Issue 1 Summer 2005

The magazine for Intelligent Business Systems clients

Tootsies POS upgrade ready for expansion Fresh Italy concept marries quality and speed StockLink 5 accessible to all! A Scotsman’s Letter from America

Welcome A warm welcome to the first edition of a brand new magazine from Intelligent BusinessSystems. This is your magazine, designed to show you our impact within the fast-moving,dynamic world of POS. Helps explain our choice of name too. Impact. A title to reflect thedifference we make to multiple-site hospitality and retail businesses courtesy of our POSand enterprise management systems. Inside the pages of this and subsequent issues we’llsupply the evidence. Kicking off with our news section, Impact highlights recent IBSachievements. We then go backstage and take a closer look at the stories behind theheadlines, in one instance letting one client do all the talking. After all, clients are the bestjudges of our work. Enjoy reading the first edition. We trust it gives you plenty of food forthought. Hopefully, you’ll be asking yourself the question of how IBS can make an impacton your business in the near future.

Dee Powell, editor, Impact

Front cover image: Tootsies in Manchester. Impact is published on behalf of Intelligent Business Systems (St James Road, Brackley,Northants, NN13 7XY) by Creative Space Squared. If you have any comments or feedback, contact me on 01280 709 400 or e-maildee@ibs-systems.co.uk. We are always delighted to hear from you. Check out www.ibs-systems.co.uk for regular news updates from IBS.

News from IBSGeronimo Inns has unveiled its newestpub. The Tin Goose, in terminal 1 atHeathrow Airport, comes complete witha new PC POS touchscreen system, fourtouchscreen terminals and ICR touchPOS software. According to IBS projectmanager, Justin Atkinson, the PC POSsystem was selected for its hardwarerobustness to accommodate fastcustomer throughout at the world’sbusiest international airport, whichwelcomes over 63 million visitors everyyear. Key to ensuring the Tin Goose tookoff on time and without any hiccups was the forward planning carried out by IBS.Justin and his team created a graphical table and seating plan for the POS as the pubmakes extensive use of table and seat numbers for customer billing. The contract alsoincludes StockLink back office reporting to the existing StockLink centralmanagement system.

Tin Goose takes off at Heathrow

Life is a peach with a virtual head office

Sheffield’s IBS Showcase Sheffield’s premier media production andexhibition centre comprises a uniquemanaged workstation for the creativeindustries, including a 650 seat independentcinema and exhibition complex. It alsohosts numerous special events throughoutthe year with its café bar catering forconferences, festivals, functions andparties. With an extensive range of buffets,wines and menus, a flexible POSmanagement system is essential to thesuccessful running of the busy venue. IBS,after designing and developing a similarsystem for a cinema and media centre inDoncaster, won the contract to install sixUniwell touchscreen terminals andStockLink software.

IBS has a French Connection IBS has installed new POS and back officesystems for the Mountain Trading Company,which runs bars and restaurants at major skiresorts throughout the French Alps. Theproject, overseen by IBS project managersMark Bagnall and Justin Atkinson andsupported by field engineer, LawrenceBooth, included the installation of UniwellPOS terminals and kitchen printers togetherwith StockLink software, which wasprogrammed to accommodate multi-currency, multi-tax rates and various levelsof discounts.

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Dynamic gastro pub restaurant chain, the three-year old award winning Peach PubCompany, has asked IBS to create a virtual head office. With six gastro pubs in the southand central midlands and more to comeover the coming months, the Peachmanagement team, led by HamishStoddart, wants to focus its energies in thepubs, without the distraction and expenseof running, managing and maintaining aseparate head office. Thanks to the IBSvirtual head office, the Peach team canaccess the system by logging on-line, nomatter where they are. “This system givesus the flexibility to manage a fast growingbusiness that relies on high volumes oftraffic,” said Peach Pub Company director,Hamish Stoddart.

