Latest News – July 2016 – Issue 38

Launch of Arch Themis Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL)

 

It has always been part of our Arch strategy to continuously improve the product offering to our clients, ensuring they stay abreast with the latest developments in the market place. In line with this, we are proud to present Arch Themis Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL), after the successful implementation of the solution at the well known President Hyper store in Fochville, where 20,000+ ESL’s are operational. agreement concluded with AES Africa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

 

Although there are various reasons for investing in ESL, one of the main benefits is to achieve maximum consumer confidence. This is achieved by eliminating discrepancies between POS and shelf pricing, but the ESL solution also allows for greater operational efficiency. Price changes are done remotely, either in-store or via Enterprise (Head Office) to multiple stores. The bi-directional communication feature of Arch Themis, allows for the development of control measures which will confirm prices have been changed when requested, thus preventing price discrepancies.

 

The wireless communication technology allows for a relative low cost, and easy deployment compared to other products of this nature. The e-paper display technology allows for flexible label designs, thereby allowing merchants to customise the label design according to their own unique requirements. agreement concluded with AES Africa in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

 

The labels are also versatile thereby making it suitable for use in both wholesale, and retail type store layouts. The relatively high cost of acquiring often plays a role in decision making – in the case of Arch Themis, the system can be deployed progressively (buy a starter kit), which means no huge capital outlays will be required, and merchants can deploy the solution piece-meal at their own time as funding becomes available. For example, first implement it in selected departments where prices need to be changed frequently. A number of tags options are available, depending on the store’s operational requirements – ranging from 1” to 6”.

 

OK Foods & Liquor, Wadrif

 

A brand new OK Foods and Liquor store were recently opened in a roadside shopping centre on the Moloto road north of Pretoria, close by Cullinan. The shopping centre was developed by Louis Mulder, owner of the larger roadside stop, which also includes a service station, convenience store and a general dealer.

 

These two retail outlets are equipped with state of the art technology and finishing. The Foods store has 11 POS and the Liquor store 2 POS, all equipped with Arch TowerPOS All-in-One Touch Screen tills. All POS points have Cash Guard machines (automated cash handling system, fully integrated into Arch), integrated EFT functionality and virtual airtime is sold at POS. Arch Infinity, the integrated loyalty/rewards program is also implemented in the store.

 

The OK Foods store is rather big and offers customers a pleasant shopping experience in approximately 2,500m² trading space. The store offers the usual departments associated with an OK Foods store, but a comprehensive hardware section is worth mentioning. It not only carries the usual DIY products, but also stocks agricultural type products such as irrigation equipment. We wish Louis and his team all the best with the two stores!

 

 

Another Star is Born in Rustenburg

 

Three Star Cash & Carry, a landmark store in Rustenburg has recently gone live with Arch. It is a rather large installation with 33 POS and 24 BO machines. They are UMS buying partners under the Powertrade banner and has been in business for 11 years. It was an easy decision for them to go with Arch, since their butchery across the road has been running successfully on Arch for some time.

 

Their business was historically only wholesale, but increased competition and declining margins, have forced them to diversify into retail and establish a hybrid store. The move to retail has forced them to look at Arch, since we offer a number of functionalities that were not available in their previous software solution, e.g. combos. Arch is a strong solution in hybrid stores through years of development for both leading retailer and wholesale groups.

 

Integrated card transactions at POS is also now offered, which is essential to them in light of the swing towards retail. It is evident that the store has very close links with their supplier base as is evident from strong branding in-store and outside.

 

We thank Jose and Robby de Gouveia for the business and welcome them to the Arch family! The brothers have been complementary of the Gauteng team’s professionalism during implementation – thank you to Maartin and the team for flying the Arch flag high!

 

 

OK Foods Growing in Namibia

 

Arch and OK Foods in Namibia have a long-standing relationship with 38 stores operational on Arch. We rejoice in the well-being of our partner and it’s always nice to see new stores opening. We can report the recent opening of a brand new store, OK Foods Jinhao, in Ondangwa (Northern Namibia).

 

The store has 6 POS, equipped with Arch TowerPOS All-in-One Touch Screen machines. The OK Liquor store is under construction next door and will have 2 POS. The store is approximately 1,500m², of which 980m² is trading space. The store offers the usual departments for the convenience of expectant customers, i.e. Butchery, Bakery, Deli, Groceries & Fresh Produce. The owner Mr Yuequan Huang has great plans for the store, but is also in process of building another OK Foods store in Oshakati.

 

We congratulate Mr Huang with the store and wish him and his team all the success. We salute Barend and the Arch Namibian team for the smooth implementation, but also thank Wybrand and his OK troops for their assistance in establishing another Arch/OK Foods beacon in the north!

