Ben & Jerry’s uses the web to get the inside scoop on ice cream shop sales

To support a planned expansion of its number of franchised Scoop Shops, ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s has signed a contract with MICROS Systems Inc. for 300 software licenses and workstations for the MICROS RES3000 web-based POS system.

The MICROS system is designed to transmit POS data over the web to an application hosted on MICROS web servers. Ben & Jerry’s managers with authorized browser access will then be able to view real-time sales activity by product and by location on a web page in the MyMicros.net web access tool, replacing an existing system under which POS data are collected, viewed and analyzed on a monthly basis, the retailer says. Ben & Jerry’s now operates more than 235 Scoop Shops, each handling 7,000-10,000 transactions a month during peak ice cream season.

"The MyMicros.net portal will allow us to view these transactions and our business in a totally different way," Will Patten, director of retail operations for Ben & Jerry`s, says. "Instead of reacting to old data, we`ll receive fresh, real-time data, which we can collect and view anywhere in the world. This immediacy of information permits us to make better decisions faster and gives our valued franchisees real tools for success."