StockLink 5 launched

IBS has launched StockLink 5, the latestedition of the best selling POS enterprisemanagement software. Based around MSWindows XP software, StockLink 5 isusing the latest enhanced drag and droptechnology to simplify use and featuresunlimited security levels. The StockLinkEnterprise version, targeted at multi-sitehospitality chains, has many new featuresand functions designed to speed-upprocesses. This includes an all-newtouchscreen drag and drop designmodule.

Neil heads managedservices teamNeil Quinn has been appointed to run themanaged service department at IBS.Formerly working at Drayton Manortheme park, Neil, 29, and his team willprovide a total managed service fromadding new suppliers or products toupdating menus and prices across eitherclient chains, brands or individual outlets.

IBS call system enhanced IBS has developed and rewritten its in-housecall support system to improve the way itdeals with customer communications. The sophisticated call system has beenwritten in-house by the IBS softwaredevelopment team using the Microsoft.net framework. As well as being fasterand more efficient, it also enables IBSengineers and customers to track theprogress of projects and jobs on-line.

IBS... in brief

IBS has upgraded Tootsies entire enterpriseand POS management system as part of a£200,000 investment for the fast-growingnational burger restaurant chain. Tootsiesre-selected IBS as part of an on-goingexpansion programme that has seen thecompany build a 24-restaurant chain in lessthan five years. There are plans to open afurther 75 over the next three years. IBSsupplied new touchscreen terminals andback office computers together with its ownStockLink back office and enterprisemanagement software. System partnerswere commissioned to install the latestcabling infrastructure at each site and amanaged broadband-based infrastructure.

See our Tootsies feature on pages 6 & 7

Full system upgrade asTootsies eyes rapid expansion

Fresh Italy deliciously fast thanks to IBS Fresh Italy, an exciting new quality foodconcept where meals are served up in lessthan two minutes from placing an order, hascommissioned IBS to help give them theclockwork precision necessary to guaranteefast delivery. IBS has designed anddeveloped a new POS system for FreshItaly, which can be used for face to facesales or distance buying via the internet.

Fresh Italy founder, Tom Allchurch, writesexclusively for Impact. See pages 8 & 9

Living Venture’s brilliant performer IBS business partner, GS Systems, hasinstalled StockLlink enterprise software aspart of its central management system forLiving Ventures, one of the rising stars of thehospitality industry. With 18 sites in majorcities in the UK, Living Ventures has wonnumerous industry awards for its LivingRooms, Mosquito and Prohibition brands.

Perfect vision at the BBC IBS has provided the BBC with EPOS and enterprise management systems for seven sitesin London, including White City, Woodlands, Television Centre, Bush House, Victoria Road,Head Office Finance and Elstree Studios, home to EastEnders and numerous other worldfamous BBC productions. IBS’s own production caters for thousands of staff and visitorsevery week and gives site managers access to cash control business sheets and stockcontrol as well as full site and head office reporting. The installation, implemented under thedirection of IBS senior project manager, Mark Bagnall, consists of the latest Uniwell DX890touchscreen terminals, thermal receipt printers, Epson impact kitchen printers andStockLink back office and head office software.

IBS about to roll out£500,000 contract fornational restaurantchain. More in nextissue of Impact!

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STOP PRESS!

Q1: How the devil are you?

A1: Very well, thank you. I loved Wales winning the Grand Slam.A lesson here for all businesses, no matter how large orsmall, as it shows patient planning and painstakinggroundwork pays dividends.

Q2: That’s an interesting analogy. Are IBS the Welsh equivalent inthe POS world, upstaging the big boys like England?

A2: That’s not for me to say. You’ll need to ask our clients!Seriously, however, I would say we’ve been achieving greatresults at IBS by adopting the same philosophy. We’re notthe biggest player but we are one of the most successfulbecause we play to our strengths. We’ve won severalprestigious contracts (see our news section) with more in thepipeline. And we’re making great inroads beyond the UKwith our StockLink enterprise management systems, both inEurope and the USA.

