SDI markets a complete store system (IRIS) to chain retailers in specific retail market segments. SDI ’s “Interactive Retail Information System” (IRIS) is not just a boilerplate that needs extensive tailoring but is a complete store solution.

IRIS is designed to take advantage of the latest technology to reduce operating costs, improve margins, increase management awareness and maximize the customers shopping experience and loyalty.  Advanced features of the system include:

     Resilient Non-Stop Point of Sale Processing

     Integrated Credit, Debit, Check And Gift Card Processing

     Integrated Customer Loyalty Program

     Advanced Store Back Office Applications

     Real Time Updates

     Complete Inventory Management

     Wireless Operation And RF Hand Held Integration

     Automated House Keeping

     Network Communications and Host Integration

In addition to satisfying the requirements of retailers operating in the United States, IRIS has been designed to satisfy the unique requirements of Canada, UK, Europe and Mexico. Features built into the system include a multi-language database, support for foreign address and phone number formats, support for foreign currency conversions, and support for Canadian GST, PST and VAT tax, among others.

For those retailers looking for a complete "Host to Post" solution SDI teams up with its business partner MIIX to provide host merchandising, accounting and advanced data warehouse analysis applications that are fully integrated with the IRIS store system. This seamless solution reduces implementation time frames, cost and the risk associated with purchasing bespoke systems that must then be integrated.  

SDI also provides options for customers that need to retain existing legacy hardware allowing gradual migration from older hardware platforms to newer industry standard platforms. Ask SDI about our legacy hardware and software options.  

With IRIS the retailer can feel good about making a major investment in a software solution that will reduce operational costs improve the effectiveness of store operations, provide a competitive advantage and keep pace with ongoing changes in system technology.

Point of Sale

The ability to efficiently manage customer purchases and capture transaction sales details is the heart of any point of sale system. The IRIS point of sale system is designed to streamline the entry of today's complex sales transactions and provide efficient customer checkout processing. 

A consistent operator interface, operator prompting, selection windows, lookup options and help facilities are built into the point of sale application to reduce training time and the cost associated with the high turnover of retail employees.

Extensive parameters allow each retailer to define transaction types, tender, receipt details and other processing features of the point of sale application. These parameters allow tailoring of the point of sale system to satisfy specific requirements without need to for extensive modifications.

The IRIS point of sale system is fully integrated with the IRIS store back office applications. As soon as transactions are completed at the point of sale terminal item inventory and other back office files are updated providing store personnel and management with up to the minute information on sales, stock status and customer activity, among others.

The system is designed to give the retailer a customer service advantage without adding to store operating costs. Customer service features include integrated credit and debit authorization processing, integrated customer loyalty program, management of commercial credit sales, automated refund processing and management and tracking of advanced customer transactions including; Layaway, Will Call, Delivery, Special Order, Rentals, Rain Checks and Estimates, among others.

The IRIS customer loyalty module is fully integrated with the point of sale. User parameters allow each retailer to define and setup the loyalty program that will provide the best benefit to the retailer and their customers.

The IRIS point of sale system is designed to insure non-stop point of sale operation. Resilient features built into the system includes automatic switch over of point of sale processing to a back up terminal or controller on a failure and automatic recover and catch up processing when the failure is corrected. All transaction data is archived for multiple days to insure multi-day recovery and catch up of point of sale data is possible.

The IRIS point of sale system is designed to operate on industry standard PC processors supporting MS Windows operating software. Flexible configuration options allow the system to be used in stores with 1 to 30 or more point of sale terminals without changing the application.  The system supports the latest OPOS peripherals including; thermal printers with MICR and check imaging, debit signature terminals, UPC scanners, weigh scales, customer displays and big ticket or standard keyboards, among others.  The IRIS point of sale application is designed to provide the retailer a choice of display options including standard VGA, LCD or advanced Touch Screen monitors.

The IRIS point of sale system is designed to support even the most complex retail processing requirements and provide the retailer with the tools needed to stay ahead of the competition and provide the best possible service to their customers.

IRIS Back Office Applications

IRIS back office applications are designed to operate on industry standard PC platforms supporting Microsoft Windows, UNIX or Linux operating software and industry standard Windows client architecture. The back office applications are modular in design and include extensive user parameters to control application features and options. All back office applications are fully integrated with the IRIS point of sale system. The IRIS system uses industry standard Ethernet and TCP/IP connectivity and supports industry standard wireless configurations. 

