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1 This premium EPoS solution provides the ideal platform for the modern multisite retail business. With innovative architecture and sophisticated features it will help you increase revenues and reduce costs across all your stores and online channels, all at a very affordable price. Innovative smart client architecture makes the solution highly scalable. With open source databases on every till, reliability is high and cost per store low. Connect uses a true multichannel platform. It provides timely information whilst giving you access to the latest technology with automatic updates. The Connect till is very easy to use for your staff with smart features built-in to help serve customers better and sell more. At the Head you can get centralised reports on all of your multichannel activities. $$ Call us on or info@intelligentretail.com.au

2 Connect Architecture Smart Client: Why we believe it s the ultimate Architecture for Retail The key to Connect is its sophisticated smart client platform. This delivers the optimum mix of reliability, updatability and stock management for multisite retailers. Up to the minute. Smart Client means the database is stored locally on each till. Then the till uses broadband to send information to the main server. This means that data flows around the business. Reliable. But unlike many other systems, it is not reliant on broadband, the till still works and trading can continue even when broadband runs slowly or goes off completely. This makes the tills highly reliable and allows retailers to deliver a consistent high level of service. Affordable. What makes Connect so affordable is the use of Firebird Open Source databases at each till point. Each Firebird database is free. Why Firebird? Research from analyst Evans Data showed Firebird, an open-source database known for sizzling performance, is surging in popularity and heralds the growth of open-source databases. "In environments like retail, companies need to be able to put databases out there that are close to sources of the data said Joe McKendrick, an analyst for Evans. We consider the use of local databases at each till point being the only robust way to implement a retail system and open-source databases make it affordable for all retailers. I am very pleased that the research backs our view that using an open-source database and Smart Client is the right architecture for retail. David Mackley Managing Director, Intelligent Retail

3 Using the latest Cloud Computing Technologies Multi-store retail businesses have more intensive reporting requirements because of the amount of data to analyse. The Head Office Cloud Server is a hosted reporting system that allows reports to be run directly from a fast hosted server rather than run from a user s laptop. This increases the speed of the more intensive reports. So you get the perfect blend of Smart Client architecture which allows the tills to run independently from the internet, with centralised reporting on a fast hosted server. Running reports is very computer intensive and is prone to peaks of activity. If several reports are run at once, this slows performance. Users have to wait, or invest in a big, powerful expensive server (just to achieve peak performance a tiny percentage of the time which is a significant waste of money and resources). Cloud computing shares a wide set of resources, usually hundreds of servers. We pay for one server in the cloud but have access to all of the servers. This means much faster processing at peak times. The main benefits of cloud computing are: You do not have to wait as long for reports, especially at peak times. We can keep costs much lower. True Multichannel Platform Because the main platform is multichannel (Connect was built from the ground up as a multichannel solution) Connect seamlessly integrates your online activity with your offline. So customers can shop, buy items, use gift vouchers, and return items in any store or website and Connect will provide a common experience. For example: Gift Vouchers bought in one store can be redeemed in other stores or on your integrated website. When redeemed, the voucher is electronically stamped as used so it cannot be used again. At the till, receipts can be scanned from any store sale or web sale and the item properly returned and tracked. At Head Office a receipt number can be tracked, or found via the date of purchase or customer account, whichever channel was used to make the purchase.

4 Connect Hardware At the Store Connect is likely to work on most existing PC till systems. If new EPoS hardware is required, our choice is based on offering best value for money; combining price, reliability and build quality. Touch Screen Clean lines and solid performance makes this screen ideal for a retail environment. It has a slimline design and compact footprint to free up plenty of room on the sales counter. It can be tilted though 20 degrees and is height adjustable. If you would like an integrated customer display see screen in 'Options'. Dimensions (W x D x H) 378 x 210 x mm Connect Retail System This CPU has all the functions to provide solid service for the retail environment. With Connect pre-installed and tested prior to delivery, a small form factor to easily fit underneath a counter and solid build quality, it is perfect for your high performance till system. Peripherals We recommend the Voyager scanner and Epson TM-T88v Printer. These are designed specifically for retail environments and combine reliability with affordability. Options Touch Screen with Customer Display This combines style, with robustness and reliability. Built for retail, it has colour options and a built in tilting customer display. Other features include: Tilting screen. Front-facing USB port. Dimensions (W x D x H) 419 x 310 x 253 (up to 332)mm Handheld Stock Management System includes Charger, Wireless Point and Software This innovative handheld scanner gives you real-time stock counting, perfect for fast Stock Taking, Goods In & Out. There are no uploads, no downloads, just turn it on and start scanning with all stock movements being updated on the Connect stock tree immediately using your wireless network. And it s so easy to use. No more dragging stock around to count it, or printing paper lists, just walk around and start beeping! Accurate stock control has never been easier.

