Home Depot POS System
As one of the most prominent hardware stores in the United States, Home Depot requires a heavy-duty POS system. The store employs technology from a number of companies, including Fujitsu, 360 Commerce, Microsoft, and NCR.
Come dive in with us as we explore the ins and outs of the POS system trusted by Home Depot.
What POS System Does Home Depot Use?
Home Depot has been using point of sale terminals from a wide range of companies since the early 2000s, including technology from 360 Commerce Inc., Microsoft, and NCR. Home Depot has also been in the process of piloting self-checkout stations in its stores over the past year, as well as mobile POS systems.
Mobile POS
In 2014, Home Depot equipped many stores with a new mobile POS system, alongside other popular brands including Nordstrom and Apple. Home Depot is now one of the leaders in mobile POS transactions.
The company came out with what they called the FIRST Program, which stands for First, Inquire, Respect, Solve, and Thank.
The mobile POS software has been a cost-effective choice for Home Depot. Customers now have the ability to cut lines in stores and move through the buying process much more quickly.
A small percentage of customers believe that making mobile payments through mobile POS is not secure.
However, the ability of employees to carry around iPads around the shop floor to take payments from customers anywhere has been extremely beneficial for the company.
Like many large companies, Home Depot is simply using mobile POS as a way to enhance its current checkout process, not replacing it completely. As of today, Home Depot has more than 30,000 mobile devices integrated into its mobile POS system.
Lowe's Home Improvement Center also runs on a similar mobile point of sale system, and Kroger recently partnered with OneView commerce to create a cloud-based omnichannel. The need for more advanced service is ever-evolving, and it's clear to see that many large retailers are taking advantage of it.
Want to incorporate this feature into your small business? Visit our Best Mobile POS System guide to see the top 7 companies on the market today.
POS Hardware
In 2010, Home Depot began running on NCR Machines, allowing customers to go through the self-checkout process if they chose. The addition of self-checkout stations sped up operations by around 20%. While NCR machines are used throughout all of the stores, most of these machines run Fujitsu software, which has been said to increase the operating speeds of these self-checkout stations.
According to the company's IT officials, the framework for these self-checkout stations is built on 360 Commerce.
Similar to the standard registers Home Depot uses, these self-checkout kiosk stations come with thermal receipt printers and easy-to-use touchscreen displays. The company notes that this hardware is very intuitive and easy to maintain, making it cost-effective and allowing for new future applications.
The best kiosk POS systems are not only for multi-chain establishments, but are now being used in smaller operations across the nation.
As for its computer systems, the company makes use of Hewlett-Packard Co computers. The company used to use Unix-based ASCII terminals back in the early 2000s, though they've slowly been replaced over the years.
Migrating To Google Cloud
The past few years have called for more interconnected retail, allowing consumers to purchase goods whenever they want from wherever they are. Home Depot wanted to make sure that its in-store marketplace and online marketplace were connected, allowing customers to begin transactions online and continue them in-store or the other way around.
Home Depot decided to migrate to the Google Cloud to support its SAP environment. Migrating to the Google Cloud allowed Home Depot to scale at a high velocity and receive the necessary analytics capabilities to keep up with its initiatives.
Home Depot now leverages analytics from Google Cloud to build its ultra-efficient supply chain and maintain better security than ever before, all while enhancing the customer experience.
Inventory Management
Each Home Depot store tracks inventory using a complex internal program that predicts the volumes of products sold throughout different times of the year.
For example, while fertilizer sales typically boom during the spring and the fall, they often dip during the summer and winter.
Home Depot can increase and reduce order amounts depending on the times of the year, sending electronic messages to corporate, who then processes orders.
This method is different from many other major retailers that use RFID technology. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification uses a combination of Wi-Fi and interactive displays to update product inventory by scanning barcodes and electronic chips.
While Home Depot does not use RFID, it is a great option for larger stores that have a lot of foot traffic.
As for its system, Home Depot makes use of StockWise Inventory Management Solutions. This system uses a unique three-step approach for stock control, including organization, management, and replenishing.
Some of the features included in the system are:
Final Thoughts - Finding the Right Point Of Sale Systems For Your Needs
As you can see, having the right POS software can help even the largest and most successful businesses like Home Depot make informed decisions to strengthen the loyalty of their customers and expand operations.
While there are certain retail leaders that use top-end POS systems like Home Depot, many of these systems don't work as well for smaller businesses.
It's important to find the right point of sale system that meshes with your business.
With so many retail POS systems on the market today, finding the right one for your business can be difficult. Luckily, we're here to help and set you on the right track.
If you're looking to make a decision on the right point of sale system for your business, make sure to answer the questions below for free price quotes tailored to your specific needs. It's our job to match you with suppliers of high-quality point of sale systems so you can start growing your business today!
Tyler Connaghan
Contributing Author
