Erply: Bestowing Software Solution for Brick and Mortar Stores

Any retail business while deciding on a point-of-sale system quickly discovers that most of those available in the market do not actually have all the same capabilities they are looking for. Most often they lack analytical abilities that can boost productivity. A good retail-management software package enables to track all activities in the store, what each customer buys, reward them accordingly and help them check out more quickly and efficiently. But more importantly, it should be able to foresee trends and derive insights for crucial business decisions. Expertise from companies such as Erply plays a crucial role in making this happen. Established by four experienced business software developers in 2009, Erply helps brick and mortar stores stay relevant in a challenging business environment and still achieve their goals.

Mart Tammoja, COO, elucidates, “Clients have stores, locations, inventory, but they lack web knowledge and algorithmically-powered tools to understand retention, even though, online retail continues to eat the stores”. Erply gives companies the ability to manage their businesses including critical data and operations in one easy-to-use package. The company has tools to manage multiple locations, loyalty programs, employee schedules, coupons and customer information. Erply performs advanced transaction based data analysis for retailers and enables them to optimize store operations and increase their profit by identifying fraud and reducing shrinkage. The application’s iPad version can email customer receipts, process sales, manage inventory, process returns and adjust tax rates.

Erply does not require clients to use the company’s payment processor; they can use any compatible credit card processor. This feature helps clients to sell more, focus on their core business and not get bogged down by IT related issues. Headquartered in New York, Erply is available in 19 languages and is entirely customizable for tax laws of different geographies. The company provides scalable and full-featured cloud based inventory back-end. Its open API provides an easy way to build CRM or sales applications, web shops, product catalogues, POS clients, reporting tools, production management systems etc. With Erply, clients can completely avoid investments in hardware. It runs on an internet based public cloud as well as on a collection of remote servers. In addition, Erply provides a powerful suite of tools that is much more comprehensive than point-of-sale software. Mart explains, “Our back end is much more complex. It includes inventory management, customer databases, accounting, loyalty programs and reports that are all combined into one and hosted on the cloud.”

Since its inception in 2009, Erply has grown rapidly, generating steady revenue and operating from offices all over the globe. “With a potential market of 45 million small and big businesses in Europe and the U.S, we are well-positioned for success,” states Mart. Erply is a profitable organization today and has attracted a wide variety of customers including car dealerships, toyshops, grocery stores, tech retailers, footwear and jewelry retailers among others. Some of its clients are: The Athlete’s Foot, Elizabeth Arden, Disney, Sony, Shaver Shop and Kookai. The company has received several accolades for its work such as Seedcamp 2009 and nomination for the top 10 most promising European companies in 2010. Going forward, Erply envisions growing its global distributors and technology partner’s network.