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Percy Ingle Bakeries

"The EPoS system has been a huge benefit because it has allowed us to increase our till control and accuracy whilst giving us a good platform for future development."
James Darby, Managing Director, Percy Ingle Bakeries

The Client

Percy Ingle is a fifth-generation family baker and confectioner, founded in 1954 by its namesake in Hackney, in London’s East End. The company has grown steadily and is now approaching one shop for every year of its existence. Keeping close to its roots, Percy Ingle shops are located in London and Essex. None is more than 30 minutes away from the factory in Leyton, so daily deliveries can be guaranteed to arrive ready for sale by 7.30am.

Using the strapline ‘freshly baked by family bakers’, the company’s aim is to produce quality bread and cakes using traditional craft skills and carefully-selected ingredients. Its extensive range of products includes European specialities such as cholla as well as its own-cooked Christmas puddings, in addition to filled rolls and savouries for the takeaway trade.

The Challenge

By 2009, Percy Ingle had started the migration from cash registers to EPoS using a small local supplier. Whilst touchscreen tills had been installed in four or five locations, the company was not getting the returns it needed. Explains Steve Boyes, Managing Director of EPOS Group, now Percy Ingle’s solutions provider: “They knew what they wanted but they hadn’t got there. By 2010, their project to roll out EPoS across the entire store estate had stalled.”

The Process

EPOS Group demonstrated their pedigree in bakery point-of-sale and helped Percy Ingle to define a way forward. The first step was to install their Quantum EPoS software, written in-house and adapted to the retail bakery sector, on those sites already running EPoS, and then install this solution in a handful of others. This gave the business a solid grounding from which to assess its needs and prepare a tender for software and hardware across the remainder of the estate.

The Solution

Continues Steve Boyes: “Once Percy Ingle was comfortable with the first eight sites and was getting hoped-for benefits, it was clear our solution would work well across the whole business.” EPOS Group duly secured the contract, and set about creating a standard configuration. This comprised its Quantum software running on PC-based touchscreen terminals from hardware partner J2 Retail Systems, the de facto EPoS supplier to the bakery industry.

“The J2s are ideal for retail bakeries. They’re reliable, easy to operate and easy to maintain. Being fanless, the units can’t overheat or suck in dust and flour, which makes for the practical and hygienic environment that our bakery clients demand.”

This new configuration is now being rolled out across the whole Percy Ingle estate, with completion due in February 2012. A total of 99 points-of-sale will equip the business, with the J2 615 being the EPoS device of choice in the shops.

The Percy Ingle solution is more collaborative yet, as Steve Boyes explains. “At Percy Ingle and a number of other bakery clients, our Quantum software is tightly-integrated with CyBake, a bakery management solution from RedBlack Software. This integration enables retail bakers to manage their production volumes based on historical sales performance. In their retail outlets, it generates real-time suggested order levels to replace the standing-order system the industry typically uses for daily replenishment.”

The Benefits

• Percy Ingle finds the J2 touchscreen tills tailor-made for its business, being fanless, space-efficient, rugged and user-friendly
• The control provided by EPOS Group and RedBlack software has already reduced till shrinkage and increased revenues
• Measurable reductions in component usage have also been achieved, amounting to saving of £10,000s
• Support for Chip and PIN and contactless payment options are helping to build business growth
• As judged by other EPOS Group and J2 sites, a rapid return on investment of 6-12 months is anticipated

The Results

Costs cut by control throughout the baking and sales life-cycle
By investing in Quantum and in CyBake, Percy Ingle has acquired the ability to reconcile the goods made in the bakery with replenishment and delivery to the shops, encompassing sales, wastage and cash reconciliation. “Our complete closed-loop control system accounts for everything, from buying the flour down to taking the money. It takes demand from the shops and translates it back into what the business needs, calculating ingredient volumes and production costs.”

Reduced wastage saves £10,000s
“Bakers adopting our combined solution save on raw material costs through wastage control whilst still maintaining sales,” observes Steve Boyes. In the case of Percy Ingle, better control has already resulted in a 2% wastage reduction. The system records wastage on each baked item, which is reported upon and logged as a performance measure. Suggested replenishment levels are calculated according to sales and wastage figures and result in better stock levels.

Increased till security, reduced shrinkage
The new solution manages staff via a system log-in, which guides them through pre-set processes. Intentional and inadvertent errors such as under-rings, no sales and voids are captured by the system and reported on, giving business visibility and equipping management to predict average sales per shop and per employee. By highlighting non-standard operations, these processes reveal any staff responsible for shrinkage. “The flow of revenue being lost through shrinkage has now been stemmed.”

Accurate sales data for better stock control
Quantum software running on the touchscreen tills manages stock and turns shop staff into clerks that enter sales data accurately. Percy Ingle employs some 350 staff, all of whom can now report back precisely what is selling and what is wasted as part of a consistent and automated process that leaves no room for staff discretion or error.

New solution is tailor-made for retail bakers
“Staff find the new system very straightforward, both software and hardware,” adds Steve Boyes. “The management team had some initial concerns about staff picking it up, given the business employs people of all ages, but there were no issues.” The physical configuration is practical and ergonomic too, with the tills mounted on a raised area and fitting well into the shop layout.

Promotions that work
The solution also controls promotions, discounts and special offer activity. Quantum software enables the business to analyse margins made on promotions including any extra margin given away. This helps them to judge the success of each campaign or offer and of individual staff performance in pushing them.

Support for latest payment options including contactless
All Percy Ingle stores run with integrated Chip and PIN. In addition, beating many of its larger competitors to market, the baker has opted for contactless payment across the business. “Contactless was ideal for Percy Ingle, so we implemented this for them. Their territory is bang in the middle of the Olympic Stadium area of Stratford, with most shops within 5 miles,” says Boyes. The availability of contactless payment has already started to increase the take-up of credit card sales which, in turn, is predicted to lift revenues.

www.percy-ingle.co.uk

About EPOS Group

EPOS Group specialises in electronic point-of-sale systems. This year celebrating its 40th anniversary, it has evolved from a regional sales and service system provider to a trusted partner to thousands of national and local businesses that require everything from touch terminals with Windows® back-office and head-office control to classic till-style cash registers.

The company has become synonymous with modern, reliable, carefully-designed and installed EPoS systems for retail and hospitality. Specific sectors served include bars, pubs, convenience, fast-food, grocers, restaurants, clubs, hotels, farm shops and bakeries. All EPoS set-ups can be catered for, from a single site just opening to nationwide multi-chain business requiring a fully-managed upgrade.

About RedBlack Software’s CyBake

CyBake is RedBlack Software's specialist business management software for bakeries and food manufacturers, covering all aspects of production, wholesaling and supply to owned retail outlets. CyBake is used by 60+ bakeries along with CyBake Touch, a stand-alone solution running on EPoS tills that links head office and bakers' retail outlets via the internet. CyBake reduces waste and increases shop profits by improving ordering quality and reducing time spent on daily ordering. Sales order processing, recipe management, CRM and credit control are other functions provided by the CyBake solution.

Sector: Retail Bakery