5 Integrated Chip and Pin A faster way to take card payments. There are no numbers to key in and it uses broadband so authorisation is much quicker than traditional dial up terminals (so no need to tie up your telephone line either). There are also fewer errors. It can do cardholder present, cardholder not present and cash back. Barcode Printer Pack (Thermal) Print Method: Direct Thermal. Enhanced performance and speed. Built for ease-of-use and durability. Connect Software At the Store The till - simplicity is everything! Anyone who has worked in a shop and operated a cash register can use the Connect EPoS till. Yet you get powerful features like management of special orders, deposits, and back orders. With instant visibility of stock at any location (even on back order), and barcoded receipts to reduce theft from returns, Connect converts a till into a great tool for your staff. "The barcoded receipts that Connect produces are great. They make life so much easier for all the staff when dealing with sales queries and returns." Martin from Discount Baby Staff management & till security With Connect you can incentivise your staff to sell more by up-selling and crossselling. There are other plusses; you can measure the results of changing opening hours and find out when you are busiest. You can even see the impact of moving products around the store. In retail stores where staff are handling cash every day, it is good practice that they know you are able to track till activity. The till is very secure so you can rely on your staff to handle cash, give change and take gift receipts because everything is recorded.

6 End of Day: Quick, Simple and Accurate You can run your end of day reports at head office, although most commonly it is done at the till by the store manager. As well as a secure cashing up routine, additional information is available to help the managers run the store. For example they can see a sales breakdown by category and drill into any areas they are interested in. They can also see the number of discounts each member of staff has given and the number of sales made per staff member. Instant visibility of stock anywhere! Most retailers say that an EPoS system makes the store look more professional and gives customers greater confidence in the business. Connect EPoS also helps your staff sell more as the visual stock tree makes it so quick to find information on items, as well as locate products and find alternatives. Connect has made a difference in increasing sales. It leads the staff to related items, for example a fleece that goes with that item. We also up-sell. With the information on Connect staff say: You are asking for this one but this is a better boot for you. We now sell more, close enquiries faster, we upsell and cross-sell. Manish, Outdoor Sports Branch Transfers Any branch can transfer goods in or out to another location. This can be tracked at Head Office. There are also reports available to see store activity or activity on batches of items or even specific products. In-Store Reports A selection of reports are available to each store manager. For example they can run replenishment reports, goods received and sales reports to help them run the store effectively with the right information at their fingertips. Promotions & Customer Loyalty Promotions give your customers another reason for coming back. Varieties of promotions are available in a couple of clicks. They keep the shop vibrant and make the shop an interesting place to visit and to work in. Staff and customers will be happier. You can also run customer loyalty programs direct from the till. As well as improving loyalty, a customer list is a valuable asset in your business.

7 We are proud of the service our team delivers, helped now by Connect. We use Connect loyalty cards with barcodes on and have built up a customer database. Customers now come in keenly asking for their card to be scanned and look forward to their Loyalty Voucher being printed. Paul, Sport Shoes Connect Software At the Head Office We believe that the architecture of Connect is second to none. Taking advantage of the internet for communication means you can get up to date information from around the business to make high quality management decisions. You can manage the business from a set head office location, or in fact anywhere with a Connect license and a login. Central Stock Control & Sales Reports The most common reason for buying EPoS is stock control and sales reports. Connect has the innovative Visual Stock Tree to give you instant visibility of stock and powerful sales reports whether you need to see a single item, a group, a department or your whole stock! We hold thousands of products and it is impossible to keep this in your head. Now using the Visual Stock Tree staff can see instantly what is in stock, it s like a window into the business. We know precisely what has sold and we reorder accurately saving time and money. It s quick and easy to see what the stock holding is. I don t know how we could cope without stock control. Sean, Houghton Retail Stocking the right products at the right time is essential for all retailers. With Connect you can set minimum and maximum levels but most of our retailers also use the built-in Intelligent Sales Analysis to see which products are performing best... and worst. This helps them order the right products at the right time, and keeps money tied up in stock to an absolute minimum.

8 John from Galleria said: We no longer worry about the stores being filled with unwanted products. Our ordering accuracy has improved because of the functionality in Connect. Since installing Connect we Handling Regional Variations have reduced overstocking, which is a problem many From retailers the Head face, Office, because stores we order can have the correct different items min / max quantities as well individual more often. pricing on items to account for regional variations. Accounting: Count on Connect, fast & accurate The Connect EPoS System calculates VAT on a product level. At the end of each financial period just click a button and the accounts information is provided for you to send to your accountant or use in any accounts package. Connect is also properly integrated with Sage for more detailed analysis if required. Please see our document Accounts Connect for more details. Smart Purchase Orders In Connect, you have options in how you reorder for your stores. You can have central control using Head Office purchase orders or your store managers can order and get permission from Head Office before proceeding, all handled within Connect. Connect has an intelligent re-order engine that analyses sales flows as well as minimum stock quantities to suggest a re-order profile for you. It is quick and simple yet flexible for the buyer. Martin from Discount Baby said: "Connect has helped us to easily keep track of stock levels and see which items are selling and which items aren't. That allows us to make better buying choices. We now buy in smaller quantities, more frequently which saves money". Central Customer Management All your customer information is held in one central place, whether they buy via any store, mail order or using your online channels. It is so easy to search and locate a customer from any location. Also it is very easy to add a new customer with Post Code lookup facility from anywhere. Many retailers sell to some trade organisations. In Connect you can set them up with the right level of VAT, you can give credit terms and set a customer discount.

