Junction 14 is one of the most successful forecourts in Ireland as it is the only motorway service area on the busy M7 motorway. Operated by local businessmen and brothers Liam and Donal Fitzpatrick, the site incorporates a Spar Express convenience store, Spar restaurant, Supermacs fast food outlet, Insomnia Barista coffee dock and a 24/7 Texaco forecourt boasting 16 state-of-the-art pumps – 4 of which have Integrated Card Payment Terminals which allow you to pay at the pumps or pay in the Store Building. The site also incorporates 4 dedicated E-car charging points. The Fitzpatrick’s also run a very successful Spar/Texaco forecourt in Monasterevin, Co. Kildare.

Client Requirements:
The Fitzpatrick’s spent several years looking across Europe at what was happening in the motorway forecourt industry. They were looking at ways to improve current designs and also how they could tailor existing ideas to suit the Irish market. After evaluating numerous EPoS solutions from both indigenous and multi-national suppliers, the Fitzpatrick’s selected CBE’s retail and forecourt package to control their business. With extensive experience in the forecourt industry, the Fitzpatrick’s had a number of critical requirements:

• The POS solution had to be flexible enough to function in retail, forecourt and hospitality environments as the EPoS units were to be used for fuel, retail, deli and coffee shop transactions
• The solution had to be configured to allow customers to ‘pay at the pumps’ with their debit, credit or fuel card (including all the major players in the Fuel card market)
• Interface with BWG (wholesaler) for creating orders, accepting deliveries and receiving weekly price updates
• To provide critical measurement indicators leading to more effective analysis and evaluation of business performance
• To assist management to be more proactive in managing the business across the store
  6. To optimise in-store and on-site advertising and promotional opportunities
• To drive greater sales and maximise profit

Why CBE?
CBE worked closely with the Fitzpatrick’s to understand their needs and then develop a suitable value added solution in a timely manner. As market leader, the CBE team has a formidable reputation in developing software solutions across the retail sector and was first to market with many innovations, including the first integrated forecourt EPoS solution. This reputation, built over three decades, provided added confidence to the client in finding a bespoke solution within budget and timetable.

CBE Solution
The CBE solution includes the following key elements:

• Integration of standalone elements into the EPoS solution, including:
  • Fuel cards
  • Outdoor payment terminal
  • Car wash
  • Gift cards
  • Fuel tank gauges
  • Chip & pin
  • Top-ups
  • Cigarette vending

• Real time reporting that provides a global view of the business including performance and margin control
• Synchronization of deliveries with actual sales for accurate stock control
• Clear visibility of any changes to price, margin, VAT rates or other selected indicators
• Automated analysis of wet and dry stock position
• Powerful promotions module
• In-store advertising functionality through innovative screens on the EPoS units
• System enables management to react quickly to local trends and competition

What the client says:
The solution was delivered on time and within budget. It has exceeded the client expectations in supporting the achievement of the company’s objectives.

According to Donal Fitzpatrick, “We approached CBE because of their unique experience in retail technology. We are very impressed by the excellent quality and in-depth functionality delivered through the CBE solution, which is helping us reach our business objectives faster. Our previous experience with them and also the new modules that required development, in particular the pay at pump /or pay in shop option for customers refuelling and the video recall functionality at tills on a new platform DVR System made us opt to deal with CBE. They have been innovative in reacting to the IT demands in the marketplace and we want this to continue.

We found the CBE team to be very knowledgeable and professional in understanding our needs and delivering a robust, highly integrated solution on time and within budget.

CBE exceeded our expectations with system development, installation and training for our team. The addition of the system means greater efficiencies, better control and more effective management systems throughout our store”.