Introduction
For new electronic point of sale (ePOS) there are hundreds of base business requirements that should exist in the product. From how operations should complete, to the cosmetics of the exterior; from where icons should be placed and how they look, to the type of electrical plug the unit requires. This document will highlight a select list of high priority items that have the most impact to the outside stakeholders. Those requirements are; Touch screen technology, retail hardened hardware, inventory and category management, identification checking and blue law compliance, and electronic journaling. For more through discussions of these items, please reference the paragraphs below.
Touch-screen Technology
Touch-screen technology has proven to increase cashier productivity, as decrease the initial training time of new employees. A touch-screen monitor of appropriate size, 12 to 15 inches, is required. The monitor should be flat-screen LCD since CRT monitor are too bulky and generate too much heat. The touch-screen technology should be capacitive verses resistive; capacitive screens are more durable, as well as, they all for foreign devices, such as styluses, to operate the touch-screen.
Retail Hardened Hardware
In the convenience industry, various environmental conditions will exist; dust, grime, heat, humidity, vibration, liquid spills, electrical issues, and other outside contaminates are common. Any ePOS system installed into a retail outlet should be retail hardened. Retail hardened is defined as a system, that by design is fit for purpose, robustly engineered, and resistant to environmental contaminates. It should be able to resist liquid spill, and humid environments. It should prevent against electromagnetic field (EMF) interference, and be resistant to bumps and vibrations. The hardware should be capable of normal operation, without special cooling or heating, in all but the harshest of retail outlet conditions.