If you are thinking about a shop refurbishment or are moving into new premises, there are a few things you need to consider regarding cabling to provide your customers or clientele with the best possible service. A couple of cabling systems you may want to think about are:
- Point of sale
- Voice and data cabling
- Security and access control
- Video survailance
- WIFI installations
- Fire alarm cabling
Why do I need to think about cabling systems?
It is essential to think about your cabling and how it can affect your current business. You may also want to think about your current business objects and how having the right cabling systems can help you achieve them. Some cabling systems that are more of an essential rather than a necessity for retail store are POS, security, video surveillance and fire alarm cabling. Without these cabling systems, you could possibly be exposed to a variety of potential hazards.
Point of sale
You may not know how important a point of sale unit in your store may be, but we believe it to be essential to the overall running of your business. Not only are they there for you to be able to sell your products or services and your customers pay for them, but they are also there to help you run your business day to day. They are seen as an all in one solution to a multitude of everyday issues you might encounter. If you haven’t, already you might soon have an inventory that fails to match hand tallies created by members of staff or unrecorded sales. You might even experience human errors that can waste a significant amount of time to try correctly.
Using a point of sale system will help eliminate any of these issues as it accurately collects and records store data. It provides a range of benefits to your business including detailed analysis of sales and stock takes. You can also check it monthly to outline how your business is currently performing and ways of improving it.
Sales can often be an absolute nightmare in retail, with a POS system you can remove this hassle. You can tell it when there are reductions on products and special offers, rather than your staff having to work out the difference a POS system can track and automatically calculate the pricing difference while updating your inventory correctly.
Voice and data cabling
Back in the day to use your business phone, you would have to use a separate cabling system compared to your network cabling. A popularity with digital phones has now taken place, and it is more common to have your POS system and your phones connected via the same cable. Not only does this cause less hassle but it also stops any interference from getting into your cables. VoIP allows your business to have more advances communications systems compared to previously outdated technology.
Security and access control
Security and access controls can cover a range of cabling systems, but the one we believe to be most important to any business is the burglar alarm. There are so many things that store owners tend to forget when thinking about their burglar alarms. Your burglar alarms are there to detect anyone that may be trying to enter the premises when unauthorised to do so. You can choose from a range of security solutions such as keypad entry, automatic electrical locks when someone leaves a room; you can now have listening detectors that know when there is broken glass or sensors that can detect radio frequency.
Video survailance
Cameras are going to be your best friend in the retail industry; they allow you to check on staff in multiple locations on the shop floor and in the stock room. They also allow you to capture footage when you have a potential shoplifter. There is nothing worse than having items stolen with no evidence of it ever happening.
WIFI installations
Have you ever walked into a store and witnessed loads of men standing around twiddling their thumbs waiting for their other half. Well WIFI is a great solution for them but also your business, they can stay busy while waiting for their partners to try something on and you can add multiple devices to optimise your business. With great WIFI network installations, you can cover a large area without having any interruptions to speed and downloads.
Fire alarm cabling
UK fire alarm regulations currently stat any business premises no matter the size must have an appropriate fire detection system. There are now a range of fire alarm cabling systems you can have in your retail store including conventional fire alarms which are all connected via the same cabling system, addressable fire alarms with each device having its own unique address and wireless fire alarms which use a secure wireless link between the sensors and the fire alarm panels. We always recommend any retail property to make sure that is getting the right fire alarm system to meet UK fire alarm regulations. If you would like more information on fire safety regulations you can take a look, by clicking here.
Summary
Here at Puffin solutions, we believe getting the right cabling systems will really help you achieve the best business. Some of the cabling systems mentioned can benefit your business significantly and help the way you run it. POS systems are a great way of adding value to your business; they help improve the way your store can work, they are not only there for your to process sales but also help with day to day running such as taking stock checks and running weekly reports allowing you to see sales progression. Security access controls, video surveillance and fire alarms are all fundamental to the running of your business. You want to make it as safe as possible for your customers and employees.
