A new and original app designed specifically for the retail sector has this week been launched by fast-growing Bristol-based IT company Amethyst Systems, created to work on popular Windows 8 tablet devices.
Known as the Retail Oracle, the app has been developed by the experienced team at Amethyst on behalf of clients Sigma Group and DJS Project Management, both of whom offer a range of retail and supply chain project solutions including store and site surveying, equipment procurement and the preparation of computer-aided design (CAD) drawings.
The two businesses together approached Amethyst with a view to developing a bespoke electronic system that would allow on-site surveys to be completed by project managers.
Developers Amethyst, who pride themselves on offering “simple and effective solutions” to customers, identified the new Windows 8 tablets as the most suitable and cost-effective mobile device for such a system, as company Director Lee Dowson explains:
“Sigma Group and DJS Project Management required two applications from a software perspective – a mobile tablet-based application to capture the survey information and a central web application to be able to provide access to survey data and reporting.
These tablets were the most suited to the job, as they offer portability and a touch screen interface but with the size and power required for a pleasant and productive working experience”.
The brief was that the information gathered in retail outlets – including photographic evidence, supporting documents and signatures – needed to be immediately available for viewing and editing via an online portal. Project Managers using the app would also need to tailor and adapt the survey whilst on site with a great degree of autonomy.
Amethyst Systems were able to build a fully bespoke system that fulfilled all client requirements and provided a tablet application that can sync up a completed survey in under a minute – but with another additional advantage.
“One of the key benefits of the Retail Oracle is that the tablet app is a native windows application installed locally. This not only means that it is fast and responsive but also that it can be used offline, and all of the information can then be synced once an internet connection is made through either WIFI or 3G” explains Lee. “For Project Managers that need to work remotely and effectively out in the field, this is an essential requirement and marks this out from online survey websites”.
Craig Bennett, Director of Sigma Group, said:
“The new survey application developed by Amethyst provides us with the ability to conduct multiple site surveys with ease. Our customers are very impressed with their ability to view survey results online through their own secure login”.
Dave Jordan, Director of DJS Project Management Limited, added that the new app will now give his business a competitive edge:
“The Retail Oracle system gives an immediate view of survey data, and engineers can work offline and then upload results in seconds when online. This system puts us above the competition.”
To find out more about the Retail Oracle and Amethyst’s other bespoke applications, visit www.amethystsystems.net.
