Board Jilly Court (Project Sponsor), Phil Rees-Jones, Monthly meetings (1hr) Barry Clark, Paul Lightowlers, Rob O’Connell Project Manager Debbie Collins 80% fte to Jan 2012 10% Jan – July 2012 Epos Administrator Rob O’Connell 100% fte Systems Accountant Martin Henson 418 hours since mid sept 2011 Terrace, PCC. Harry’s & Queens Kellie Greenwood Manager 70 hours during set up Reed Hall Manager Paul Weller 20 hours during set up Retail Shops Manager Mat Blee 700 hours during set up St Lukes Manager n/a (with support from project manager) 20 hours during set up

a) Finance The current spend against the original budget:

Project Setup Costs - Year 1 Budget July Variance Hardware 120,000.00 82,658.00 37,342.00 Hardware Support 12,000.00 6,367.00 5,633.00 Software 60,000.00 15,960.00 44,040.00 Annual hosting fee 5,000.00 7,603.00 -2,603.00 Installation costs 19,000.00 21,006.00 -2,006.00 MCR costs total 216,000.00 133,594.00 82,406.00 Network installation 17,000.00 11,644.49 5,355.51 Additional costs 0.00 12,295.39 -12,295.39 Staff costs 86,000.00 118,548.00 -32,548.00 Legal 2,000.00 2,000.00 0.00 Contingency 20,000.00 20,000.00 0.00 UoE costs total 125,000.00 164,487.88 -39,487.88 Total 341,000.00 298,081.88 42,918.12

Ongoing operational costs:

12 Budget Actual May CaS Running Costs Years 2-5 Years 2-5 Hardware Support 12,000.00 10,611.90 Software inc hosting fee 11,000.00 12,184.50 MCR costs total 23,000.00 22,796.40 Staff costs - Head Office UoE 23,386.00 23,386.00 Total 46,386.00 46,182.40

c) Support & Training  The initial role out training was provided by MCR

 Training within the outlets is managed in the workplace by the site manager

 The Epos Administrator carries out the training on the back office functionality

 The system is supported by MCR’s support team – site managers check with Rob first and then escalate to MCR

13 3.7. Assessment of Project Delivery to date

The project objectives, activities and benefits not met to date as set out below are related to the delayed recipe management roll out and the anticipated management information that is to be produced. The tasks to achieve these objectives have been added to the project plan (Link: Project Plan)

3.8. Project objectives met/not met to date

Objective Retail Catering Bars Met Not met Met Not met Met Not met (34.4) (60.9) (65) Increase g.p. by 2% ✓ ✓ ✓ Improved stock control through wastage and profit ✓ ✓ ✓ margin monitoring Purchase orders and inter outlet stock transfers ✓ ✓ ✓ Standardised pricing ✓ ✓ ✓ Recipe management in catering n/a n/a ✓ n/a n/a Stock management in bars n/a n/a n/a n/a ✓ Customer service improved by the input/scanning of all ✓ ✓ ✓ items Increased sales from targeted promotions- eg meal deals ✓ ✓ ✓ More accurate recording of sales through smart tills ✓ ✓ ✓ Customer accounts for internal departments ✓ ✓ ✓ Improved financial reporting systems ✓ ✓ ✓

3.9. Project activities completed to date

Project activity Retail Catering Bars Met Not met Met Not met Met Not met

Epos hardware and software procured ✓ ✓ ✓ Data cabling and power requirements installed ✓ ✓ ✓ Epos hardware and software installed ✓ ✓ ✓ Price file developed ✓ Mins & ✓ ✓ max Common menu agreed for catering n/a n/a Met where n/a possible Test system and interface to Aptos ✓ ✓ ✓ Pre rollout preparation ✓ ✓ ✓ Train staff on management information reporting ✓ ✓ ✓ Build & deliver comms plan Project Board & working group formed

14 Update policies and procedures On -going Benefits management See below

3.10. Benefits realised to date Expected benefits Retail Catering Bars Met Not met Met Not Met Not met met Remote any for managers to the system ✓ ✓ ✓ The system flags if goods have been bought at a higher ✓ ✓ ✓ price Introduce customer accounts to increase turnover and ✓ ✓ ✓ remove the need for a paper-based process Epos will decrease the incidents of theft through stock ✓ ✓ ✓ loss reports and till/clerk reports Streamlining administration work – less paperwork & less ✓ ✓ ✓ dual inputting Improved management information produced via the ✓ La ✓ ✓ system to aid discoing making for managers Touche & XFI Reports produced allow key personnel to set targets and ✓ ✓ ✓ KPIs Improved training – staff can move between sites ✓ ✓ ✓ without the need for additional training Interface to smart card technology is available via the ✓ ✓ ✓ system Integrated chip and pin to reduce card payment time ✓ ✓ ✓ Improved customer service with till prompts ✓ Need ✓ ✓ dev

