St Ann's Hospice Takes its Retail Operations to the Next Level With Maxa Solutions

ALTRINCHAM, England, Dec. 13, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Specialist EPOS solution provider, Maxa Solutions, announces that St Ann's Hospice's Charity shops have gone live with its CHARiot Point of Sale (PoS) solution which incorporates a special Gift Aid Module.  Like most retail organisations, St Ann's has had to adapt to the changing consumer trends and embrace the fast pace of commercial retailing with new operational strategies.  Furthermore, government cutbacks will inevitably begin to bite and therefore all retailers will have to work much harder to win and keep customers.  

Founded nearly forty years ago, today St Ann's Hospice has become the largest hospice in Greater Manchester.  The Hospice helps those people who have progressive and life-limiting illnesses, as well as supporting their carers and families. They serve a population of around 1.2 million people within Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Stockport and parts of Cheshire.

One of the many ways the charity raises money is through its retail operation which they rely on to provide a regular and sustainable source of income. St Ann's has 12 charity stores, 11 traditional shops and one furniture shop.  

The key reasons for implementing Maxa Solutions' CHARIOT EPOS solution was driven by their need for keener business intelligence and sales analysis enabling them to achieve better planning and reporting capabilities in real time.  Also it was imperative that they set up a mechanism to take advantage of Gift Aid on Donated Goods (GAoDG) which allows charities to reclaim the tax on sold donated goods as long as they can provide an audit trail, and they have the permission of the donor.

The CHARiot solution includes EPOS terminals, barcode scanners, barcode printers, routers, cash drawers and CHARiot software with the fully integrated Gift Aid Module, which was created specifically for the charity retail market.  The ongoing relationship provides day-to-day support for the stores as well as future software development implementation.

Anthony Lord, general manager, St Ann's Hospice says: "We carried out comprehensive research and due diligence to find the right IT solution and the right IT provider that would suit our requirements. We looked at a number of suppliers in this sector, but Maxa Solutions competitive pricing, integrated Gift Aid module and impressive references from other charity organisations made them the preferred choice."

Lord added:" We are very pleased with the implementation so far. It is already providing valuable business analysis, more efficient central control and administration to our operation.  All this allows us to provide our supporters with a consistent and attractive shopping experience. We anticipate that our investment will pay for itself within a year."

Andrea Percival, managing director, Maxa Solutions said:   "We are proud that St Ann's represents another success for us. The charity sector has very specific challenges and we have spent significant resources over the years in developing tailored solutions that address the needs of charity retail operations."

For more information visit: http://www.maxasolutions.co.uk/news2010-12.html

About St Ann's Hospice

St Ann's Hospice is one of the largest adult hospices in the UK with 58 inpatient beds. They employ over 300 staff, serving a population of around 1.2 million people within Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Stockport and parts of Cheshire. They also care for a number of patients outside this geographical area. They are supported by over 700 volunteers. They prove care free of charge.  The NHS contributes just over 35% of their annual 9 million pounds Sterling running costs with the remaining 6 million pounds coming from public donations.

About Maxa Solutions

Maxa Solutions is a trading name of the Maxa Technologies (Maxatec) group of companies, providing uniquely tailored solutions for specific sectors within the retail market.  Maxa Technologies (Maxatec) has more than 35 years experience in supplying IT solutions to UK companies across retail, banking, healthcare, pharmaceutical, utilities, transport, postal and communication sectors.  Maxatec has strong partnerships with a number of key suppliers of 'best of breed' solutions including  NCR, TPG and Cognitive. The company believes that 'one size does not fit all' and hence strive to understand sector needs and develop solutions to provide maximum benefits without compromises.

SOURCE Maxatec Europe