Q3: That’s great news. So are you prepared to unveil the secretsbehind the IBS success story?

A3: First of all, we’re very good at listening. It is a natural startingpoint. If you go into a meeting with a pre-determined view,either you or the prospective client are going to bedisappointed.

Q4: And any other secrets?

A4: The big secret is there are no other secrets. It is about hardwork, attention to detail and sheer determination.

Q5: Surely there is more to success in a highly technologicalfield?

A5: Obviously you need the right people, the right products andright software. We have that, notably with our StockLinksoftware. Experience of the market place you operate in iscritical too. I think the fact we have evolved from corporatebackgrounds in the hospitality industry enhances ourunderstanding of the needs of our corporate clients.Irrespective of what business you’re in, you need to see whatthe client sees. It all goes back to the ability to listen andunderstand, as I mentioned earlier.

Q6: How do you mean?

A6: If you empathise with corporate issues, it is so much easierto respond to them. Anticipate the future demands andrequirements placed on the multi-site hospitality corporateworld. By appreciating their needs, we can tailor our world totheirs faster than anyone else.

Q7: And how do you do this?

A7: Well, we have to be more than just a POS company. Lookingat the big picture, we are a ‘solutions provider’. We’re notany single one thing. We’re not trying to sell a box, or aterminal, or a software package. We’re giving our clients anend result. Our client offering has to make a difference to theway clients operate and understand their businesses. Theyhave to notice an impact on the bottom line, see a tangiblereturn on their investment.

Q8: Obviously this approach is working. Could you try andencapsulate why?

A8: I think the fact we have a very high retention rate speaksvolumes. Client loyalty and winning repeat business is veryrewarding and brings about a remarkable sense ofachievement, which is shared by everyone in the company.

Q9: So what exactly is the IBS offering?

A9: Again in simple terms, it is taking hardware and softwarecombinations and installing them in multiple site hospitalitybusinesses. However, it is much more complex than this.You have to pick the right hardware to work with the mostappropriate software. You have to ensure the infrastructuregives the client speed and security. And you need to have asystem that is easy to use for everyone involved in thebusiness, from the youngsters serving at the bar to thedirectors dissecting information in order to plan for thefuture. Each link in the chain has to be happy with thesystem. That’s why we place such a great emphasis onprofessional project management. Having quality industryprofessionals overseeing installations and providing aftersales support is crucial to our overall offering. Without it, wecannot stand out from the crowd. We are not able to makethe right impact.

Q10: Elsewhere in the magazine, we notice you’ve recently added‘managed services’ to your portfolio. Was the thinkingbehind this about enhancing your overall offering?

A10: We are a service provider and we cannot afford to becomplacent. One of my major responsibilities is toconstantly look at new ways of making the day to day livesof our clients as easy as possible; hence Neil Quinn hasjoined us. Neil and his team give clients more choice as theycan control and oversee customer product files so we canupdate products and price changes in the most effectivemeans possible. This saves clients a considerable amount ofmoney in terms of employing staff and applying resources.Employing Neil is typical of our constant efforts to improvethe way we operate. His department represents a substantialinvestment, although it is one we’re more than happy tomake. In fact, we’re constantly reinvesting in IBS.

Q11: Are there any other examples?

A11: Well, we’ve recently completed rewriting our in-house callsystem to improve the way we manage communicationswith our clients. This dovetails with the internet so clients arealways kept fully in the picture. We’re also investing more inmarketing.

Q12: In what ways?

A12: We’ve got a new, improved website for a start that reflectsthe direction of the company. This sets out and establishesour credentials. It is also going to be a great way for clientsto communicate with us longer term. We’re also trying to bemore pro-active rather than re-active in terms of marketing.We’ve published Impact too as a means of keeping existingand potential clients fully in the picture about what is goingon in our world.

Q13: That’s very encouraging. What, in a nutshell, does the futurehold for the IBS?

