Microsoft Retail Management System
Headquarters for Store Operations
If you have multiple
store sites you need the utmost power and control to help keep
your business on track. Microsoft Retail Management System
Headquarters is for you. This pre-packaged solution offers low
licensing costs and rapid investment returns, and has highly customizable features for
your businesses' specialized needs. Advanced security options,
linked communications, and meaningful reports in an instant help
you keep control over your costs and help manage selling trends.
RMS Headquarters offers retailers a feature-set
designed specifically for dynamic and growing companies:
Integrated point-of-sale and in-store
functions that trade data with Retail Management System
Store Operations
Ability to create new items, set pricing
and discounts, generate purchase orders and direct
inter-store inventory transfer from the head office
Automatic uploading of stores' inventory
movement, financial transactions and sales data, then
organizing the data into a comprehensive all-knowing
database
Ability to see, manage, price and control
inventory across multiple locations and to make informed
decisions based on up-to-date and reliable data
A pre-packaged solution that offers low
licensing costs and rapid investment returns
Highly customizable features for individual
needs
Built-in security system to restrict
employee access to sensitive information
Open-standards access to all retail
information stored in a Microsoft SQL Server database
Detailed sales data for data warehousing,
OLAP and business intelligence analyses
Ability to view inventory levels at all the
stores in the enterprise
Support for virtually all forms of data
communications between the head office and stores using a
dial-up, virtual private network (VPN), the Internet, LAN
and WAN
The required software components that enable you to
successfully manage your multi-store operations are:
Microsoft Retail Management System Store Operations
Store Operations software is sold separately from
HQ. It operates at each store in the retail enterprise and
maintains sales data in a local database. Store Operations
automates each store's back-office operations (inventory,
pricing, tracking customers and suppliers, etc.) and handles all
sales transactions at the checkout lane.
Key information contained in the Store
Operations database is regularly uploaded to the head office. At
the same time, HQ downloads management's changes made at the
head office to each store's database.
HQ Remote Client and HQ Communications Server Programs
The HQ Remote Client and HQ Communications Server
programs are parts of the Store Operations HQ software package.
HQ Client is installed at each remote store and automatically
initiates a connection to the head office based on a schedule
specified by the head office. The connection can be made via the
Internet, virtual private network (VPN), or dial-up access to
the HQ Communication Server. Once connected, HQ Client receives
instructions to upload sales and inventory data or other
information requested by HQ. It also updates the store's
database to reflect any changes made at HQ that need to be
propagated to the store.
The HQ Communications Server is installed on a
machine at the head office and is responsible for exchanging
data between the HQ database and remote stores. It listens for
incoming messages from remote stores, processes and records the
data in the HQ database, then forwards HQ's directives to remote
stores as defined in HQ worksheets.
HQ Manager Program
At the head office, the HQ Manager program
provides the user interface and management of retail information
in the HQ database. Functions necessary to manage a retail chain
are provided. HQ Manager lets you create new inventory items or
update the data (items, suppliers, prices, costs, etc.) that
keep your retail chain running smoothly. HQ Manager enables you
to set policies and procedures for each store to follow, then
enforces those rules applicably throughout the enterprise.
Specially tailored, multi-level reports let you sort and combine
business data—even drill down to modify your database directly
from the reports.
HQ employs the widely understood worksheet to
implement management changes. You can use a number of different
HQ worksheets to plan and execute changes to the HQ database and
remote store databases. Worksheets initiate and control data
exchanges between the head office and stores. Through
worksheets, the head office can command any store, group of
stores, or all stores to perform specific tasks that affect the
local database, and then to report back processing statuses.
Each worksheet contains built-in mechanisms to help you properly
plan desired changes, obtain approval for changes, and track
actual changes for audit purposes.
