http://www.microsoft.com/TechNet/analpln/cs/good1525.htm (PC Press Internet CD, 03/1996)
| Updated: March 14,1996 |  Go To TechNet Home Page |
Martin Goodwin, Vice President, Goodwin's Market
Goodwin's entire supermarket operation, based in Crestline, California, is now on one integrated system. Each check stand runs the Microsoft WindowsT for Workgroups operating system and the Microsoft Accessr database management system. Also at the registers are such peripherals as UPC scanners, scales, and credit-card authorization devices. In addition, Goodwin's Market now has wireless personal computers for taking inventory and a magnetic-strip reader for the employee time clock. Integrated on the back end are SQL ServerT for Windows NT, Windows NTT Server, and MTX International's Accounting Software Developer Kit (SDK). Goodwin's Market uses both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access to generate reports and is even integrating Microsoft Word to create and mail promotional materials. The system, developed using Microsoft Access and the Visual Basicr programming system, runs on a Hewlett-Packardr NetServer LM2 Dual PentiumT 66 Mhz computer. Communication on the local-area network is via HPr Advancestack Hubs to Vectrar "M" series desktops acting as POS terminals with VGA monitors.
Business-Critical Application Demands Performance, Integration, and Ease of Use
In early 1993, Goodwin hired Stanford Business Systems (SBS) of Culver City, California, to build the front end, or POS portion, of the Retail Operations System (ROS) and to investigate the needed hardware. SBS understood the business-critical nature of this application. As SBS Senior Project Manager Jeff Kyser points out, "With the customer involvement, there isn't a lot of room for problems with performance, integrity, or presentation."
After a number of years with a proprietary IBMr system, Goodwin wanted an open system in which integrated applications allowed the back end and front end to communicate in real time. Says Kyser, "IBM was costing Martin a lot in support costs, and it was not an integrated system. He wanted one system to run the entire business and make more information easily and readily available. Before, people could not even do their own reports. IBM had to do them for them. The system was character-based, unfriendly, and hard to use."
"Martin was very involved. He knew what was needed and could see what was possible. He was a hands-on person, and knew the look that he wanted. When Martin came to us, he had looked at Microsoft tools. He had been to several Microsoft presentations and was sold on the WindowsT-based architecture and particularly on Microsoft Access."
Goodwin explains, "I wanted to go with a company and a platform that were not going to disappear. I wanted all the leading-edge technology Microsoft had." Goodwin conducted a thorough search of available development tools, always keeping in mind the reliability, flexibility, and power that he needed. Although he had no programming background, he acquired Microsoft Access version 1.1, studied its Northwind Traders example, and was able to create prototype screens and forms of his concept, which he shared with SBS.
Meeting the Need for Speed
Kyser followed Goodwin's recommendation and successfully used Microsoft Access as a major part of development. Database performance is extremely important in the POS application, because the database needs to record all items as the UPC scanner reads them. As each item is scanned, it needs to be identified in the product file and then recorded in the transaction file. These operations need to be fast so that the computer system does not delay the checker scanning the items-which means less than one second per scan. To gain complete control over data access and increase performance, Kyser used the Seek, AddNew, and Update features to read and write records directly. This also allowed for reading and writing of records from different databases, at both the check stands and the server.
Kyser recommended incorporating SQL Server for Windows NT because of the large number of items processed per day. Each item creates a record, and the system has to process these records for such things as an average movement report. As Kyser points out, "SQL Server makes a great data repository of history. You need the transaction detail at the customer end to be quick, and then nightly it goes to SQL Server which crunches the numbers."
Developers Surprised by Power of Microsoft Tools
Part way through the development process, Goodwin hired Bob Henry as senior programmer. "When I first heard that the Retail Operations System was being developed with Microsoft Access," Henry says, "I wondered what kind of system you can develop in Microsoft Access given the size of the product file. When I saw it in action, I was shocked and surprised at how nice it looked. It was a full-blown Windows-based application where you could just point and shoot. When I saw it perform, I was even more shocked, and that's when I decided to sign on."
