By Dave Albert
The COVID-19 health crisis struck quickly and has far-reaching implications for the health of our families, communities and the world. To proactively combat, control, and limit the adverse health impact during this pandemic, society as a whole has sacrificed their normal way of life. Coronavirus, Covid-19, Social Distancing, Quarantine, Self-Isolation, flattening the curve, essential vs. non-essential business, and the new normal are the terms and phrases we all use today.
At RCS, we are first concerned with the health of our co-workers, their families, and the health and well-being of RCS customers. Secondly, we are concerned about your success and helping you through this tough time. As we have been for 33 years, RCS is as strong as ever and available to help our customers in any way possible.
In 1987 Retail Control Systems was founded with the single goal of helping retailers “computerize” their retail operations. Since then a lot has changed, especially technology. What hasn’t changed is RCS’ commitment to nurturing customer success and bringing innovative solutions for retailers’ needs.
RCS is engaging with retail consumers, our clients, partners, vendors, and co-retail industry leaders to define and guide the “new normal”. During this process, we will identify solutions and innovative technologies to help retailers thrive and help consumers get the products and services they need. As consumer needs and your needs will always be changing, technologies and our solutions to these challenges will continue to evolve every day.
What do we know:
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Social distancing will remain for some time to come. - 90% of retail transactions are now initiated from cell phones or computers for quick pick up or delivery.
- Queue management, pickup in-store or curbside have become the new normal.
- Touchless transactions are important.
- There is a need for security and social distance monitoring and alerting.
- There is a need for traditional retailers to transform.
- It’s vitally important to match technology investments with growth and cash flow.
With RCS’ DNA built-in retail technology, providing suites of products and services that will meet customer demand during this time will be crucial. RCS is ready and able to help guide you to adapt and implement solutions, some of which may include:
- Self Service Kiosks
- Ecommerce technologies
- Options to buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS)
- Curbside pick-up
- Customer queuing management
- Touchless payments
- Business intelligence tools
- Cloud Solutions to help accelerate retail
RCS Payments will streamline transaction service and support to help you capture each customer opportunity and reduce your cost of doing business as your stores transition to card-not-present transactions.
As part of our Customer Service continuity plan and at early signs of the pandemic, our human resources team ensured the continuation of our business by requiring everyone to work at home to test our cloud solutions and services and overall communications. This small but substantial action was a commitment to our business and the health of our staff and their families. It further prepared us for the “shelter-in-place” orders received across many states just a few days and weeks later. RCS continues to work efficiently through these shelter-in-place orders.
We understand every customer has unique challenges as they navigate these uncharted waters. For some customers, this provides a unique opportunity to perform deferred maintenance and possibly reinvent while closed. If this is your situation, we are ready to be your partner throughout the process.
We are grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to work with you in the past and are honored for the opportunity to assist you navigate the business environment during these tough times. Everyone at RCS wishes you, your staff, and your families the best health and happiness in the weeks and months to come.
