+ CASE STUDY
Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Pennsylvania
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania Championed Data-Driven Decision-Making after Transitioning its POS System to Solutions DGR
This Goodwill organization boosted staff motivation and increased efficiency across the board.
[Solutions DGR data reporting] really creates a very valid real-time feedback loop on performance with our team members that was missing in the past.
Overview
Encouraged by recommendations from trusted partners, Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania made the transition to Solutions DGR POS system, raised employee satisfaction, improved efficiency in operations, and started revolutionizing its internal processes with data analysis and reporting.
The Project
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania was in the market for a new POS system that would allow the organization to increase efficiency on the front line and in the back end. Additionally, their employees were in need of a user-friendly and intuitive solution to boost motivation and cut customer wait time at the registers.
Challenges
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania had a number of challenges to address with a new POS system.
Firstly, the organization wanted to become more agile in processes like ticket price changes, new cashier hires, and more. The team at Goodwill was already struggling with regular ticket price updates and the wasteful expense it entailed. It was also important to expedite the process of maintaining an up-to-date inventory and prices at all times with a clear goal of improving the shopper experience and reducing employee frustration. The cashiers wanted to feel more confident operating the new POS system with reasonably minimal training.
Secondly, the team wanted to see more support in the backend, including more data analysis and reports. This would allow management to follow the data trends and patterns, identify the issues, and address them in a timely manner. These reports would inform better decision-making by the management team and offer transparency in performance metrics to the staff.
Finally, the new POS system had to seamlessly integrate with the unique characteristics of Goodwill retail, addressing the needs of the management, the employees, and the shoppers who visit the stores every day.
Goodwills that are a few years ahead of us have given us a look into the future.
There was so much of [implementation] that we didn’t have to explain. This made it a lot easier for us to go through the process.
Implementation
Solutions ITW offered POS technology designed specifically for Goodwills. Due to this specialization, the implementation team became highly experienced in anticipating the myriad of issues that often arise during tech migrations.
As with all other Goodwill clients, the Solutions ITW team arrived at Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania with a hands-on attitude, providing helpful guidance to the Goodwill team on the process. The pilot rollout in the first store proved to be an incredible success. Active changes and adjustments were taking place as implementation was in full swing, ensuring seamless integration of the new POS with the internal processes of the Goodwill organization.
Due to its cleverly-designed and user-friendly interface, the employees at the registers learned how to operate the new POS in about 15 minutes.
Goodwills that are a few years ahead of us have given us a look into the future.
There was so much of [implementation] that we didn’t have to explain. This made it a lot easier for us to go through the process.
Outcome
Improvements in performance and profitability were instantly visible as Solutions ITW completed the implementation stage and the Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania stores all transitioned to the new POS system.
Ticket price changes became quick and easy, with minimal expenses and waste. The lines at the registers became shorter because of a much smoother checkout process. Additionally, new cashiers were onboarded faster with minimal training on the POS.
The data accumulated by Solutions DGR created remarkable transparency about the items sold, their price points, the inventory categories most in demand, and so much more. The employees were now excited to see the value they brought to the organization expressed in numbers, dollars, and stats. This created new opportunities for management to make informed and data-driven decisions. The organization already managed to increase its average transaction value by 8% (or by $1.37) across all stores.
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania is looking forward to more innovation and growth using their new Solutions DGR POS system.
increase in average transaction value
With the metrics, the way our systems are set up, and specifically with the back end and the production side of it, you could tell it was designed by people who understand Goodwill.