Retail Business Solutions Ltd’s latest product offering, Repose Connect, is a software suite aimed at major blue chip retailers that want to add Microsoft Corp’s Windows or IBM Corp’s OS/2 to their existing electronic point of sale equipment. The Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire-based retail software developer reckons that increasing numbers of major retailers are committing to Windows or OS/2 for all future store applications and back office developments, and therefore believes that it is on to a winner with a software offering that will link Windows- or OS/2-based applications without the need for systems integration. According to Tim Godwin, managing director of Retail Business Solutions, retailers have been historically tied into proprietary point of sale systems for product enhancements because legacy systems are based around high-level programming languages that require users to have specific skills the language and also require the developer to have an in-depth knowledge of a particular point of sale system. Godwin claims that Repose Connect is different because applications written for one point of sale system can be used on an another without the need for any recompilation or modification. Furthermore, the development tools and language used to add extra functionality do not need to be the same development language as was used to program the point of sale system originally. The company expects that one of the main takers for its new product will be retailers operating in the do-it-yourself market, who operate in a highly competitive, price-driven environment and therefore need complex software packages that can track customer data and implement loyalty schemes, in order to maintain their market share. Godwin estimates that Repose Connect will cost retailers roughly one tenth of the cost of replacing a total point of sale system, with its pricing starting at roughly UKP2,000 for a Repose Connect installation in 200 stores.