15 3.11. Lessons Learnt

Key lessons learnt to date are:

1)To ensure that the specifications in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) are absolutely clear about the UoE’s system and support expectations

2) To visits a number of suppliers’ reference sites to see their systems in action before the supplier presentation stage.

a) Positive lesson learnt

 The sales reporting function has proved more effective than expected

b) Constructive lessons learnt

Procurement The TUCO framework was the chosen procurement framework because it:

 Had 5 suppliers deemed “fit for purpose”  Managed the incumbent  Reduced the length of the tender process by a number of months

An EU tender would have offered more possible supplier options in number, however pre- procurement research at trade shows and via telephone conversations showed that many systems were not all encompassing (to cover retail and catering operations)

Supplier selection: How to avoid misleading sales pitches or incomplete information when purchasing hardware and software

 Visiting potential suppliers’ reference sites (at the expression of interest stage) ahead of the tender stage is necessary to capture any hidden double handling, software and hardware issues so these can be negated by the specification. Members of the project team visited Reading University but didn’t see the software in enough detail to capture any such issues.

 MCR started delivering equipment, software and support before the agreement was signed. This decreased our level of control as a customer because it meant we had no legal leverage for poor performance from the supplier.

 The handheld scanners were supplied free of charge because the suppliers were unable to interface with retail’s existing handheld scanners. As they were supplied free of charge, the UoE were unable to with-hold any payments when delivery dates were missed the technology

16 was not as advance as we had been led to believe. Although there was legal redress in the contract the situation was not deemed serious enough at this stage

Resources

 The Epos Administrator was not appointed until mid January of 2012. This, coupled with managers’ busy schedules, meant there was not sufficient resource available for the initial set up and roll out of the tills. In future it would be important to manage project roll outs according to realistic timescales and reflect this in the project plan

 The administration workload was far heavier than expected and it has been difficult to manage 2 areas at one time. The project plan has been updated accordingly to ensure a smooth roll out of the rest of the project  The delay of the handheld scanners and the issues thereafter has caused increased administration work for ordering and stocktaking within retail. This has been reflected in the budget forecast

It Support

 The Epos-Aptos interface discussions have been ongoing since November and we have not yet found a solution. IT involvement at the beginning of the project would be advisable in future to create the specification for the interface for the ITT (the need for this interface has become more important as the project has evolved with the introduction of P2P)

 There were issues with the network connectivity during the install for some of the areas, I had liaised with IT prior to the install to ensure the roll out was problem free. It may have been better to have an IT technician present at each go live to deal with any issues as they arrived

 The suppliers’ support times of 09.00 – 17.30 Monday to Friday and out of hours service from 17.30 – 22.00 Monday to Friday and 09.00 – 22.00 Saturdays and Sundays has proved inadequate as there is a longer wait for problem solving out of hours and many of Campus Services’ areas operate during those times

A future solution would be to procure additional support hours so that issues are dealt with more efficiently.

 There have been connectivity and speed issues with the software as it is a web based system. Future consideration could be given to managing the software via a university server rather than the supplier’s

17 4. Actions to complete this project

4.1. Resources 6. The budget below includes the additional resources to complete the project as per the project plan. Additional resources included are: 7.  3 months additional administration to support the Epos administrator to enable effective review of management information (£4,800)

 Acting up allowance for the Epos Administrator to complete the project (£2741.25) 8.  Stock taking provision for retail (£6,000) 9.  Labour for the reconfiguration of the Market Place counter to install an additional 2 tills