A13: More of the same with the proviso that we’re always lookingto improve and enhance the way we do business. If we wantto make a genuine impact, there is no other way forward.What we’ve achieved to date is fantastic but it is also history.Just as I hope the Welsh coaching team will be thinkingabout how they can improve on the Grand Slam, we’ll bedoing the same for the multi-site hospitality sector.

Q14: Thanks for your time.

A14: My pleasure.

Still loving the impact game!

As a tough-tackling, no-nonsense rugby union forward,Gareth Powell always gave 100% on the pitch. He applies the same total commitment philosophy offthe field as he dedicates his energies to ensuring IBScreates the maximum possible impact in thecompetitive world of hospitality POS systems – takingtime out from his busy schedule to tackle our questions

Question time

After all, with a senior managementbackground in a top blue chip corporateenvironment prior to launching IBS, Garethwas fully aware of the need for businessesto carry out best practice procedures toensure they get a maximum return on theirinvestment.

“We may have had a track record withTootsies over five years but it makessense for the new owners to have a lookaround and see what is available in themarketplace. We do it ourselves when wepurchase from suppliers, so we wouldexpect the same from a new team ofdirectors who didn’t know us or what wecould do. We would never purchase byreputation alone and wouldn’t expect ourclients to do so either.”

“From our point of view, we were satisfiedto be placed on the tender list so wecould present our recommendations onhow to upgrade the system in line withTootsies exciting planned expansionprogramme,” said Gareth.

“Saying that, we were confident that wehad the ability as a solution provider tounderstand and fully satisfy Tootsiesrequirements.”

For Tootsies, the requirements meantmaintaining control over a fast growingbrand that will have developed to over 30restaurants by the end of January 2006.An ambitious new management team,headed by finance director Tim Woodcock,wanted to enhance the speed and scopeof its POS system as it plans to roll-outTootsies restaurants across the UK overthe next five years.

Hence the tender process to scan themarketplace for other ideas and options.

Gareth and his team relished thechallenge to provide Tootsies with such aplatform, despite knowing past effortswould not unduly influence the directors’final decision. However, their previousexperience was an immense help inconstructing their proposal.

“We are a niche POS company,specialising in the multi-site hospitalitysector, with the flexibility to work quicklyand efficiently. We also have a trackrecord with corporate clients who needkey business information fast. Names likePizza Express, Coffee Republic and theBagel Factory have benefited from ourexpertise as a solution provider, as has

Tootsies. So we were confident we wouldbring a lot to the table in a tendersituation,” said Gareth.

In fact, by describing the criteria for theproject, Tim Woodcock was also outliningthe perfect IBS system.

“The more the business grows, thegreater our need to have quick and easyaccess to every element of our operation.That in essence was what we were afterand the company that could give us thatcontrol at the right price would get thebusiness.”

“At the same time, speed of installationand specialist knowledge of the hospitalityindustry were other key factors influencingthe decision,” said Tim Woodcock, whoafter careful consideration re-selected IBSto upgrade the entire enterprise and POSmanagement system for Tootsies.

Gareth and IBS team were delighted to winthe six figure contract. As they expected,its recommendations were best suited tothe requirements of a fast expandingrestaurant enterprise. These includedfacilitating much faster communicationsand data transfer and the ability to expandand develop the system in the future toaccommodate future technology advances.

“Like we do with all our clients, we listenedto what Tim and his team wanted beforedeveloping a plan that would suit theirrequirements, now and in the future. Speedwas of the essence as was the ability forsenior managers and operational staff toaccess up-to-date information as and whenthey needed it,” said Gareth.

Spotlight

IBS creates platform for Tootsies expansionIn the cut and thrust of the modern business world, as in lifeitself, nothing can ever be taken for granted.

Nor should it be, according to Intelligent Business Systems’managing director, Gareth Powell, who was under noillusions when the new owners of the Tootsies grill-basedfamily restaurant chain said they were putting the upgrade ofits POS and back office management systems out to tender.

