Community Cornerstone Amplifies Productivity and Customer Service with Intelligent, Agile POS
The thrill of discovery entices customers to visit Goodwill again and again. “We never have the same thing twice,” explained Wes Snedden, Donated Goods Regional Manager at Goodwill Industries of Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan (Goodwill NWUP). From unique clothing and practical home goods to hidden treasures, Goodwill NWUP offers a dynamic shopping experience and the opportunity to engage with friendly employees. An important component to a great customer experience includes a smooth check-out process. When Goodwill NWUP needed to find a new point-of-sale (POS) solution, Epicor Propello checked all the right boxes.
Since 1965, Goodwill NWUP has been working to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals, families and communities by eliminating barriers to opportunity and helping people in need reach their fullest potential through the power of work. The Goodwill philosophy of “a hand up, not a handout” is brought to life on a daily basis through five Goodwill NWUP locations across the region.
We looked at five to six vendors and found that Epicor Propello had everything that we needed. Epicor Propello was easy to use and everyone we interacted with at Epicor was customer service friendly.
When QuickBooks announced end-of-service, Goodwill NWUP needed a new POS system to keep the business, and the communities it serves, thriving. Snedden revealed, “We were on QuickBooks and when they announced they were ending service, we shopped around for a new POS system. We looked at five to six vendors and found that Epicor Propello had everything that we needed. Epicor Propello was easy to use and everyone we interacted with at Epicor was customer service friendly.” An added bonus was the positive reviews from other Goodwill locations already enjoying the benefits of Epicor Propello.
Epicor made the transition easy. “The Epicor implementation team set us up with a training environment and we could go in and have live practice sessions while we were learning the Epicor Propello system. It was a huge plus and great experience,” Snedden shared.
Epicor Propello has improved processes, productivity, and financial management.
Instead of fire-fighting POS issues, Goodwill NWUP staff has more time to focus on serving customers. Snedden acknowledged, “Epicor Propello has reduced the number of daily calls I would receive on issues with our previous POS system. With Epicor Propello, everything just works seamlessly. It’s been a huge plus.”
Additionally, Epicor Propello has helped to enable the store to deploy an efficient new goods purchasing program to source items such as socks, underwear and other essentials that can’t be donated. “Our previous system was very clunky, and we couldn’t start our new goods purchasing program,” Snedden noted. “Now, with Epicor Propello, we can purchase new merchandise, inventory it, set up price points, and keep financials on it. We can even make transfers from our central warehouse to all our stores. With our last system, we couldn’t do that.”
Epicor Propello purchasing capabilities have been a game-changer for the store, empowering employees to handle transfers seamlessly. Snedden explained, “Our stores order supplies from our centralized warehouse. With Epicor Propello, we’re able to make transfers from the warehouse to stores and it gives us true financials on what stores are spending on supplies each month. That’s a huge win for us that we weren’t able to do with our previous system.”
In addition to high inventory visibility, and system reliability, Epicor Propello is easy to learn and use, which has accelerated cashier training. “With Epicor Propello, our processes have improved. Cashier training is much easier and it’s a huge plus for leadership because they spend much less time training and have more time for other important tasks.”
Furthermore, the system’s offline function helps to ensure uninterrupted service during internet outages. “The Propello offline function allows us to still operate even if we don’t have Internet. We’ve been able to process transactions and keep the flow of customers moving, even when the Internet is down,” Snedden highlighted.
Epicor Propello reporting features are user-friendly and give Snedden the power to monitor store performance throughout the day, effortlessly tracking cost of goods sold (COGS), sales and inventory.
“Epicor Propello has allowed us to really look at the financial data for each of our locations in a more concise way,” Snedden remarked. “I use the reporting features in Epicor Propello every single day. I schedule the reports to send at 2:00 pm daily to key stakeholders. When I’m out of the office, I can still see the reports on my phone. I look at the individual store reports and a consolidated store report. We have a report that shows COGS to make sure that we’re in the certain percentage that we need to be in.”
With real-time information at his fingertips, Snedden can adjust when and where it’s needed to further enhance financial controls and operational efficiencies.
Above and beyond the proven advantages of the Epicor Propello solution, Snedden raved about the support he receives from Epicor: “I’ve never had such good customer support as what I’ve received from Epicor. I submitted a couple of tickets for minor issues, and they got back to me same day and got everything fixed – even on weekends.”
I have recommended Epicor Propello and will continue to recommend it to anybody who is looking for a point-of-sale retail system.
He added, “Epicor Propello is reasonably priced for everything that you get. We looked at multiple point of sale systems, some with prices that were lower and some that were much higher. And, for the features that we get, Epicor Propello is fantastic.”
For all these reasons, Snedden is a staunch advocate of Epicor. “I have recommended Epicor Propello and will continue to recommend it to anybody who is looking for a point-of-sale retail system,” he emphasized.
