Levy Restaurants equips Premier League Leicester City FC with the powerful SymPOS solution from MCR Systems

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Levy Restaurants equips Premier League Leicester City FC with the powerful SymPOS solution from MCR Systems.

The latest major sporting venue to roll out new technology from industry specialists MCR Systems & AURES Technologies is Leicester City Football Club. A further 100 EPoS terminals configured with MCR software were installed in September, just in time for the visit of Arsenal followed closely by the Rugby World Cup. The inclusion of contactless payments speeding up service has improved the consumer experience, leading to happier customers.

Leicester City Football Club (LCFC) has revealed details of its new technology investment. For the past two seasons LCFC has been sharing a 'pool' of EPoS terminals from its food services provider. Earlier this year, in preparation for the new season and its hosting of Rugby World Cup fixtures, it decided its own permanent EPoS terminal estate would be beneficial.

MCR project-managed the installation of a further 100 AURES J2 225 'Ninô' terminals running the SymPOS and Symphony Enterprise solutions. The new devices joined 35 previously deployed across LCFC's King Power Stadium in bars, food kiosks and hospitality areas.

Why SymPOS?

Jim Wilkinson, Business Development Director for Sports, Leisure & Hospitality at MCR Systems, explains: "With the Rugby World Cup on the horizon, expected visitor numbers obliged LCFC to look at how it would process payments, given that customers increasingly expect a variety of fast, easy and secure ways to pay."

Continues Wilkinson: "With WorldPay a RWC2015 headline sponsor, it was the right time for LCFC to work with them to integrate Chip & PIN. We managed the WorldPay integration project, at the same time making every tillpoint contactless-enabled and able to work with ApplePay. Customers clearly appreciate both a choice of ways to pay and faster throughput and LCFC staff are happier too with the new tills. They're easier to use, removing input errors and enhancing interaction with our customers.

LCFC needed the new terminals configured and installed in just two weeks. MCR pulled out all the stops and made sure everything was up and running for the Arsenal game followed by the three Rugby World Cup pool matches in October.

The 135 terminals are fully networked and delivering real-time sales and product information through MCR's cloud-based Symphony software. Observes Jim Wilkinson: "The Business Intelligence and Insight helps to optimise the consumer offer and has a real impact on operations. Planning promotions and product selection is more proactive; decisions are based on hard facts, not estimates."

Thanks to its new EPoS platform, the LCFC team can now look at initiatives such as loyalty, member communications and mobile wallet, all of which will improve customer engagement and drive sales - including cross-selling opportunities between F & B and merchandising. It is looking too to generate deeper insights into sales-mix trends for different event profiles; all areas in which MCR is expert and can provide support.