 

 

Rebel Food

 

Rebel Food, a fully fledged supermarket in Atlasville (Boksburg), was established by the dad of current owners Martin and Joe Ribelo in 1948. The store has a proud history in the community, offering a pleasant shopping experience in all departments associated with a store of this magnitude, i.e. Butchery, Bakery, Fresh Produce, Deli, Flowers, Seafood and Groceries.

 

The store has 13 POS and 10 BO points, with integrated virtual airtime and card transactions offered for customers’ convenience at POS. The requirement for extended retail functionality in order to cater for all customers’ requirements, as well as the need for accurate management information necessary to manage the business optimally, have forced the change from the previous POS solution to Arch. Thank you Joe and Martin for accepting us as your business partners, we are privileged!

 

 

Cyber Crime Alert

 

Cybercrime has been on the increase in recent years. Incidents vary from deliberate and focused attacks to automated and opportunistic gathering of sensitive information.

 

Any site with a computer network is to some degree at risk of cyber attacks. In most cases the objective is to obtain confidential information to the fraudulent gain of the attacker and often to the disadvantage of the attacked party. Attacks are carried out by a variety of instigators which could include disgruntled employees or ex-employees, professional hackers or malicious software.

 

Even though it is the responsibility of a merchant to protect their own site, Spinnaker Software continuously develops and implements mechanisms to assist clients to mitigate this risk. However, it is up to the client to decide whether to use these mechanisms.

 

Card fraud and EFT: Possibly the most costly criminal cyber activity is in card (payment) fraud, specifically card-not-present (CNP) transactions. CNP transactions typically occur where a consumer enters card information online to facilitate payment (airline tickets, etc.). Fraudsters use card information such as card and CVV numbers printed on the card itself and embedded in the card’s magnetic strip. They attempt to gain access to this information by either tricking the consumer into disclosing this information or by infiltrating payment environments. The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) reports a 12.6% increase in CNP fraud from R168.1 million in 2014 to R189.2 million in 2015. Merchants who facilitate card payments by means of integrated EFT solutions are especially at risk of card fraud as card information could potentially be processed or stored on devices on their network.

 

To assist clients to mitigate this risk, Spinnaker has worked closely with its card payment service providers to design solutions which isolate the card payment environment (CPE) from the internal business network. This segmented solution, which has been implemented as standard practice since 2014, places the entire CPE on a separate network than your existing store environment, and reducing the risk of cyber attacks. It is strongly advised that all clients with integrated EFT ensure that they make use of the recommended segmented solution.

 

Remote access: Spinnaker’s support services require remote access to a store network. There are various connection options with different degrees of security risks for each, and it is important that clients consider these risks when deciding on a connection option.

 

Due to the growing threat of cyber attacks, Spinnaker has developed secure VPN (virtual private network), Spinnaker’s preferred remote access option for support services due to its superior speed and security. Secure VPN allows Spinnaker to add an extra level of authentication through which the store will only allow a remote connection if the connection is authenticated by and originates from Spinnaker, thereby further reducing risk of cyber attacks. Currently the secure VPN option is only available to clients using a compatible router.

 

An alternative to secure VPN is TeamViewer. Clients opting for TeamViewer need to note that it does not allow them to restrict the source of an incoming connection, thus exposing their stores to potential unauthorised access. Spinnaker policy is that TeamViewer should only be used in exceptional cases. As there are no router requirements for use of TeamViewer it may seem as an easier and cheaper option in the short-term, but clients need to consider the potential risk of unauthorised access to their store environment associated with it.

 

Client site configuration: At the start of 2014, Spinnaker compiled a Client Site Policy that outlines best practices and minimum requirements for all aspects of an installation at a client’s site. One of the main aims of this policy is to ensure optimal security of a client’s site on all fronts (e.g. antivirus, firewall, router, etc.). However, because Spinnaker is not the only party with access to a client’s site, clients need to monitor that their sites remains optimally configured.

 

Recommendations
In light of the above Spinnaker recommends as follows:
Card fraud – if your site makes use of integrated EFT, ensure that the segmented card payment solution is implemented.
Remote access – if at all possible, make use of a Spinnaker-recommended router to allow remote support by secure VPN.
Site configuration – limit the number of people authorised to effect changes to your site configuration to those that are truly capable, and contact Spinnaker if you have any reason for concern.

 

It remains the merchant’s responsibility to secure their site, but Spinnaker is glad to assist. Should you have any concerns with regard to the above, send an e-mail to the relevant address below and our branch will be in contact to assess your security situation:

Gauteng branch (including Botswana): ClientsecurityGP@archsoftware.co.za

Eastern Cape branch: ClientsecurityEC@archsoftware.co.za
Free State branch: ClientsecurityFS@archsoftware.co.za
Western Cape branch: ClientsecurityWC@archsoftware.co.za
KZN branch: ClientsecurityKZN@archsoftware.co.za
Namibia (Spitzkoppe CSS): ClientsecurityNAM@archsoftware.co.za