London, 5 January 2010 – Based in North Yorkshire, Flamingo Land has over 1.5 million visitors a year and is one of the regions biggest attractions, featuring a theme park, zoo and holiday village. Toshiba, in partnership with Medoc Computers and Datasym have installed a solution that not only saves money but also manages staffing numbers and stock.

The site, which has a mixture of retail and hospitality outlets, was running an outdated stand-alone system where the sales data was collected manually. Flamingo Land looked for a solution that could wirelessly integrate the tills in all outlets within the park, to a back-office, to centrally collate all sales information.

The project was originally planned in two phases – with the retail tills updated first followed by tills in the hospitality outlets. Working together, Toshiba, Medoc Computers and Datasym were able to merge the two phases. Roll out began in February 2009 with the team installing 26 tills in 13 different outlets in time for Flamingo Lands 2009 season opening, at Easter. All terminals linking to a central hub and provide ‘real-time’ sales information, hour by hour, allowing Flamingo Land the flexibility to manage their operations in a more efficient manner.

“All of our outlets are very different with varying requirements, for example, we use a variety of menu screen layouts. So we were looking for a solution which would provide the right balance of features to meet our needs without facing an exorbitant bill.” said Nick Buckley, Park Executive at Flamingo Land. “The hospitality outlets can plan menus and avoid wastage and the retail outlets can compare best selling merchandise. With pricing controlled centrally the park can react quickly to peaks and troughs.”, “We also have the ability to analyse sales data, and manage our staffing requirements, which is essential during our busiest times of year, like the school holidays Nick continued.”

The Toshiba ST-A10 terminals supplied by Medoc Computers have a small footprint which can fit into compact counter spaces, are easily adaptable to different environments and use simple to use touch screen technology with fingerprint ID for staff sign on. As each till is linked wirelessly to a back office system staff can see real-time sales data, ensuring that the park is managed efficiently. With up to 9000 visitors moving through the park at peak periods, outlets in different sections can be opened or closed as necessary with staff moved to busy areas and queues reduced in peak periods.

The functionality of the Toshiba ST-A10 terminals linked to the Datasym Stockade software, will allow Flamingo Land to make substantial time and money savings. The Park has already reported an increase in turnover for the 2009 season and with plans for additional terminals to be installed over the winter period, the potential for 2010 revenue looks very promising.

“We have been extremely impressed with the way this project has worked. The reliability, price and features of the solution couldn’t be beaten,” continued Nick, at Flamingo Land. “Medoc Computers ensured a smooth implementation and post sales support, while Datasym supplied us with innovative and flexible software, with all the functionality required to run a theme park with diverse need like ours.”

Flamingo Land’s plans for the future, include loyalty programmes, linked to a cashless system, further till installations and a queue busting kiosk.

About TOSHIBA TEC Europe

TOSHIBA TEC Europe (TERIS) manages product planning, marketing, sales, service support and distribution of point of sale systems, cash registers, scales, barcode printers, peripherals and software information systems throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As a total solution provider, TOSHIBA TEC Europe offers a complete package from consulting and system design to system installation, operation and maintenance.
Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium TERIS has three divisions: the Retail division; the Auto ID & Printing division and the Services division.
TOSHIBA TEC is an independent operating company of Toshiba Corporation, a world leader and innovator in pioneering high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products spanning information & communications systems; digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; power systems, including nuclear energy; industrial and social infrastructure systems; and home appliances.
Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 730 companies, with 199,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing US$67 billion.
For more information on TOSHIBA TEC point of sale systems, cash registers, scales, barcode printers, peripherals and software information systems, or for a dealer in your area, call +32 2 410 2100 or visit the TERIS web site at www.toshibatec-eu.com.

For media enquiries please contact:

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