6 (Left) good project management is critical to the process (centre) Tootsies Basingstoke interior (right) quality food is essential to the Tootsies proposition.

IBS won the £200,000Tootsies contract in acompetitive tender

The new managementteam intends to roll-out the grill-based,24-unit familyrestaurant chainacross the UK overthe next five years

StockLink back officeand enterprisemanagement softwarehas full FTP reportingtools for seniormanagers andoperational staff, givingthem up-to-dateinformation wheneverthey want it

IBS also suppliedUniwell touchscreens,back office pcs andspecified and projectmanaged theinstallation of thecabling for thebroadband-basedinfrastructure

To achieve this each Tootsies restauranthas been fitted with extensive cabling forbroadband-based fast data transfer. IBSsupplied the latest DX890 Uniwelltouchscreen terminals and back officecomputers together with its own StockLinkback office and enterprise managementsoftware. IBS has installed extra points andcapacity to enhance and build the systemin the future to take into accountanticipated technological advances.

To facilitate fast, cost effective datatransfer, Tootsies now has greaterimmediate data management through thesystem’s internet push pollingcommunications or browser-based options.

“Our new IBS solution gives us keyknowledge, with the end of day of journalsautomatically streamed across from eachoutlet with the option of real timeinformation,” said Tootsies director, Tim Woodcock.

The contract also highlighted IBS’ ability towork to tight deadlines.

“One of the key elements of theinstallation was to ensure it was all inplace within a month. This meantcarrying out two installations per day,starting at 6am and finishing by 11am inorder to minimise trade disruption to thebusiness,” said IBS project manager,Justin Atkinson.

“We have remarkable retention rateamongst clients, although when wetendered for this business our trackrecord with Tootsies counted for nothing.It was a new management team led byTim and they were after the most costeffective system that met theirspecifications for their future anticipatedgrowth. We satisfied that criteria. And wewould like to think we would do so, nomatter who we are competing against,”commented Gareth.

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“Like we do with all our clients, we listened to what

Tim and his team wanted before developing a plan that

would suit their requirements, now and in the future.” Gareth Powell

Service with a smile at the Trafford Centre, Manchester.

“I’ve always instinctively liked thechallenge of new business development.Even when I worked for major corporateorganisations, I’ve always enjoyed theentrepreneurial aspects the most. So really it was always on the cards that I would probably start my own companysome time. It was just a matter of when,where and exactly what I would be doing.

And as food has been a part of myprofessional background, it was alwaysgoing to be something to do with catering.Originally, the idea hit me when I wasstaying in Los Angeles on business. Itsuddenly struck me that there must beroom for an upmarket fast food conceptwhere customers can enjoy quality foodserved extremely quickly at great prices, aconcept where I could marry all thebenefits of a fast food outlet, except we’dbe serving genuinely healthy food.

With these parameters certain styles ofcuisine were obviously no go. Naturally,Indian and Mexican food would take too longto prepare for busy customers. However,Italian food, fresh Italian food, would not. Andthere, quick as a flash, was my concept. And the name came at the same time as theidea. Fresh Italy. Describing exactly what weset out to do: serve fresh Italian food todiscerning customers in either city centreLondon locations or at shopping centreswithin the M25 belt.

As with every business venture, thinking ofthe idea was the easy part. Testing itspotential before looking for seriousinvestors was a little more difficult. I likedItalian food. I thought the British did toobut I needed proof. It took three months toresearch the proposition, discover if therewas a market for it beyond my gut instinct.

Exciting new fast food concept, Fresh Italy,

has installed Intelligent Business Systems

POS and enterprise management systems.

The fast food brand, which currently

has two outlets in central London and at

Lakeside Shopping Centre, Essex, is

looking to expand its horizons.

