When you’re looking for retail management software, there’s a lot of choice out there. Which system should you invest in? What will best suit your business needs? What differentiates one platform from another?

Look around the retail management software market and you’ll see many providers extolling the benefits of the fact that their software runs in the cloud. We don’t disagree with these benefits – cloud software means that you don’t have to focus on managing server hardware and software updates, nor have the staff who know how to handle them. Cloud software is definitely a major step forward. But, unlike some of our competitors would have you believe, cloud is not the full story. Running your software in the cloud means that it relies on your network in order to operate. Lose the network and you lose access to your software. Networks are pretty reliable these days, but they are not 100% guaranteed, particularly in remote locations. 

A short loss of connectivity may be manageable at head office with updates simply being sent once the network is back. But in a store, no network means no transactions, loss of revenue and very unhappy customers. 

iVend recognises this and our retail management software uses what is called a ‘hybrid cloud’ approach, which is the perfect solution for retail1. Hybrid uses a combination of cloud and on-premise, each one being used where it is most appropriate. Our hybrid cloud approach is one of the features that makes iVend the retail management software of choice for growing mid-size retailers around the world.

Many POS providers are just that – they only provide POS. Many of them do it very well. But in order to effectively run your retail business, you need more than just POS. You need inventory management, a loyalty program, and the ability to send out promotions and gift cards, for example. iVend provides retail management software, not just POS. One of the distinguishing features of iVend is the additional functionality built into the system. With a pure-play POS vendor, you would have to select, buy and integrate separate systems for inventory, loyalty, promotions and gift cards. That takes time, it takes money, it takes integration effort – and it introduces the risk of duplicate data and lack of integrity. All in all, quite a headache. With iVend, you don’t have that headache – you simply have a full function retail management software system.

If, alongside your retail management software, you also run an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, then you definitely need to know that iVend has out of the box integrations for every ERP on the market. Not only all the major ones like SAP, Sage and Microsoft Dynamics, but ALL the ERPs in the market. Ok, we know that out of the box open API integrations don’t sound like the sexiest feature ever, but believe us, they are. If you choose retail software that doesn’t have pre-built ERP integrations (and many of iVend’s competitors don’t), you’ll be looking at hundreds of hours of effort to build, manage and maintain them. Integration between ERP and POS can include bringing together sales data, product data, inventory levels, previous purchase history, payment data and loyalty data. Pre-built integrations save you time and money, and ensure your data flows seamlessly between systems, to give you a consolidated, accurate view of your entire business. That’s a big iVend difference.

Your retail business extends beyond your stores to include your online presence – so make sure you select retail software that operates everywhere you do. Selecting store-only software means you’re missing out on the opportunity to give your customers the online/offline transactions they demand, and to have the same experience online and in-store. iVend – unlike some retail software providers – offers a true omnichannel retail management system, enabling transactions like click and collect, and allowing customers to earn and redeem loyalty points whether they’re online or offline.

Many retail software providers develop their software on the premise that retail is retail – that all operations are broadly the same, and that each retailer should simply configure the system to fit their needs. iVend has a different approach – we recognise that running a supermarket could not be more different to running a pharmacy, and that electronics retail and thrift retail are vastly different. So rather than leaving it up to you to try and shoehorn the software to your business, we’ve done the bulk of the work for you, with no fewer than eight different versions of our software, designed for the operating models of distinct types of retail. Where other vendors offer one size fits all, iVend’s retail management software is made to measure.

Not all retail software is created equal, and it’s important to understand the differences. We’ve outlined the five key differentiators that set iVend apart from other providers. Ready to see iVend in action? Get in touch to book your demo now.