Blazing the POS trail

Companies focused on powering the POS have evolved significantly in the last two decades, with today's solutions hardly resembling the old-fashioned combination of stand-alone, over-the-counter terminals and embedded gateway applications. Cloud-based POS solutions provider Vend exemplifies this transition.

Vend is among a new breed of solutions providers that would never claim to be payments companies. Rather, Vend touts itself as a venture-backed, award-winning global provider of cloud-based POS technology. Its platform is compatible with a variety of Internet-enabled POS devices, has been pre-integrated with a host of payment processing providers, and includes a complement of data and inventory management tools, the company noted.

Based in Auckland, New Zealand, Vend has branches in five major markets worldwide, including Canada and the United States. Jake West, Vend's director of business development said, "Vend was founded in 2010 as the world's first retail, cloud-based POS solution. The company has since grown to over 25,000 merchant locations across the world, 11,000 of which are in North America."

Since its inception, the company has raised over 63 million in funding, and its technologies have been recognized by Deloitte, American Business Awards and the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards, West noted. Additionally, the Vend website states that the company was built to provide "cloud-based POS software to help retailers build thriving businesses, live more fulfilling lives, and create experiences that people love."

Empowering the reseller

Vend began as a business-to-business vendor focused on the merchant. "Up to a year and a half ago, most of our customers found us online, but this arena has become more competitive, so we decided to start a new reseller program," West said. Vend doesn't share residuals with partners; instead, it uses a "distribution versus residuals" model, West added. He indicated the arrangement helps Vend stay payment agnostic and opens the door to competitors like Shopify and Square.

"The versatility of the model enables Vend to provide the best solution for the merchant," West said, adding that the no-residual arrangement keeps "all of our relationships intact and partner-friendly."

West also believes the model gives Vend partners the opportunity to guide the sales discussion toward value and away from price. "When our product is introduced as a POS, it elevates the conversation and provides a strategic advantage," he noted. "The partner has the chance to talk about business processes, saving time, saving money, and in some instances, loyalty programs and making more money."

Customer-focused backbone

The Vend payment gateway supports numerous payment devices and operates via individual integrations through the major processors. The processors handle delivery of all back-end data, and merchants' access information through the Vend reporting dashboard. "Our robust dashboard includes everything from cost-of-goods sold, to inventory, to historical reporting," West said. "We also have an actionable insights (AI) feature called DOTT that gives the merchant valuable business intelligence needed to plan and grow."

DOTT is available to Vend merchants at no charge and is geared for small to midsize business (SMB) owners. "DOTT uses personalized AI parameters to help the SMB merchant understand the data in a customized way, enabling them to make smarter business decisions," West said. He added that Vend's inventory database is tailored for merchants with 1,000 or more products to manage and includes deep inventory management features, along with robust inventory reporting capabilities.

Looking ahead

West indicated Vend's ongoing growth will focus on its partner lead strategy, working with payment companies that have merchant relationships and need to bundle in robust POS features.

"Vend is excited to enable payment resellers with a powerful POS solution that provides long-term value, increased revenue and decreased merchant churn," West said. "Vend is growing quickly and plans to hire 100 folks this year, with our main focus in the U.S. payment reseller channel, which has now become a significant part of Vend's business."

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