POS Integration Drives Growth For Chocolatier

April 2013 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

By Matt Pillar, editor in chief

POS-agnostic dashboard pulls data from multiple POS systems, accommodates fast growth and flexibility for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

International franchiser, confectionery manufacturer, and retail operator Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (RMCF) has carefully maintained its growth through the recent economic downturn, expanding to 435 locations worldwide. Its growth strategy includes several initiatives, including new franchisee agreements, strategic acquisition and consolidation of the yogurt brands Yogurtini, Aspen Leaf, and U-Swirl, and development of licensing agreements with Cold Stone Creamery. As a result, the distributed POS infrastructure at RMCF locations has become somewhat disparate; to date, the company and its franchisees are supporting six different POS systems across stores and brands.

POS system disparity is a common challenge in franchised retail environments, where business owners are given the freedom to choose their own retail software systems. Thus, franchisors often go to great time and expense attempting to persuade franchisees to adopt common platforms, to ease both front office data gathering and reporting and, on the back end, information sharing with stores.