Three new outlets are to be opened in the

coming months as part of an on-going

development plan

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FAST FOOD GOES UPMARKET WITH FRESH ITALY Tom Allchurch, 42, gave up an immensely successful globe trotting marketing career with thelikes of Unilever and Amazon.com to launch Fresh Italy, an exciting new upmarket fast foodconcept. Here Tom (left hand page) exclusively tells IMPACT why he did it – and how IBS playeda crucial role in the development of the brand

Once I had convinced myself of thefeasibility it took another nine months todevelop it and then appoint anexperienced management team with awealth of experience of upmarket fastfood retailing.

During that time my kids – Ben, Hazel,Daniel and Zoe and wife Sue – ate reallywell as they became the self-nominatedinitial product testing team. We had hoursof fun comparing homemade pasta andrice cooking versus the Fresh Italy option.At first mine won then it levelled out –then we could not tell the difference.Bingo. An idea fertilised in LA was readyto take shape in the UK.

With a business plan drawn up andfunding in place, we were ready tolaunch Fresh Italy. Our philosophy wasto surround ourselves with the best ineach specialist area, which is how I came into contact with IBS, whowould play an integral role in thedevelopment of the concept.

Originally, I met IBS directors, Gareth andDee Powell, at an exhibition. I was lookingat my epos options. There were twochoices. Pick one of the big boys who mayor may not give me the service I needed.Or pick a smaller established player whoseambitions matched ours. There was onlyone option and it was the latter as IBSticked all the right boxes. An establishedplayer, still relatively young with thecredentials of working with the largehospitality chains we wanted to emulate.

Since then my judgement has beenproved right with Gareth and his teamputting a lot of effort into what wasalways going to be a small first order. But

the great thing is that IBS understood whatwe wanted to achieve.

With the help of IBS, we have delivered aconcept where speed is of the essence.My idea was fresh food served fast. Whichis exactly what we do, currently servingfreshly cooked pasta and rice dishescooked to order in less than two minutes. I am impressed by the efforts of the teambut want to get faster. It is the perfectionistin me and everyone else in the team.

It was clear that only by having the righttechnological platform would we be able todeliver our unique selling proposition. IBSdesigned and developed a new system forus, which is currently used for face to facesales in our city centre London or LakesideShopping Centre, Essex, stores. Thesystem has been designed to also cater fordistance buying via the internet with FreshItaly marketing deliveries to the city ofLondon for minimum orders of 15 or morepeople. That’s for the near future when welook to fine tune the concept.

For face to face sales, in-store customerorders are taken by staff and inputted toone of half a dozen Uniwell touchscreenPOS terminals in each outlet.Information is dispatched to a variety oflabel printers to identify and tag thedelicious pots of freshly prepared food.Data is also sent to a PC POS terminalto finalise, bag for collection or recallorders. It is easy to run, manage andtrain staff.

But retail is about showbiz too. To this end,IBS integrated our POS and enterprisemanagement system with large eye-catchingplasma screens. This enables customers toview orders taken, see average waiting

time per order and know when food isready for collection. The screen is alsoused for advertising and disseminatinginformation about daily specials and loyaltycards to Fresh Italy’s growing number ofrepeat customers.

As I said, retail is also entertainment andpart of the fun of the concept is trackingorders. Customers can see the averagetime taken to prepare each freshlycooked meal on the big screen. It alladds to the dynamism of Fresh Italy thatI first envisaged in LA.

Months on from that initial great idea, weare attracting regular customers who visitthree or four times a week. People like mewho have fallen in love with our totalcommitment to Italian produce. People likeme who appreciate that we only use Italianrecipes and ingredients. All our oils, pastasand risotto rice are 100% Italian.

Only time will tell how good the idea is. It isa question I cannot answer, much as I’d love to! There is a vague ‘masterplan’ totake Fresh Italy to the rest of the UK but itis very much one step at a time, likegetting the POS system spot on. Now we need to make sure we get everyother element right too. Then we’ll seewhere we go to next.

One thing is for certain, I am definitelyenjoying the buzz of Fresh Italy almost asmuch as our customers love the food.”

