Panasonic's Virtual Site Manager Integrates Video, POS To Monitor Remote Retail Sites
Managing remote locations of a retail business can be a challenge, and Panasonic System Solutions Company provides a dynamic solution with its Virtual Site Manager (VSM), a powerful multi-faceted business tool offering end-to-end, seamless integration of video surveillance and point-of-sale (POS) systems that enable comprehensive management and control capabilities.
On display at ISC West, VSM combines Panasonic's industry-proven Stingray POS workstations with the company's robust and versatile surveillance cameras and digital or network video recorders on an integrated software platform to provide live monitoring with archived recordings of all transaction activities to boost profitability and improve operations.
Combining video and POS technologies yields a unique system that powerfully links the functionalities of previously disparate systems, using a rules-based approach in real-time and with exception advisories (via e-mail, text or pop-up messages) to pinpoint situations that require attention.
“Employee pilferage and ‘sweet hearting’ at the point of sale are longstanding issues that drain profits from retail businesses,” said J.M. Allain, president of Panasonic System Solutions Company. “This system addresses those issues, plus its benefits for retail managers are much broader and extend beyond loss prevention to include analyzing customer service, monitoring best practices, observing traffic flow to determine optimum product placement, managing and controlling inventory, communicating with employees, among other management and operational uses.”
Suitable for stand-alone or multiple-store operations, VSM uses the Internet to provide a real-time connection to each store or location to enable monitoring and control of mission-critical business operations. The resulting system has benefits as a valuable management tool for many aspects of the business, including risk management and security, marketing, human resources, purchasing and finance.
Panasonic's VSM solution pinpoints potential criminal or inappropriate activity, providing an immediate solution, as well as a powerful deterrent.
Capabilities include live monitoring and data archiving 24/7/365 of any location worldwide, business analysis with advanced reporting and search features for multiple activities including transaction voids, PLUs and coupon redemptions, and remote programming of POS workstations with the ability to edit PLUs, coupons, product prices and adjust tax changes. The video surveillance component can combat and discourage fraudulent injury and workman's compensation claims by capturing activities in key locations around the store.
The core of the VSM toolset is the Video Management Portal, a browser-based suite that enables in-store and above-store management to remotely access and perform event and video analysis in any store at any time. The VSM Dashboard provides a rich graphical depiction of key performance indicators for Operations and Loss Prevention.
“VSM is a great example of the way Panasonic brings its expertise in multiple product areas together, and partnering with manufacturers in the software industry as part of our ‘Open Infrastructure’ initiative, to address a specific application in the marketplace,” Allain said. “The various Panasonic products included in the VSM system are industry-leading products, and the added value of this system is in the integration of those product functionalities into a platformed solution that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. VSM will demonstrate to attendees at ISC West exactly what we mean by ‘system solutions’.”