19 10. 4.2. Budget 11. 12. Project Setup Costs - Year 1 13. Budget 14. July 15. Forecast 16. Total 17. Saving 19. 120,00 20. 82,658. 22. 82,658. 23. 37,342.0 18. Hardware 0.00 00 21. 0.00 00 0 25. 12,000. 26. 6,367.0 28. 6,367.0 24. Hardware Support 00 0 27. 0.00 0 29. 5,633.00 31. 60,000. 32. 15,960. 34. 17,040. 35. 42,960.0 30. Software 00 00 33. 1,080.00 00 0 37. 5,000.0 38. 7,603.0 40. 7,603.0 41. - 36. Annual hosting fee 0 0 39. 0.00 0 2,603.00 43. 19,000. 44. 21,006. 46. 21,006. 47. - 42. Installation costs 00 00 45. 0.00 00 2,006.00 49. 216,00 50. 133,59 52. 134,67 53. 81,326.0 48. MCR costs total 0.00 4.00 51. 1,080.00 4.00 0 55. 17,000. 56. 11,644. 58. 11,644. 54. Network installation 00 49 57. 0.00 49 59. 5,355.51 65. - 62. 12,295. 64. 12,545. 12,545.3 60. Additional costs 61. 0.00 39 63. 250.00 39 9 71. - 67. 86,000. 68. 118,54 69. 13,541.2 70. 132,08 46,089.2 66. Staff costs 00 8.00 5 9.25 5 73. 2,000.0 74. 2,000.0 76. 2,000.0 72. Legal 0 0 75. 0.00 0 77. 0.00 79. 20,000. 80. 20,000. 82. 20,000. 78. Contingency 00 00 81. 0.00 00 83. 0.00 89. - 85. 125,00 86. 164,48 87. 13,791.2 88. 178,27 53,279.1 84. UoE costs total 0.00 7.88 5 9.13 3 91. 341,00 92. 298,08 93. 14,871.2 94. 312,95 95. 28,046.8 90. Total 0.00 1.88 5 3.13 7 96. 97. The saving of £28,046.87 as set out above has been achieved by the following: 98.  Reduction in scope from 55 to 33 tills  Savings on the original budget set up costs (additional to the savings on till reductions) 99. 100. Additional costs that have not impacted on the savings include: 101.  Additional administration support to manage the heavy workload 102. 103. Additional costs that may impact on the saving include: 104.  The cost of the interface to Aptos. The budget has allowed for £6,666 in staff costs to cover the IT support of an F grade for 2 months, however, the budget does not have an allowance for possible costs from the supplier

20 105. 106. Currently, at completion, the project should see a saving of circa £48,000 if the contingency is not required.

107. 4.2.1. Gross Profit targets 108. To allow for a thorough assessment of the financial benefits still to be realised from this project, it has been agreed that the gross profit targets for the new financial year 2012/2013 will be used to measure success. These targets are as follows: 109. 110. 111. Area 112. Target Gross Profit 113. 116. 114. Business School Food 117. 62% 115. 118. 121. 119. Terrace Food 122. 60% 120. 123. 126. 124. Functions & Events Food 127. 63% 125. 128. 131. 129. Peter Chalk Cafe Food 132. 53% 130. 133. 136. 134. Function & Event Bars 137. 68.5% 135. 138. 140. 139. Market Place Retail 141. 35% 142. 143. 146. 144. St Lukes Retail 147. 31% 145. 148. 151. 149. St Davids Retail 152. 29% 150. 153. 156. 154. Birks Grange Retail 157. 29% 155. 158. 161. 159. Cornwall House Retail 162. 39% 160. 163. 164. 165. 166. 167. 168.

21 169. 170. 171. 172.

173. 174. 4.3. 175. Project Governance

176...... The Epos administrator to become the Project Manager to guide the completion of this project 177...... ...... Project Board Meetings to continue on a monthly basis 178. .Quarterly meeting with the supplier to manage relationships and performance 179. 180.

181. 182. 4.4. System Ownership 183.  Campus Services are the “owner” of the system 184.  MCR are the supplier of the hardware and software support, including the server 185.  UoE IT will support the Aptos Interface when it is installed

22 186. Conclusions 187. 188. The roll out of the tills has been a success; the staff find them easy to operate, prices are more accurate and we are receiving useful management information. 189. 190. The roll out of the stock element of the software has been more labour intensive than anticipated. 191. Continuing issues with software updates and faulty hardware (barcode scanners) have caused delays and required additional labour resource. 192. 193. Due to the amount of resource that it takes to set up a system of this nature, this project is being handed over before completion. Ongoing works include: 194.  Review of the recipe management pilot and scoping the scale of the roll out to the other catering areas  Completion and implementation of the interface to Aptos 195...... 196. The main objective of an increase in gross profit of 2% has not yet been met across catering and bars. 197...... 198. Overall, the software is very effective and future functionality developments will be of great benefit to Campus Services 199. 200. a) Acknowledgements 201......

i. Project Board – Jilly Court, Phil Rees-Jones, Barry Clark, Paul Lightowlers 202.

203. Others – Rob O’Connell: Epos Administrator 204. 205...... 206...... 207...... 208...... 209...... 210...... 211......

212. Author: Debbie Collins 213. Title: Project Manager 214. Date: 25/07/2012 215.