The Challenge:
To
provide a modern state of the art admissions system
that would dramatically improve ticketing
and allow electronic capture of Gift Aid. The chosen
system also had to be able to handle retail sales
with a future consideration for catering sales.
The
Solution:
VCSTIMELESS supplied and installed
the VENPoS
software solution, which encompasses
a complete admissions system including ticketing
and electronic Gift Aid, in their retail outlet.
This is linked to VENPoS Bureau (Back
Office System) which provides full reporting and set-up for PoS.
Finally information is fed into VENPoS
Enterprise (Head Office System) which enables estate-wide control.
Benefits:
Ability to sell admission
tickets and retail items from the same point-of-sale,
electronic
capture of Gift Aid, increased revenue and control.
Dudley
Zoological Gardens is situated in the heart of the
Black Country in a 50-acre wooded site.
It can be seen from all over the West Midlands.
The remains of the 11th Century Castle overlook
the Zoo with more than 200 species of animals
from across the World.
On site you'll find the
best Chimp enclosure in Europe, Sea Lions, Penguins
in the moat, Peacocks
roaming the Courtyard and there's usually a young
Tiger or Lion cub nestling up to its mum in the
paddocks - proof of their successful conservation
and breeding programmes of endangered species.
Cost
Effective Solution
VENPoS is a complete modular software suite, thus
extremely flexible in its application. It proves
to be highly cost effective, typically in Dudley's case where there is a consideration to extend
the system to include other areas of the business
such as cafés and restaurants. All of these
areas can be run from the same server & Back
Office system, reducing the overall investment
and overcoming the complexity of disparate systems.
VENPoS Interactive (EPoS module) also provides
full restaurant functionality including table
control and kitchen printing.
Flexible Application
The VCSTIMELESS VENPoS application allows for a
unique style of interaction between the admissions
module and VENPoS Interactive. The Interactive
module allows for admission tickets to be sold
in conjunction with Dudley's retail sales.
Customised
Ticketing
Tickets are printed on demand from the touch-screen
point of sale terminals. VCSTIMELESS have customised
Dudley's ticketing solution. Passport style tickets
are produced, which include an area of free text,
enabling them to promote forthcoming attractions
and events.
Fast Return on Investment with Gift
Aid
An immediate benefit of the new system was that
it enabled Dudley Zoological Gardens to
claim
Gift Aid - worth up to 28 pence
in every pound - on admissions. This alone meant
that Dudley Zoo
were able to recover their investment in technology
within a short period of time of the new system
going live. VENPoS enables capture of Gift
Aid donations at the PoS terminal and can be processed
as part of the ticket admission sale. The system
is integrated to post code and electoral role
databases to speed up the capture of customer
information.
All Gift Aid transactions are electronically
recorded and detailed reports provide the necessary
information
to the authorities. In the case of Dudley
Zoological Gardens, the Gift Aid capture rate increased from
under 10% to over 50% by automating the transaction
at point of sale.
Enhanced Customer Service
By capturing Gift Aid transactions automatically,
staff have more time to serve the needs of customers
without filling out time consuming forms.
In addition to assisting in the collection of Gift
Aid donations the ability to collect postcode data
from visitors will prove a useful source of information
for future marketing activities - another key benefit
of the VENPoS system for all visitor attractions
irrespective of their charitable status.
Admit More
Visitors
Barcode scanners have also been incorporated in
the solution for speed of operation. The system
has built-in 'Solve SE' software to manage credit
and debit card transactions through fast ISDN
modems. Thus all credit card transactions are
processed with immediate authorisation from every
PoS.
Enhanced Control - Reporting
To handle admission charges and gift shop purchases
Dudley Zoological Gardens had previously relied
on a number of unconnected cash registers. End-of-day
reporting was handled manually, with sales information
from each separate cash register being compiled
into a central report. This process was slow,
inefficient and potentially inaccurate, and there
was little way for management to measure sales
trends or predict stock levels.
VENPoS Bureau (Back
Office) provides Dudley Zoological Gardens with
a fully automated close of day system,
which allows for central cash control of all tills.
It also includes a complete stock system which controls
all of their site-based products. Purchase orders,
deliveries, transfers and all other stock movements
are handled by the system which includes a comprehensive
stock take facility.
Sales data is seamlessly replicated
to the VENPoS Enterprise (Head Office) database
to provide powerful
business reports, including OLAP reporting. The
system also provides extensive data and statistical
reporting.
With centralised control it is now much
faster and easier for management to change prices
or product
categories. The new data is simply entered onto
the VENPoS system at Enterprise level, which automatically
communicates it to all PoS on the network.
Both the
Back Office and Head
Office modules include the
ability for till monitoring. This enables management
to access any till on the network without slowing
down the system. This is an important feature not
only from a security point of view, but also for
supervisor override where required.
Easy to use
The VCSTIMELESS solution has simplified sales processes
at Dudley Zoological Gardens. The VENPoS software
solution was quickly customised to meet their
specific needs, and feedback from operators shows
that they have found it easy to adapt to the new
system.
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