Author

Al J. Moszer

Date of Award

5-1-2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

The purposes of this study were two fold. The first purpose was to see which retailers were using Point of Sale Technology (POS). The second purpose was to analyze whether or not POS has saved the company money by reducing the number of physical inventories. To answer these questions a survey of North Dakota businesses was employed. The population for this study was broken down into four groups of retailers. The first group was a representation of retailers who sell building materials. The second group comprised retailers classified as variety stores, i.e., as Ben Franklin stores. The third group was classified into automobile parrs & suppliers-retail-new. The final group was classified to encompass convenience stores.

The sample for the survey numbered 275 retailers in North Dakota from the four selected categories. After the initial mailing and follow-up letter, a total of 107 questionnaires were returned(38.90%).

Overall the results showed that there is a positive impact on businesses that use a POS system. It was reported that 39 out of the 56 respondents that use a POS system stated their POS systems saved their companies money. The majority of the respondents, 36 out of 54, use some kind of POS system and reported that they were very familiar with their POS systems. The resales showed that 43 respondents rated their POS systems as either easy or very easy to use. This is a very good indication that the POS systems of to-day are easy to use.

Companies reported that they spent an average of $1,916.88 a year to do inventories. They also spent an average of 7.43 hours a week on inventory control. The results of this survey show that there is a benefit to using a POS system. POS can reduce inventory frequency and lower overhead costs.

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