S O F T W A R E W I T H V I S I O N
Off-The-Shelf vs. Bespoke
Acuitas Enterprise is an off-the shelf Enterprise class system designed to meet the needs of a modern optical retail chain. Our driving philosophy is to enable each individual store perform at its best, while enabling centralised, focused, management control of the chain as a whole.
There are broadly 3 groups of products which can be deployed to serve the needs of the large optical retail chain; Bespoke software, Generic EPoS system customised for the Optical retail sector and Off-the-shelf software which is developed specifically for the needs of large optical retail chains.
We believe Acuitas Enterprise to be the most cost effective, business enabling solution, since it has been developed from day one to serve the needs of large optical retail chains. From the clinical capability of the store side application, to the business tools in the back office, and the interfaces which exist to both clinical equipment and accounting and ERP systems, Acuitas Enterprise is a comprehensive solution.
The choice of Acuitas store-level application will depend on the environment in which it is to operate, which is driven by the business model operating in the chain and the level of clinical eye testing within the stores. Acuitas is localised to many languages and jurisdictions, which makes it ideal for chains which transcend borders. The enterprise aspect of the application assists the control, optimisation and visibility to manage the overall business. The system is highly configurable, which makes it very flexible to changing business strategies or operating model within stores.
S O F T W A R E W I T H V I S I O N
Advantages & disadvantages of a bespoke software solution
The advantage of the bespoke approach is that the retailer gets a system truly customised to their needs, and is able to conceal from the marketplace any intellectual property it develops. Some disadvantages are that it is very expensive and have a high probability of project failure rarely meeting the original goals on time. Even when it is a success the expense of maintenance and the inflexibility can make this an undesirable victory - the organisation foregoes the vast amount of technical innovation in the marketplace available to specialist software vendors.
Bespoke solution
Advantages Disadvantages
Lifetime cost of Business Management system
The cost of the development is spread across the estate of stores. Unit cost reduces with increasing size of chain.
More expensive to develop comparable functionality to that available with Generic EPoS or Off-the-shelf systems. Difficulty in accurately scoping the system requirements which often drives up the ultimate cost of the project , over what is initially planned for.
Expensive to maintain the constant evolution in the requirements of enterprise and retail store management systems.
Operating model across stores
No need to adjust operating model in stores to conform to restraints of Generic EPoS system or Off-the-shelf system.
Inflexible system once development is complete.
Risk
High probability of project failure, or project cost overruns.
Political pressures or strategic realignments within the organisation often threaten project timelines or development initiatives.
Flexibility
Can be difficult and expensive to modify the system once the initial development is completed.
Even if the desire is there, the architecture initially used may prevent future development of features and modules not scoped during initial project review, or as a result of evolution in optical sector requirements.
S O F T W A R E W I T H V I S I O N
Advantages & disadvantages of a Generic EPoS software solution
The advantages of customising a generic EPoS system are that these systems are trusted outside of optics and are provided by large companies with whom large retailers feel more comfortable dealing with. The disadvantage is that the teams within these companies with specialist optical knowledge tend to be very small, and so the impact of staff turnover is high.
Generic EPoS systems do not translate well into optics and they can appear clumsy beside even the most basic systems designed specifically for the optical sector. EPoS is only one aspect of the opportunities to benefit from computerisation in optics, with substantial benefits available from patient management, clinical recording, and optical manufacturing software not available to generic EPoS suppliers.
Generic EPoS solution
Advantages Disadvantages
Lifetime cost of Business Management system
Development cost for Generic EPoS provider spread across entire customer base.
Operating model across stores
May need to adjust store operating model to fit with capabilities of Generic EPoS system.
Optical sector fit
System not designed for the peculiarities
of the Optical retail sector, particularly with regard to technical aspects of the store activities. EPoS is only one part of the overall capabilities required in Optical retail.
Risks
Tried and tested. Certainly superior to Bespoke systems in this regard, and often a better option than with a non-market-proven Off-the-shelf system.
May not be able to cater for future requirements which are specific to the Optical retail sector.
A new system is a long term investment. Large Generic EPoS companies are more resilient to recession.
Optical retail specialists within these companies are few, and so during recessionary times or boom-times business downsizing or high attrition can lead to critical knowledge drain.
Flexibility
More flexible than Bespoke, but less configurable than off-the-shelf.
As customisation is often defined upon project initiation, it can be difficult to develop new features and rollout across stores once initial project is complete.
Competitive positioning Benefit from the learnings and technical
innovations of the marketplace.
Less differentiation in business model versus competitors.
S O F T W A R E W I T H V I S I O N
Advantages & disadvantages of an Off-the-shelf software solution
To survive in the marketplace an off-the-shelf system must:
Handle many different business models: Package software must build sophisticated configurability into the application, to cater for the many varying business environments in which they are deployed. Custom applications often complain that they become unhappy with the choices they made during the initial implementation of the system, but that it is too difficult and expensive to modify the system once their IT needs have matured.
Have rich functionality: Package software vendors in a vertical market such as optics are exposed to the requirements of many businesses of many different sizes within that vertical. This contrasts with having direct experience of only one environment, in the case of an internal IT department, or of only a limited number of large businesses in the case of generic EPoS vendors. With Package software vendors, there is a constant and renewed focus on ‘getting the sale’ which requires that the package be kept right up to date with new features, while also matching the features and capabilities of legacy systems.
Continuously innovate: Package software vendors with a market focus are exposed to many more sources of innovation than internal or generic suppliers. This innovation, in the form of new features, is continually incorporated into the package and provided as updates to the user. So for a cost much less than developing new functionality itself, a company can have access to the innovations of many hundreds of businesses, in Ocuco’s case in many countries.
Off-the-shelf solution
Advantages Disadvantages
Lifetime cost of Business Management system
Cheaper than Bespoke. Development cost for Off-the-shelf provider spread across its entire customer base.
Cost of system in each additional store is incremental, but decreases with number of stores (similar to Generic EPoS solution).
Operating model across stores
Can benefit from successful tried-and-tested store operating models in the market.
Optical sector fit
Designed specifically from the ground up, for use in Large optical retail chains. Both store-side and back-office optical sector specific requirements are state-of-the-art.
Developed from day one for the needs of large optical retail chains:
Clinical capability and Patient management of the store side application. Optical sector tailored business tools for the back office. Interfaces to both clinical equipment and accounting and large ERP
S O F T W A R E W I T H V I S I O N
Off-the-shelf solution
Advantages Disadvantages
Flexibility
Most flexible solution, as configurability is a cornerstone of being able to operate in multiple business environments.
The system architecture is designed to allow changes and additions of features and modules in the future.
Competitive positioning
Benefit from the learning and technical innovations of the optical retail marketplace.
Less differentiation in business model versus competitors, when compared with Bespoke solution.
