LNER Selects ECR Retail Systems for New MPoS System

Inspire

Blogs

ECR Retail Systems has been awarded a contract by the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) for its MPoS system, supporting rail crews on the London King’s Cross to Edinburgh route as they provide at-seat services to customers.

LNER Selects ECR Retail Systems for New MPoS System

ECR Retail Systems (ECR), the leading UK-based MPoS (mobile electronic point of sale) provider, has been awarded a contract by the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) for its MPoS system based on ECR’s RailPoS software. The new, faster and more reliable payment technology will support rail crews on the London King’s Cross to Edinburgh route as they provide at-seat services to customers.

The route, which services stations including York, Leeds, Newcastle, Aberdeen and Inverness, is now being run by LNER – a Department for Transport (DfT) owned company. LNER will operate the route until a public-private partnership takes responsibility for both trains and track operations in 2020. All Virgin Trains East Coast staff have transferred to the new franchise.

In addition to ECR’s RailPoS software, the contract includes 216 new ECR Go2 all-in-one hand-held, mobile devices, replacing the previous system which used tablets in the food bar and hand-held terminals on the trolleys. It also encompasses a cloud-based operation and Miura M010 integral pin entry devices, which allow LNER to offer all payment types including contactless and mobile wallet. The system, which was piloted in July 2018, will be fully implemented in advance of the new LNER Azuma train fleet scheduled to begin operation in 2019.

The new streamlined MPoS system will accommodate all user requirements including managing orders, stock control and supply chain requirements. It will also enhance the level of service customers receive and streamline trolley catering services on-board, in both standard and First-Class. RailPoS integrates to Rail Gourmet, which supplies the on-board catering services for LNER, with all the data it needs to ensure that every order is fulfilled efficiently. The inbuilt sophisticated logistics technology calculates stock, verifies it with crews, and manages complex recipes.

Simon Pont, CEO, ECR Retail Systems, said, “RailPoS is our industry-leading, unique end-to-end mobile MPoS technology specifically designed for the rail industry, built to ensure that no train operator should ever be overstocked or undersupplied, meaning reduced wastage, increased efficiency and greater customer satisfaction. Currently in use by a number of rail operators both in the UK and across Europe, it guarantees a highly effective and streamlined way to serve customers, and will offer LNER complete transparency across its business operations.”

Kate Davidson, Business Transition Manager, LNER, said, “We needed to speed up onboard sales throughout our trains, and to offer support to our crews from the food bar to the trolley as well as in First Class. Offering contactless payments to our passengers on a handheld device was essential, along with a more accurate view of stock and sales in order to maximise profitability. We have been working effectively with the ECR team for some time now, and we are delighted that our new, personalised MPoS system is already performing well. The ability to maintain control over revenue reporting and management is a key value of the new system that will help us run the route efficiently and provide maximum customer satisfaction.”

The use of handheld terminals throughout this project means that devices can be interchanged, so that should one go missing or out of use, the service can continue uninterrupted, which was not the case before. The hand-held terminals communicate with the server, which in turn relays information to the master terminal and other linked devices. This will overcome the connectivity issues sometimes experienced with the previous system which relied on the on-board wifi when moving between carriages and wifi networks. All handheld terminals are now pre-set to recognise and connect automatically to on-board wifi regardless of where they are, and enable LNER to download data much more quickly and to offer reliable card payment facilities including contactless.

The ECRGo2 is already in use in the rail, airline and ticketing sectors where the software is configured specifically for the needs of each sector. Clients include Air Serbia, SNCF/ Newrest Wagons-Lits, Irish Rail, Northern Irish Rail, Rail Gourmet, East Midlands Trains, Trans Pennine Express, Grand Central, and GWR.

ECR Launches SNCF Mobile Payments Project

Following a successful pilot project ECR Retail Systems – the London-based mobile point of sale (MPoS) specialists – have deployed their real-time mobile payment solution across the entire SNCF fleet of trains, France’s largest rail operator. This development follows the award of a three-year contract.

Ferry Operators 2019

5 Ways To Increase Retail Sales Using Mobile POS Technology

Mobile POS systems offer several key benefits to businesses who want to increase their sales and are particularly useful in the retail, leisure and hospitality, in-flight, restaurant and ticketing industries where the ability to move around to interact directly with the customer is a huge advantage.

Why New Luxury Leisure Providers Need to Prioritise Integrated EPOS Systems

The luxury leisure industry is growing fast, as consumers with stressful lives and healthy disposable incomes embrace the wellness trend. Whereas once, consumers would head overseas for a short break or spa weekend, busy career people are now opting to make full use of luxurious local leisure facilities offering high-end beauty treatments, spa services, fitness programmes, nutrition and more.

Personalising ancillary sales all the way through to mPOS

Personalising ancillary sales all the way through to mPOS
Personalisation and passenger experience are key. Here’s our analysis as to whether the ancillary payment processes in place are fit for purpose…

The Latest Trends In POS Technology That You Need To Know

As with all things rooted in technology, Point of Sale trends are continually changing and evolving as developments arise

How Airlines Can Drive Revenue Using Mobile Point Of Sale (POS)

In a time when “industry executives are in PR overdrive trying to clean up the backlash from a bunch of customer encounters gone wrong,” it’s wise to use tools that increase customer goodwill.

ECR Retail Systems Launches Self-Scan Ticketing to Transport and Travel Operators

New system combats ticket fraud, cuts boarding times and increases revenue

ECR welcomes Janeto development partners to Kings Langley

Everyone at our Kings Langley office is pleased to offer a very warm welcome to our Vietnamese development partners Ha Nguyen Hai, Hanh Tran Ngoc and Huy Le of Janeto, this week.

Our teams have established a great partnership already, with the successful self scan solution and mobile app, launched earlier this year and we are excited to continue working closely together on some fantastic new development projects.

The Benefit of Retail Time Data & how it affects your Business

We are living in the era of big data, and some sectors have been quicker than others to catch on to the potential of business information which can be harvested for the benefit of sales and marketing strategies. One of the 'early adopters' has been the retail industry, which has been busy exploiting the opportunities presented by real-time data.

Up Close And Personal

Take a look at our latest article, published in this month’s issue of Rail Professional as we look at how the rail industry can use business intelligence to drive customer service and growth

Why your customers need self scan ticketing right now!

With the advent of retail self-scan machines, and onboard smartcard readers for public transport, today’s customers and passengers are increasing being afforded the liberty they have demanded to manage their own purchasing and payment experience. And mobile ticketing and EPoS systems are no exception.