StockLink for everyone, from the MD to bar staff!

One of the first things we need to showwith any demonstration module is howeasy it is to use StockLink. That hasalways been one of the many key sellingpoints as StockLink has been written fromday one to be accessible to everyoneinvolved in the hospitality industry, not justIT professionals.

When the software development team werelooking at producing Version 5, its userfriendly nature was front of mind. This hasalways been a consideration, even fromthe early days when we used dos.Nowadays StockLink 5 is based aroundMicrosoft Windows XP software. As thebiggest software name bar none in theworld, most people are familiar withMicrosoft, either in the office or at home.They will certainly feel comfortable with thedrop down taskbars with newly designedicons to complement and enhance the lookand feel of StockLink.

We’ve also introduced a whole series of‘wizards’ to guide customers effortlesslythrough set-up tasks. This all reinforces themessage that StockLink is extremelyaccessible. When we go live with the demomodules on our website, we’ll be looking toillustrate this for existing and new clients.

We will also be showing how the StockLinkEnterprise version, targeted at multi-sitehospitality chains, has many new featuresand functions designed to speed-upprocesses, including the previouslymentioned all-new touchscreen drag anddrop design module.

From customer feedback since the launchof Version 5, we are finding that they areimpressed by the multi-level screens whilethey appreciate the fact that prices,condiments and cooking instructions areeasily designed and deployed. This doesnot matter whether it is for individual sites,areas, regions, countries or multicompanies, including franchises.

Again, as we want to make StockLink moreaccessible than ever before, we haveextended the reporting capability so thiscan now be configured on-line for use byoperations managers and remote workers.And we’ve also extended the number of‘League Tables’, which can also be sorted

and viewed by as many as 50 differentcolumn headings. We’ll be demonstratingthis on-line too.

As well as ease of use, compatibility withother software is important. Version 5 nowincludes POS integration with the newSharp ‘Venta Pro’ and ‘Revelation’applications as well as ‘Aloha’, ‘ICR Touch’and all Uniwell ROM based touchscreenterminals.

Of course, there is no need to wait for thedemo versions of StockLink 5 to belaunched on-line. We are more than happyto bring StockLink 5 to you.

One thing is guaranteed, whichever wayyou view Version 5, you, like all who haveseen it so far, are going to be impressed.

Managed services manager, Neil Quinn, (right) is in the process ofproducing on-line demonstration modules for StockLink 5, thelatest version of IBS’s best selling POS and enterprise managementsoftware specifically designed for multi-site hospitality businesses.Here he explains what he intends to show and why.

StockLink is anenterprise managementsystem designed anddeveloped by IBS formulti-site hospitalitychains from a dozento literally hundreds of outlets

There are threeStockLink versions:standard, professionaland enterprise

All three are updatedevery quarter by theIBS softwaredevelopment team in response to an on-going customer-consultationprogramme

Updates are free ofcharge to clients withcustomer service levelagreements

StockLink is currentlyavailable in the UK,Europe and the USA

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John Niasmith is

a POS industry

veteran who has

worked in

Scotland, London

and Canada. Now he operates out of

Atlanta, Georgia, in the USA,

heading the IBS invasion of

North America after a spell as

President of Uniwell. Here he gives

his impressions in his first

Scotsman’s Letter from America.

One of the beauties of launching a newbrand from a position of strength isbeing able to control the roll out. With IBS and StockLink wellestablished in the UK and Europe, thereis not the same urgency to gainmassive distribution that others have to face. During my 11 years on thecontinent, America has proved to be afascinating, exciting place. A huge internal economy is driven byimmigrant workers wanting to succeedand feed the American dream.Protected by the oceans, however,Americans are instinctively insular with an innate distrust of anything notborn in the USA.

To succeed here, we have thereforedecided to focus on the top end of themarket, targeting quality resellers, whocan bring something extra to the party,and sophisticated end users, like ourlatest account gain, Smoothie King, amassive franchised health food storechain with over 360 outlets from coast tocoast, from border to border.

