Case Study: Redesigning a POS Interface and Avoiding a Major Capital Spend
Client Snapshot
A mid-sized, family-owned prepared food business operated both retail and catering operations through a network of company-owned and franchised locations. The company used a custom-built point-of-sale system developed by its internal IT team. The system was used for in-store transactions as well as for managing and billing catering orders.
The Challenge
Over time, franchisees had added hundreds of localized items, promotions, and custom pricing to the shared POS platform. The total number of available items exceeded 1,000. The interface displayed plain-text buttons with no visual hierarchy, making it difficult to navigate during customer transactions. Order entry was slow and error-prone, and staff often had to scroll through long lists of unrelated items to complete a sale.
The leadership team recognized that the system was no longer fit for the pace or complexity of daily operations. However, the catering workflows were tightly integrated with the existing platform, and no restaurant-grade POS systems on the market supported the combined needs of both in-store sales and catering management to their liking. The company expected to spend up to $2 million on new software and implementation.
The Approach
An assessment of system usage revealed that fewer than 20 menu items accounted for the majority of retail transactions. Using this data, the team proposed a redesign of the user interface to improve usability without changing the underlying platform.
A request was made to the internal IT team to add visual elements to the interface, including color coding and image-based buttons. Another key enhancement was the ability for each franchise location to manage a separate custom menu page containing only its own unique items. These changes allowed stores to offer local flexibility without cluttering the interface for other users.
A new screen layout was introduced to group items by category. Menu buttons at the top of the screen led to dedicated submenus for beverages, sides, or seasonal offerings. The main screen featured the top 24 most frequently purchased items, each with an image and color-coded label to improve speed and reduce errors.
The Outcome
The updated POS layout required no new software and no hardware replacement. The system retained its core catering functionality while becoming significantly more usable for retail staff. Navigation became faster and more intuitive, with fewer steps required to complete a sale.
Lesson Learned
The problems a business wants to solve are not always the ones that need solving. Taking time to investigate root causes often reveals faster, more effective solutions. Consultants must listen carefully, understand operational pain points, and resist the urge to jump to a fix before the problem is fully understood.