JTL Connect opens its doors in Düsseldorf in four days’ time. In addition to us, many technology and service partners will also be exhibiting their products and services in the trade fair area. There are now numerous supplementary software solutions that perform useful functions in conjunction with the JTL product portfolio and have become an integral part of the everyday practice of many mail order companies. One such product is the LS-POS© checkout software from software developer Luwosoft. In a short portrait, we would like to introduce our long-standing technology partner and exhibitor at JTL-Connect 2015 in more detail.
Who is Luwosoft and what do they offer?
Many of you who run a store as well as an online store know that this is hardly feasible without a functional point of sale system – especially when things have to move quickly. Ideally, the point of sale system should be linked to an ERP system to ensure smooth processes and constant reconciliation, for example of stock levels, at all times. Luwosoft has developed the right solution for precisely this case.
Luwosoft is a software developer that offers LS-POS©, a POS software that can be easily connected to JTL-Wawi and works optimally with it. Since 2008, the company from the south of Germany has been offering this point of sale system, which is an extremely flexible solution for combining brick-and-mortar and online retail. Wolfgang Lunz is the CEO of Luwosoft. The computer science graduate also studied design at Augsburg University of Applied Sciences, where he also worked as a lecturer for several years after graduating. Luwosoft currently has seven permanent employees.
The collaboration with JTL-Software began in 2007, when Luwosoft was looking for a partner with whom it could realize its plan for a point of sale system with webshop integration. As there was no point of sale system for JTL-Wawi at the time, it quickly became clear that this would be an exciting joint project. “At the time, we also assumed that the first prototype of the new POS system would be ready after an estimated four weeks. However, after three weeks at the latest, we realized that we were being very optimistic about this project,” says Wolfgang Lunz. Around a year after the start of the collaboration with JTL-Software, the first marketable version of LS-POS© was released.
LS-POS© - An innovative point of sale system for JTL-Wawi
“LS-POS© is the solution for stationary retail in the JTL universe,” says Wolfgang Lunz. The unique point of sale system was specially designed for JTL-Wawi and is developed further with each new JTL-Wawi version that is released. “LS-POS© is an independent Windows program that works closely with the live data from JTL-Wawi. In practice, this means, for example, that if an item is sold via the online store, LS-POS© learns this immediately after the next worker comparison (e.g. every 10-15 seconds) and can react by, for example, preventing the last available item from being sold again in the store,” explains Wolfgang Lunz.
By the way: LS-POS© can be used in almost every conceivable sector, whether retail, cafés and restaurants, discotheques or sports and leisure providers such as swimming pools or bicycle rental companies.
New flexibility with LS-POS© and JTL-WMS
Of course, LS-POS© has also been adapted to the JTL-WMS warehouse management system. The mail order company can now choose whether to use the standard warehouse or the WMS warehouse. “We recommend that our customers actually use a WMS warehouse if possible, as the advantages quickly outweigh the slightly higher conceptual effort. Many things are precisely defined in a WMS warehouse, e.g. it is possible to determine at any time which items are located where in the warehouse. In addition, the locations from which the items are to be picked are also precisely defined using methods such as FIFO or FEFO. In LS-POS©, even pick lists of the current shopping basket are possible,” says Wolfgang Lunz.
Since JTL-Wawi 1.0 and LS-POS© 1.8.0.1, the storage bin type “Store” is no longer decisive. Instead, a WMS storage area (also called “WMS zone”) is defined, which contains the respective sales locations. With this new flexibility, even WMS store systems with replenishment and main warehouse can be realized.
Luwosoft's plans for the future
Founder Wolfgang Lunz is very positive about the future of LS-POS©. He says that there are still many ideas in the drawer and that there will already be a number of exciting innovations around LS-POS© in 2016. “For example, we will make LS-POS© more suitable for the catering sector (e.g. ordering pizzas via a JTL-Shop with the configuration module). The previously announced rental version of LS-POS© will also be released. In addition, we will start certifying our own service partners and so on.”
If you would like to find out more about Luwosoft and the LS-POS© POS software, just take a look at the Luwosoft YouTube channel. Good news is that you can experience and get to know the company and its impressive software live at the JTL-Connect 2015 trade fair stand!
If you don’t have a ticket for JTL-Connect 2015 yet, you shouldn’t hesitate any longer. You can expect an informative and exciting program throughout the day and evening! Until then, we look forward to seeing you!