It is great to have Smoothie King on boardas one of our flagship clients as it is atypical American success story. FounderSteve Kuhnau started the company backin the seventies to combat his ownallergies. Since then he has seen itmushroom as spiralling demand forhealthier lifestyles has encouraged salesof health drinks, vitamins andsupplements.

We’ve spent 12 months working closelywith the people at Smoothie King, ensuringwe successfully allayed any doubts theymay have had about using a product thatoriginated outside of the USA.

To this end we adapted the front end ofStockLink to suit the specific demands ofAmerica where even a simple matter ofordering a salad can take five minutes.And I am being serious. In the UK, youhave two options with your salad. Hereyou get 20! It is a much morecomprehensive purchasing process.

Richard Leveille and his IT team atSmoothie’s head office in New Orleans havebeen impressed by what they have seenand have given us the thumbs up to roll out.

Our challenge over the coming months isto ensure the installations are as smoothas one of the high protein drinks SteveKuhnau devised – and let the rest of theAmerican hospitality industry know aboutus too. I’ll keep you posted in my nextLetter from America.

A Scotsman’s Letter from America

IBS Profile…

Name: Mark BagnallAge: 36Job title: Senior project managerStatus: Married to wife LizaChildren: Two children, Matthew age 3

and Holly age 6Special Interests: Cycling, fishing and following

Aston Villa FC (for my sins).Ambition: To go marlin fishing in

South AustraliaFav song: U2, With Or Without You.Fav film: The Life of Brian

(Monty Python)Fav country: Australia

Q1: What is your day to day role at IBS?A1: It is a mixed and varied role

including sales, pre-and-post saleproject management, hands oninstallation of hardware andsoftware, systems training, systemstrouble-shooting, systems support.Anything that is necessary to ensurethe smooth running of the clientrelationship.

Q2: And what projects stand out asmajor achievements?

A2: Two spring to mind. Helping tocomplete the system sale to theBBC and working closely with theirfinance department to deliver thecomplete solution from POS toIntegrated financial reporting. AlsoDrayton Manor Park was a majorpersonal achievement as I project-managed the complete installationand implementation of 80 POSterminals, across 30 locations in oneof the country’s leading theme parkattractions within a tight three-month time schedule. Hard workbut lots of fun.

Q3: What makes IBS stand out from thecrowd?

A3: Our ability to understand the exactrequirements of the customer and todeliver the complete solution

Q4: And how is this reflected in your ownapproach?

A4: I treat each project individually,listening to the customer’srequirements, agreeing a format andmanaging the project with flexibilityand continually looking to givecomplete customer satisfaction.

Q5: And does it always run smoothly?A5: Not always. Many years ago I was

running data cable in the ceiling ofClaridges Hotel in central London.While crawling on my hands andknees, I accidentally leaned on aspeaker fitted in the ceiling tiles andit crashed to the floor falling in themiddle of the restaurant. Fortunatelynobody was hurt, or had a camera!

Q6: And the future?A6: Carry on the good work. These are

exciting times at IBS and it is great tobe a part of what’s happening.

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(Top) Popular in Denver and at over 350 otherlocations across the USA (bottom) anothersatisfied customer is all smiles.

Intelligent Business Systems provides POS and enterprisemanagement for multi-site hospitality businesses in the UK,Europe and in the USA.

We do it for the likes of Pizza Express, BBC, Coffee Republic,Fresh Italy, Peach Pub Co, Fat Café Bar, Geronimo Inns,Tootsies and John Lewis. And we can do it for you as well.

Call 01280 709 400 email: justmycupoftea@ibs-systems.co.ukor visit www.ibs-systems.co.uk

johnlewis

We’re definitely their cup of tea. And we could be yours too!

Intelligent Business Systems, St James Rd,Brackley, Northants, NN13 7XY

Tel 01280 709 400 Fax 01280 704 315

FAT CATcafé bar