Back office applications offered with the IRIS store system include:

     Daily Store Sales Audit and Cash Office Management

     Customer Loyalty Tracking and Management

     Merchandise Management

     Item Price and Cost Management

     Inventory Adjustments, Transfers and Vendor Returns

     Support for Kits and Packages

     Cycle Counts and Physical Inventory

     Extensive Sales History

     Promotions Management and Tracking

     Automated Replenishment

     Warehouse Ship Notices, Purchase Orders and Merchandise Receiving

     Wireless Store Operation and RF Hand-Held Terminal Applications

     Shelf Audit

     Price Change Management

     Promotion Price Management

     Item Re-order Processing

     Inventory Adjustments, Transfers and Vendor Returns

     Inventory Receipt Processing

     Inventory Cycle Counts

     Customer Sales Entry (Line Busting)

     UPC Shelf Labels, Item Tags and Promotion Label Printing

     Time and Attendance

     Physical Inventory

The IRIS systems modular design allows each retailer to choose those modules and features that best satisfy their store automation requirements.

Sales Audit and Cash Office Management

The IRIS Sales Audit and Cash Office Management applications are designed to provide extensive sales audit and balancing reports. This module provides complete facilities to track and balance cashier drawers; manage daily deposits and maintain the stores safe.  Extensive reports are provided to audit transaction activity and highlight exceptions and daily sales for management review.

Customer Loyalty Management and Tracking

The IRIS customer management system allows the retailer to setup and define a customer tracking and loyalty system suit their specific needs. Multiple customer types can be defined including loyalty customers, commercial accounts and membership customers, among others. Customer recognition at POS, item specific pricing, discounts and complete purchase history tracking are standard features of the system.

Merchandise Management

The IRIS system includes a merchandise management module that is fully integrated with point of sale processing and other store applications. The IRIS module manages price and cost changes, tracks total stock on hand, stock allocated to customers, stock on hold pending transfer or vendor return and maintains the quantity of stock on order. In addition to maintaining stock availability the system maintains complete item sales history and tracks each items rate of sale at a seasonal level. Based on this information store personnel always know what is available for sale, how much merchandise is required to maximize sales and minimize stock outs and when to expect merchandise deliveries.

Promotions Management and Tracking

The IRIS promotion module is designed to support advanced periodic promotions downloaded from a host site or created in a store. Promotions are controlled by start and end dates and times. Extensive promotion pricing options allow the retailer to create, manage and track promotions that are designed to attract today’s price conscious consumers and stay ahead of the competition. All promotion results are captures for upload to a host site and for review by store personnel.

Automated Replenishment

The IRIS system is designed to work in tandem with a host merchandising system to automate replenishment of store merchandise. Replenishment processing can be done centrally or in the store using the IRIS store systems replenishment module. The IRIS system can create warehouse orders and direct vendor purchase orders and can manage direct vendor deliveries. Orders created centrally can be downloaded to the store for approval processing or for merchandise receipt processing.

Warehouse Ship Notices, Purchase Orders and Merchandise Receiving

The IRIS system is designed to manage warehouse ship notices, vendor purchase orders and receipt of merchandise as a result of a direct store delivery. Audit controls and proven receipt options insure the accuracy of store merchandise receipts and reporting of merchandise deliveries to corporate to facilitate updates to the corporate stock ledger payables.

Wireless Store Operation & RF Hand-Held Applications

The IRIS system includes wireless connectivity of some or all terminals to the store server using industry standard wireless technology. In addition to wireless connectivity of terminals and workstations SDI offers a complete suite of fully integrated RF hand held applications designed to streamline store operations and improve customer service. RF applications include:

     Management of Promotions

     Management of Price Changes

     Shelf Audit

     Item Re-order Processing

     Merchandise Adjustments, Transfers and Vendor Returns

     Merchandise Receipt Processing

     Item Cycle Counts

     Customer Sales Entry (Line Busting)

UPC Shelf Labels, Item Tags and Promotion Label Printing

Maintaining attractive update shelf labels and item tags is an important aspect of providing a high level of customer service in a store. The IRIS label print module supports the creation and maintenance of store shelf labels, item tags and promotional labels. Label or tag formats can be centrally designed and downloaded to the store for use with the label application. Default format codes held on each item record are used to control the format and printing of labels and tags. Label print options include printing of shelf labels as a result of price changes, promotions, plan-o-gram changes, item maintenance and new item receipts, among other options. Labels are printed on standalone label printer of choice.

Time and Attendance

The IRIS “Time and Attendance” module interfaces with the store employee file to automate the capture of employee time cards and the entry of time card adjustments for upload to corporate for payroll processing. Time card adjustments are user definable and can include adjustments for sick time and vacation time and can include dollar adjustments for things like spiffs, among others.