9 You can also sort the customer list by; balance outstanding or debt age for accounts purposes. There are reports run aged debtor reports! Use filters to create marketing lists and or mail your offers out to them. Demographic information is available with marketing opt-in for data protection. This is useful for supporting mail and campaigns. Product Management Manage all aspects of your product portfolio from one simple area. Add an image and Connect will size it for your Retail system and your website, so you can see the image anywhere. Connect makes managing groups of products easy. One of the most powerful aspects of the Visual Stock Tree is the filter which allows you to select groups of products fast. For example select a supplier from a drop down list and only their articles will be displayed. You can add to this a search word or term to refine the filtered list. Once filtered you can manipulate just those selected articles for example; run reports, apply discounts or do a stock take. With Tags you can give characteristics to your items and customers. You can then report on these characteristics giving you a highly flexible way to view your business. Managing new and updated products is easy in Connect with tools like Import Wizard to import thousands of items at once (including images), as well as Mass Price Updater to give you controls to alter price structures and costs in a few clicks. Style Management If your products have colour and size options, or other options like left hand / right hand, then managing these couldn t be easier. First create your master style,

10 then add the options to it. Connect will create an individual item for each option. The smart thing is you can quickly mange these independently or by changing the master style. The Visual Matrix gives you the information in such an easy way to then manage these more easily. Head Office Reporting Good reporting is vital for multiple store retailers to run efficiently. Connect offers a variety of reports. We are really proud of the unique ' Visual Stock Tree'. This allows you to zoom into any specific area of your business, or zoom out for a more general look at performance. For example, you can view the performance of a specific product at store level or online or across your whole business. Each report can be run with relevant options such as a specific time period. All results can be printed in a pdf or Excel spreadsheet format. Plug In Reports: If you would like a report that is not already in the extensive Connect Reporting Suite we can create it for you for a low one off cost and plug it in so you will have access to it from Head Office. Warehousing Connect supports features for large store locations and warehouses including Location for each item as well as barcode tracking of all items. The Connect Fulfilment Centre has a suite of functions specific to warehousing. See the document Connect Fulfilment Centre for details. "I am so impressed with Intelligent Retail, the Connect system is clearly designed for retailers. It is so easy to use." Ralph Maxwell, MD at Chain of Gift Stores

11 Flexible Head Office Reporting Platforms We are keen not to saddle you with extra computer costs, so Connect is designed to utilise your existing computer infrastructure within the business. As such, Connect can work on a variety of platforms to suit the size of your business. Smaller multi-store retailers can start with a simple PC reporting solution. Larger retailers can move up through Server and Leased line systems through to Cloud Server based reporting. Here are the options: PC and Broadband A Back Office PC with connection to broadband is all you need to get started. This PC can run Connect and be used for back office tasks. It will be designated as the reporting system and your reports will be run from there. This keeps your costs low. As you add more Back Office PC's they can each run reports, thus spreading the load. When to use. Smaller multi-store retailers can benefit from local reporting on a PC as this ensures lower costs and better utilisation of your computing resources. Research shows that typically retailers run reports at store level and at Head Office level. So rather than pay for one big server that can run slowly at peak times, we think it makes more sense to spread the load across several back office PCs. Server and Leased Line / Fibre As your retail estate grows, you may find that upgrading to Fibre or Leased Line will be beneficial to manage the growing flow of data into your Head Office. You may also want to add a server in your Head Office as well (or utilise an existing one). When to use. If you have outgrown the PC solution, or already have a server, this can be utilised by Connect. The faster leased line or fibre internet connections will increase the speed of the data being shared across the meeting. Virtual Head Office This is an option for all retailers. It means that reports are requested from your local PC, then the request is sent to our main servers. The reports are run there, then sent it back to your PC over the internet. So instead of having all your company data downloaded to your office, it is held off-site. When to use. This is an ideal solution if you do not have very powerful back office PCs (or if you have no back office PCs) and would like to give your stores the ability to run reports.

12 Cloud Server Larger multi-store retailers with more intensive reporting needs, would benefit from a Cloud Server. This is your own flexible Cloud configuration giving the ultimate in speed and power when required. When to use. This is recommended for larger multi-store retailers. Connect Customer Service Our friendly Australia based team is happy to help you or your staff with queries about Connect. The team at RS Sailing are happy with our decision to choose Intelligent Retail and we find the support and back up excellent. As a smaller business than some EPoS providers, Intelligent Retail delivers a more personal service. Adam, RS Sailing Anneliese, Head of Customer Services Optional Extras Most of the functions discussed here are built in as standard, some are optional extras. For more details see documents 'Accounts Connect' and 'Connect Fulfilment Centre'. $$ Intelligent Retail Grnd Fl, 35 Spring st, Bondi Junction, NSW Australia Tel: Web: -mail: enquiries@intelligentretail.com.au