The problem
One of the largest infrastructure management organizations in Europe approached us with a data integration challenge. Part of their nationwide property estate is rented out as retail units to many different companies, from single stores to international chains.
A portion of the rent for each unit depends on the store's revenue, which must be collected from each tenant's Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) system.
This is complicated by several factors: tenants have POS systems with varying capabilities and data formats; the property management system used by the landlord requires data in a specific format; each retailer provides their sales data differently, for example via file or manual input.
A tool was need to securely collect and normalise sales data from diverse EPOS systems, transform the data into the format required by landlord's systems, automate and manage the data transfer process.
The solution
A solution was developed utilising modules from the Digital Symphony Toolbox to ingest EPOS data via each retailer's preferred method and format.
A central, Digital Symphony-powered platform processes the sales figures and allows retailer and landlord users to review and authorise the results. Following authorisation, the processed data is automatically transferred to the the Landlord's own system via a REST API.
The verdict
This scalable solution allows retailers of all sizes to securely contribute sales data and ensures that the landlord receives all of the required data, in the required format.
There is no need for retailers or the landlord to amend their existing processes.
The platform has now been in place for more than ten years continues to be enhanced and extended as requirements change.