Henry was an experienced COBOL mainframe developer. He had worked with the FoxPror database management system but had no experience with either Microsoft Access or Visual Basic. He was pleasantly surprised to find the new tools easy to learn and use. "With both Microsoft Access and Visual Basic, it was sink or swim for me. Within about a week, I was comfortable developing with Microsoft Access," he says. "After a couple of months with Microsoft Access, the switch to Visual Basic was easy. They are very similar. If you know Visual Basic well, then Microsoft Access will be easy, and vice versa. With Visual Basic we did some tricky things."
"With Microsoft Access version 2.0, the best features were the code behind forms and the querying capability. It's really powerful. I was also impressed with the flexibility and capability of form design. You can put something together quickly and give people an idea of what it will look like. It's a good modeling tool." Kyser, too, was impressed with the capabilities of Microsoft Access. "I was fairly surprised with what we could do with Microsoft Access. We had heard it was more of an end-user tool than a development tool. I had heard rumors of problems, but we found none of that to be true. As with most Microsoft products, we found it had enough depth to write for performance. Microsoft Access has proven to be a stable, high-performance environment for implementing the POS system."
Visual Basic and Microsoft Access Handle Communications and Integration
The tricky development in Visual Basic that Henry referred to involved their serial communications. The register module needs to communicate to a scanner scale and other peripheral devices. The system depends on the prompt delivery of the scanned codes in order to process the items quickly. In addition to receiving item codes and weights from the scanner scale, commands need to be sent to ask for weights, reset the scale, and do other functions. Visual Basic was used to write an application that coordinates all serial communication quickly, including accepting and processing serial data. The data appears first in a field in Microsoft Access and then in the Visual Basic-based application via dynamic data exchange (DDE). Goodwin's has experienced very effective performance results.
Another Microsoft Solution Provider, MTX International of Englewood, Colorado, provided a key element of the Retail Operations System with its Accounting SDK for Microsoft Access. Says Michael Mullin, MTX Director of Sales, "MTX's Accounting SDK provides the basic accounting objects, while add-ons are customized to fit unique needs. It allowed Goodwin's to link the POS seamlessly to a full-featured accounting system. Written entirely in Microsoft Access, the Accounting SDK was recently converted to Microsoft Access version 2.0. Integrating the point-of-sale application with accounting provides accurate, up-to-date financial information."
Getting Much More for Much Less
The entire system, including hardware, was developed in eight months for less than $250,000 with no more than three people (one doing development) working on it at a time. Goodwin's has found the new system much easier to use and maintain than its previous system. The supermarket has eliminated manual record keeping and now can retrieve product records instantly. This, along with the automation of tasks from checkout to bank deposits, has enabled Goodwin's to save $15,000 in maintenance costs annually. It also cut checkout equipment costs by 30 percent. Overall, Goodwin's will increase its net income by 20 percent through the savings from the ROS solution.
Goodwin's is able to store up to two years of product data, allowing the supermarket to better track product movement. ROS provides the ability to track what each customer has purchased, providing complete and detailed sales and inventory reporting. Reporting features are comprehensive and include a full set of management reports. As an added benefit, Goodwin's has improved customer satisfaction by allowing customers to see both the name and price of products scanned.
Goodwin's has licensed its Retail Operations System to MTX, which has begun a worldwide marketing effort. Renamed Retail Operations System for Windows, the system runs under Windows, Windows for Workgroups, and Windows NT operating systems. It is easily customizable so that other retailers can benefit from the revolutionary integrated system. Goodwin enthusiastically continues to take advantage of Microsoft's latest products. The newest version of the system has been converted to Microsoft Access version 2.0. Henry credits RushmoreT technology with making the application, in some cases, 50 percent faster. And Goodwin's Market plans to move its workstations to Windows NT within the next year.
Microsoft, FoxPro, Microsoft Access, and Visual Basic are registered trademarks and Rushmore, Windows, and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Hewlett-Packard, HP, and Vectra are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Company. Pentium is a trademark of Intel Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
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