Off-site Host = Disaster Recovery
Game On Sports
Game On Sports (Game On) was a client of Pulse Retail Systems (PRS) from 1997 to 2014. PRS supplied software for inventory management, inventory performance, and point-of-sale to support Game On's retail stores. PRS's solutions enabled dynamic growth for a seasonal business while providing risk mitigation with its cloud-based solutions.
- Client: Game On Sports
- Solution:Inventory & POS
- Date:1997 - 2014
- Sector:Retail Solutions
About Game On Sports
Game On was a retailer of licensed sports team apparel and memorabilia in Western Canada. It started in 1997 with a single location in West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada as a Jersey City franchise. It expanded to over twenty locations throughout Western Canada, including being the official merchandiser for the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club. They were acquired by Lids, a USA-based retailer, in 2014.
The Challenge
Early in our relationship one of the underlying reasons for a cloud-hosted environment was illustrated when their store had a break-in … some inventory was stolen but their lone PC-based point-of-sale system was taken as well!
We received a panicked call from the owner “ … and we don’t have a backup … what am I going to do?” His understanding was that:
We received a panicked call from the owner “ … and we don’t have a backup … what am I going to do?” His understanding was that:
- his store would be closed for a number of days (i.e. lost revenue)
- he would be “flying blind” because he wouldn’t have inventory items, pricing or inventory levels
- he lost all of his sales and inventory history
The Solution
Because Game On was using PRS's cloud-based solutions, our response was:
- We assured him that he haven’t lost ANY data … we had it all online in our environment (we had backup as well).
- We directed him to purchase a new Windows PC and re-establish an online connection; we remotely re-installed the appropriate software and did a product/inventory update.
The Results
The system was available to transaction business about 45 minutes after the new computer was installed; the store re-opened just after lunch.
A couple of weeks after the incident, we received a call from the owner. His opening words were, “I get it now!”. Prior to this, he understood the value of the reporting and analysis but really didn’t understand the added value of having PRS as an off-site host for his system (or why he was paying fees for that service). But, at that moment, the value to him was almost priceless: his organization didn’t have the resources for an internal IT department, yet that’s the role we quietly and competently fulfilled for him so that he could do what he did best: merchandising.
A couple of weeks after the incident, we received a call from the owner. His opening words were, “I get it now!”. Prior to this, he understood the value of the reporting and analysis but really didn’t understand the added value of having PRS as an off-site host for his system (or why he was paying fees for that service). But, at that moment, the value to him was almost priceless: his organization didn’t have the resources for an internal IT department, yet that’s the role we quietly and competently fulfilled for him so that he could do what he did best: merchandising.
Growth
Game On was an exceptionally good merchandiser that could leverage their size and agility to undertake opportunities, like ‘pop-up’ style shops that would operate in a busy season and then disappear when business slowed.
Managing a multi-store chain is challenging … as an owner you simply cannot be everywhere at once. You may be able to manage two or three locations, but after that, it’s not feasible. PRS enabled and supported their dynamic growth and provided training and coaching to get the information that they needed.
All of the various functions that were required were met, including:
- Barcoding
- Business processes
- Physical inventory counts
- Sale Audit
- Price maintenance
- Sales and Inventory Analysis
- Research inventory problems & apply solutions (ex. costing, price overrides, loss prevention)
- Alerts – audit, stock levels, fast-movers, etc.
