OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Size matters not. Two small retailers showed that the old adage rings true, in this case relating to the use of networking technology to improve their companies' ability to compete while paving the way for future expansion.
During a CSPNetwork CyberConference dubbed Streamlining Your Network Applications, two retailer presentersone a small chain from the Pacific Northwest, the other a single-store operator from Wisconsinexplained that merchants don't need to have complex infrastructures and multiple IT staffers to benefit from advances [image-nocss] in enterprise-networking technology.
We have only three IT people, said Ljubomir LJ Medenica, director of business development for R.H. Smith Distributing Co. Inc., Grandview, Wash. And those three people are me, myself and I.
But such constraints didn't stop Medenica from overhauling the technology infrastructure of his company, which includes six direct-operated Smitty's convenience stores, more than 40 wholesale dealers and a small transport division.
Our business more than ever is data-driven and technology-dependent, he said. Networking is much more than technology; it involves people and process. Networking brings changes. We needed to address not only the technology driversbut we needed to address the business drivers in the beginning.
He explained that his company tackled the issue from an overall business perspective rather than merely from a ground-up or operational vantage point, and he suggested other retailers do the same. At the outset of the project that his company undertook approximately three years ago, he realized he needed to illustrate how networking all stores, properties and business divisions together would make the company more nimble and save some money.
In mulling the implementation of a wide area network, or WAN, the company had to consider growth needs, operational needs, management needs and essential business need. Integrating fuel-management software for the wholesale division, a Web and e-mail server, a retail automation system, an accounting package and other elements was the challenge, Medenica said. But the effort and investment have been worth the expense.
It was hard for us to have everything new; we went through an extreme technology makeover, but it paid off, he said. All our c-stores, with electronic point-of-sale, with scanning, are connected to the back-office computer, and that's connected to the main offices. All the sites are integrated.
The integrated network brought a lot of changes in how R.H. Smith Distributing performed its core business processes. The main goal was to have faster, better and proper flow of information, product and capital, and Medenica believes the company has accomplished its goal. We call this digital convenience, he said. It brought us to the next level of convenience, not only with customers but inside the company.
CyberConference co-presenter Bob Seneff proved networking can produce significant benefits even for the smallest of operators. Seneff, owner of Main Street Shell, Waukesha, Wis., overhauled his single store's network security solution even before it was officially a store. While his Shell-branded store was still being built, his Shell representative approached him and said the company was offering an alternativecalled CoolBand from vendor MegaPathto the standard satellite connection. At first, Seneff was a little hesitant.
We were two months from opening, and my concern was that switching midstream if we had enough time to get the process installed, he said. I was worried I'd be the one to figure out the problems later.
The problems never arose. Not only did the store open on time with the network up and running, but he said the installation was effortless. Furthermore, he benefited from cost savings by doing away with extraneous phone, DSL and Telecheck lines, as well as not having to pay a monthly satellite fee. He figures he saves $77 per month.
And while most vendors simply don't pay enough attention to single-store operators, MegaPath treated me as if I was a 100-store operation, Seneff said. For me, this has been a great partnership.
Greg Davis, vice president of product marketing for MegaPath Inc., Costa Mesa, Calif., also presented during the CyberConference. He explained the benefits of combining credit-card processing and other in-store applications onto a single broadband network:
Lower costs through communication efficiencies. Increased sales and improved customer satisfaction through faster credit-card transactions. Enhanced productivity through various means.MegaPath, as Davis told the audience of approximately 40 retailer attendees, specializes in designing and deploying network security solutions for the retail, restaurant and hospitality industries. His company serves more than 22,000 operators that represent approximately 72,000 locations.
Click here to view an OnDemand replay of this CSPNetwork CyberConference. (Free for retailers; all others pay $49.)
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.