Epson Philippines Corporation (EPC) has collaborated with Jimac, Inc., a Filipino-owned software company, to equip Hainanese Delight with a breakthrough point-of-sale (POS) system that can reduce capital investment and facilitate faster customer turnaround time.
Jimac, Inc. was established in 1992 and has since provided affordable, fully integrated, industry-specific business management solutions nationwide. In the past 20 years, it has developed POS solutions for Food Service (full-service restaurant management & fastfood); Retail (all-in-one web-based solutions & retail data management system); Healthcare (pharmacy POS); and Enterprise (small-medium enterprise solutions & centralized delivery system).
The pilot project -- called the Jimac TM-i Flex System -- was put into service at the Hainanese Delight restaurant (SM Baliuag branch). The project features a simple solution to a common concern -- complicated printing programs requiring installing additional print servers when printing receipts from a web application.
The pilot installation demonstrates how retailers can process orders using smart devices and/or Android-based devices, while providing stores the ability to easily transmit end-of-day reports to their headquarters via network, with reports being sent in two ways: Web and SMS. Another benefit of the set-up is back-end management done through the Web. Overall, retailers will be better-equipped and will enjoy more intuitive interface, flexibility and multi-platform use with less clutter in countertop.
Integral to the Jimac TM-i Flex System is Epson’s latest innovation in web & mobile POS solution from the premium TM-i series -- the Epson TM-T70i POS printer.
Epson developed a new solution, ePOS-Print, which enables direct printing from web applications without changing the printer settings and no print driver is required. PC-free functionality is made easy through TMNet WebConfig, all in a completely platform-independent environment. The Epson TM-T88Vi and Epson TM-T70i can also control additional Epson TM printers (e.g. for applications like order entry or kitchen printer) and cash drawers.
Epson’s new ePOS print technology in the TM-i series enables users to print receipts, tickets and coupons at the point of sale or in back office and kitchen environments from any device running an HTML5-compatible web browser such as Safari®, Chrome™, Internet Explorer® and the standard Android browser.
The TM-T88Vi and TM-T70i have been developed to reduce the complexity and bring straight-forward solutions to XML printing using mobile devices and tablets. Receipts and other necessary information are printed through web applications using XML.
The Epson TM-i intelligent receipt printers fully address the use of new technologies for more diverse applications in the retail segment, while providing ease of use, intelligent functionality, control-connected devices, cost-efficiency, reliability, easy maintenance, and convenience.
Intelligent receipt printers serve as a hub and control over other TM printers. Print requests from terminals are received by HTTP transmissions, and the built-in Webserver sends ESC/POS commands to the printer.
“From shopping, Internet banking, and online trading, a vast range of web services has emerged in recent years. Mobile technologies are being deployed in record numbers at lightning speed across a wide range of businesses -- all of which need more flexible printing capabilities. Web services have also spread into in-store systems used by establishments in the Retail and F&B segments, where systems based on web applications are being built to work with smartphones and tablet PCs. A major advantage of web-based point-of-sale (POS) systems is that they can be set up much faster and at significantly less expense than traditional POS systems because there is no need to install applications on each terminal. Another advantage as far as system users are concerned is that Web-based POS systems require only a relatively small investment,” explains EPC Product Manager for POS Printers Thea Austria.
Easily implemented in hospitality environments such as restaurants and bars where tablets are used for taking and transmitting orders, the TM-i series printers are also ideal for retail stores using mobile sale capture devices to cut down long customer queue lines. The TM-i printers can also act as mini-servers, delivering a software interface to smartphones and tablets that allows multiple item selection for transactions and printing. As no PCs, servers or drivers are necessary for the TM-T70i to operate, businesses can also significantly reduce power consumption with less equipment online.
“As more businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors employ cloud-based solutions because of the lower cost and quick and easy deployment, their printing systems need to be cloud compatible. Epson’s TM-i intelligent printer series is not only a solution but also enhances the benefits that cloud-based systems bring,” concludes EPC Country Manager Toshimitsu Tanaka.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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