Physical Inventory

The IRIS physical inventory module is designed to support complete store physical inventory takes using an outside service or the retailer’s internal staff. Options include support for physical counts using a hand held device or from floppy or other media created by an outside count service. Features of the system include creation of not counted and recount worksheets as a result of count input and user-defined recount parameters. Results are used to update the stores on hand information and are uploaded to corporate to support centralized inventory control and adjustments to the stock ledger.

Credit, Debit, Check & Gift Card Options

SDI provides the retailer with a choice of applications to support their credit, debit, gift-card and check authorization requirements. Options offered by SDI include:

	Vital's PosPort Interface – This low cost option provide 6 to 12 second response times for standard credit card and check authorization requests over standard dial phone lines.
	Ingenico's En-Concert Store and En- Concert Insight Credit Interface – This solution resides in the store and supports routing of credit, debit, gift card and check authorization requests using a dial out interface, VPN or other store dedicated network. The Ingenico Insight software also provides for debit card bin number recognition and automated debit card selection.
	GoSoftware's Rita Central Credit Switch – For those retailers that prefer a centralized credit switch SDI offers GoSoftware's Rita credit management software. This solution provides for centralized management of credit, debit, gift cards and checks authorization using the stores VPN or dedicated network. Options include centralized settlement of charges, among others.

Both the Ingenico and GoSoftware interface to a number of different merchant processors allowing the retailer to choose a merchant processor that best meets their needs. In addition to the options defined above SDI provides complete integration to other authorization services for those retailers that may already have an existing credit authorization processing in place.

IRIS Support System

Operating in conjunction with the IRIS store system SDI offers a centralized support system called the "IRIS Gateway Support System". This system is designed to provide a variety of centralized support functions to compliment the IRIS store system. Support options include:

	Online and historical archive store electronic transaction details including customer signature data.
	Online access and review of transactions and reprint of transaction details with customer signature.
	Transaction data retrieval to support store automated refund processing.
	Centralized customer database management.
	Central management of store parameters and control files.
	Centralized management and distribution of store application programs.
	Centralized management and tracking of store issued gift certificates.

IRIS Communications

Reliable data communications between retail locations and the corporate office is essential to the success of every chain retailer. It is important to be able to seamlessly route vital merchandising information to all retail locations and receive transaction updates form all locations on schedule. The IRIS communications subsystem performs these functions by synchronizing critical merchandising information between corporate core business servers and the store’s back office.  This data movement normally happens unattended and without data processing intervention, delivering timely vital information where it is needed to satisfy sales requirements and keep the entire enterprise up-to-date. 

In addition to providing end-to-end secure unattended data transfers, the communications subsystem also provides store network resource monitoring to aid in diagnosing critical store network or other processing problems from the corporate office.  Critical network resource monitoring built into the system provides tools to facilitate alerting corporate personnel and accurate problem diagnosis (and resolution) with minimal involvement of non-technical store personnel.

As the capability and complexity of the retail information system grows, the need to standardize back-office software at retail locations becomes a necessity that is required to efficiently maintain the enterprise. The IRIS communications software ensures standardization of your store back-office software by providing the tools required to push revisions out from the corporate office and track their update on the store back-office system.  

SDI works with each retailer to design and implement an internet, frame relay, or dial on demand extended network based on enterprise communications needs.

Integrated Host and Data Warehouse Applications

Many retailers have been prevented from reaping the real benefits of a modern fully integrated retail merchandise management system due to the upfront system costs, integration complexity, costs and timescales or the level of risk involved in implementing bespoke systems. 

SDI recognizes this and has joined forces with MIIX to provide an out of the box fully integrated Merchandising, Supply Chain Management and Data Warehouse solution. MIIX’s SQL Retail system has been designed to not only satisfy the operational needs of the head office, such as Merchandise Management and Supply Chain Management, but also provides detailed intelligent analysis information needed by various levels of management to make the informed decisions about the business from MIIX’s integrated Data Warehouse.

To complement MIIX merchandise management system SDI and MIIX have selected Great Plains as our best of breed choice to supply enterprise level financial solutions.

Features included in the MIIX SQL-Retail System include:

	Integrated Retail Data Warehouse
	Executive Information System
	Merchandise Database Management
	Product and Retail Price Management
	Promotion Price Management
	Supplier and Purchase Management
	Store and Warehouse Allocations
	Store and Warehouse Inventory Control
	Store and Warehouse Automated Replenishment
	Direct Vendor Purchase Orders and Store Direct Ships
	Complete POS Interface
	Complete Financial Interface

The SQL Retail system is designed to operate on today's industry standard PC servers supporting Microsoft Windows and SQL Server Database.