SAP POS - Mobile devices and Offline mode

[Former Member]

Hi, I read a few documents on SAP POS and Enterprise POS. I know EPOS has Offline Capability controller if the internet connection disappears, but does standard POS also have that option?

Secondly, I read in a solution master guide for EPOS of 2010 that Mobile POS is only available in North America and Canada. Is that still true or has the availability been extended for additional regions/countries?

Thirdly, is there a support for hybrid-landcape like cloud functionality with on-premise functionality for SAP POS systems?

Finally, I was told this assignment involves a "non-retail industry client looking for POS system solutions which integrate with SAP solutions (ERP, CRM, BW etc)". Does the "non-retail" part change anything when implementing SAP POS systems?

Hopefully someone can shed some light on these topics of mine.

Thank you in advance,

German

[steve_walker1 · Accepted solution]

Hi German,

SAP POS and SAP Enterprise POS are architected a little differently. SAP Enterprise POS is built for a "connected" environment and it is anticipated that you would have connectivity all the time to head office. However, we recognized this was not always possible and this is why we built the "Offline Capable Client" option. Now SAP POS is a client/server solution and therefore the solution essentially runs only in the store. If connectivity to the store server is lost, the client will continue to function in an offline mode. You would, however, not have connection to the SAP POS Services such as Returns Authorization, Stored Value or Centralized EFT. Hope this answers your first question.

SAP Enterprise POS has been discontinued and therefore the Mobile POS part of the solution has never expanded past North America for support. I can also tell you that we have completed our final release of SAP POS and only Support Packs are being distributed now.

SAP has now partnered with GK Software to provide a new POS solution called SAP POS by GK. This solution is Java architected solution that provides robust POS capabilities and a superior architecture. Currently, the solution is not delivered as a Cloud option, but I understand it is something that GK is working on.

On to your last question...all SAP POS solutions expect a Retail deployment of ERP and therefore a "non-retail" implementation would not work out of the box. I suppose you could build an integration though.

Hope this helps!

Steve

[Former Member]

Thank you, Steve,

Your feedback was very helpful and detailed. I will try to find more details on SAP POS by GK.

Thank you again for your commitment and helpfulness.

Best wished,

German