The retail industry requires stringent levels of service, especially in POS. Technology that breaks here can have an immediate impact on customer satisfaction, sales, and employee productivity. These business-critical systems deployed from the back office to the check-out lane need to be fixed fast, and right, the first time to drive down costs and reduce future failures. Does your service provider understand your business requirements?

The following is a list of capabilities and services that should always be considered when evaluating your support alternatives:

1. Multivendor support: Are you juggling multiple vendors for your retail solution? Most retailers are. Be sure your provider has a depth of experience with a variety of systems and equipment manufacturers. Your service provider should be able to handle the service of all of your equipment with the same level of expertise.

2. Service for both new and legacy equipment: As with multivendor installs, a service provider should have the flexibility and proven repair capabilities on both new equipment and legacy equipment.

3. Fast turnaround: No retailer can afford for lanes to be down. Your service provider should understand the impact this equipment has on your business and offer solutions to get your equipment back up and working quickly.

4. Advanced exchange options: Advanced exchange programs should be individually designed to deliver flexibility and timing at a cost point to meet your technology service and support program needs. The provider should have a reputation for delivering value just when you need it.

5. Flexible service structure built to support small and large companies: Often service providers and their programs are built to support retailers of a certain size. The best service providers are flexible and nimble enough to adjust their solutions to support companies with 20,000 lanes or 20. A true partner will collaborate on a flexible solution.

6. End-of-life management: End of life for a technology product doesn’t necessarily mean the end of its usefulness. A full service provider should provide product life cycle management services that maximize your technology investments.  These services include product life extensions through technology refresh.

7. Warranty management: Most companies’ IT infrastructures include many different OEMs. Managing warranties across all the OEMs becomes a daunting task for most companies. Your provider should have the breadth and depth of product experience to work with virtually every OEM’s warranty process so you don’t have to.

8. Proactive service and support: Your service provider should offer proactive services. This means everything from preventative maintenance to failure analysis on products that typically fail.  These services can drive down your maintenance costs.

9. 24/7 Web-based order tracking: Managing the supply chain of repair parts requires online tracking systems capable of providing real-time information. A solid service provider should have the flexibility to provide you with the information you need, when you need it, in the format that you choose.

10. Strong track record: The best service providers are often known by reputation. Ask for references of where they have delivered successful solutions that saved time, money, and resources for their customers. This should all be backed up by years of experience and a history of developing innovative solutions and managing a variety of program styles and sizes.

Can one supplier do it all? No. But, the best service providers can manage it all.

David Anderson is Chairman & CEO of ExpressPoint Technology Services.  He can be reached at david.anderson@expresspoint.com.