We had the opportunity to talk with a number of retailers from different sub-sectors, sharing their requirements and confirming the value that Openbravo for Retail can bring to them. From small or medium retailers, up to big ones like a supermarket chain with more than 150 locations.

Quesadillas

Mariachis

Thanks Guadalajara : great business, food and fun ! 

See you soon!

Openbravo for Retail can now be used on smart phones. This article explains its responsive behaviour and ends with a recommended device strategy.


Although computer devices so far only come with rectangular shaped displays, the wide variety of screen sizes nowadays makes designing software that runs well on different devices a much harder task than a few years ago. Apart from different screen sizes, developers also have to deal with different resolutions, aspect ratios and different operating systems. As for the last factor, fortunately Openbravo for Retail runs in a web browser which makes it platform-independent. This leaves us with the factors screen size, resolution and ratio to worry about.

Screen Sizes, Resolutions and Ratios

Smart phones are getting bigger, tablets are getting smaller and more laptops have touch screens. It is clear that there is a lot of overlap in device categories when only looked at from a specifications point of view. Here is a rough categorization:

1. Traditional desktop and laptop computers that are operated using a keyboard and a point & click device such as a mouse or trackpad. Screen sizes vary between 11” (e.g. a Macbook Air or Netbook) and a 24” external monitor. Resolutions vary roughly between 1024x640 and 1920x1200 pixels with aspect ratios from a more traditional 16:12 up to a widescreen 16:9 ratio. 
2. Tablets with touch screens that are operated by fingers or a stylus. These typically measure between 7” and 11”. With the introduction of Windows 8 it is expected to see much larger "tablets" because most Windows 8 laptops will also have a touch screen in addition to a keyboard. However, I believe that every device with a screen larger than 11” is best treated as a traditional computer since it will rarely be used on the go because of its sheer size. Tablets are operated using both hands but can also be placed in a stand and used with one hand or even an external keyboard. 
3. Smart phones with touch screens that are operated by fingers or a stylus. These typically measure between 3” and 5” with hybrids (“phablets”) up to 6” of display size. Aspect ratios vary between 16/9 (e.g. iPhone 5) and 16/12 (e.g. LG VU II). Mobile phones can be held in one hand while being operated by the other. With a smaller display size or bigger hands, one-hand operation is common. 

To add to the complexity, tablets and mobile phones screens can be used in either portrait or landscape mode.

One, Two and Three Columns 

The best way to deal with such a vast array of screen sizes, resolutions, ratios, orientations and operation modes is to design for mobile first and to apply responsive design. Responsive design is a term that is used for web technology that adapts the rendering of pages depending on the screen space, browser and device used. These are identified by the Javascript framework and the best possible viewing and usage experience is subsequently offered. In practice that means that more components are shown when more space is available or these components are shown in a different, optimized way. Note that in our case this does not imply that you would have less functionality on smaller screens, it is merely a matter of not showing everything at once.

For Openbravo for Retail this works as follows:

Large widescreen monitors will benefit from a three column layout. Besides the ticket and scan/browse/search/edit columns, users will also see an additional workspace column on the left hand side. Note that the third column has not been developed yet but is part of our roadmap for this year.


Medium sized monitors and tablets in landscape mode will be using a two column layout. This is what Openbravo for Retail is currently using.

Smart phones and tablets in portrait mode will work with a single column and depending on the task at hand, the user can switch between the columns by swiping horizontally or tapping a pagination button.


You may wonder why we have put in pagination buttons when you can swipe horizontally. We could have used the precious screen space for something else, right? The answer stems from our design philosophy which assumes that it is unknown which kind of input device people are using. A typical retail point-of-sale setup will use a touch screen but many stores also need a keyboard and mouse to look up products that require keying in long product codes or keywords. It could also be the case that a retailer simply does not want to replace his current monitors with touch screens. Simply stated: Openbravo for Retail and Openbravo Mobile does not want to impose a device or input method.

Device Strategy 

With such a large amount of factors choosing the best device for your context is not easy but with responsive design you will be able to run Openbravo for Retail on most devices if you take into consideration a few guidelines.

First, there is a minimum screen size. This has nothing to do with pixels but has everything to do with basic usability. If things get too small, you simply cannot read text anymore and controls will be hard to target. The minimum screen size for smart phones for Openbravo for Retail is 3.5”.

Second, there is a minimum resolution. The more pixels available, the more information can be shown. The minimum resolution for smart phones for Openbravo for Retail is 480 x 800 pixels.

Third, there is a minimum amount of memory and processing power that the mobile device needs to have to run Openbravo for Retail comfortably. Because everything runs inside a browser, theoretically the browser determines the need for system resources. As a rough baseline, make sure to have 512 MB RAM memory on board and a 1 GHZ processor.

Fourth, there is the need to use an up-to-date browser that is either Chrome, Safari or the Android stock browser.

Complying with the above, the remaining factors for choosing the right device will depend on your users and usage context. Sure, Openbravo for Retail now adapts itself to your device but picking the appropriate device for your users is as important as ever. We strongly recommend to spend some time investigating how Openbravo for Retail is going to be used. Is the device going to be used for client-side selling or as the main POS terminal? Does the device need to fit in a pocket or will it be attached to the wrist? What are the lighting conditions the device is going to be used in? I cannot stress enough the importance of doing contextual research. Observe and interview your users and try different devices before deploying any.

1. Create each truck as a store in the Backoffice. Trucks are in fact mobile stores, right? In this way you will be able to assign to each truck a price list,  an assortment and a warehouse. Maximum flexibility!
2. Having an assigned warehouse, will let you control exactly the stock level of each truck, either at the end of the journey if they don't have internet connectivity, or in real time if they have it, by synchronizing orders automatically with the Backoffice. This real time scenario, will let you decide to replenish a truck during its route, for example in the event of an unforseen new order or a higher ordered quantity of some products. No more stockout situations!
3. After that, you can set up a single POS terminal per truck, with its allowed payment methods
4. At this point, you arm each driver with a tablet. In the Central Office, at the beginning of their journey, they connect to the corresponding POS url to synchronize the initial master data : products, prices, promotions and customers. Better data quality for minimizing data entry errors!
5. If your customers can pay in cash, you will give some change to your drivers. By creating a deposit, you can easily register the ammount for each POS. Total control over the managed cash!
6. Openbravo for Retail is a full web application, but it doesn't require to be on-line:
• Drivers have connectivity : all the orders will be synchronized automatically to the Backoffice, which gives you real time visibility about the served orders and remaining stock on each truck
• Drivers don’t have connectivity : not a problem at all! Openbravo Web POS can be run offline. Drivers can do their job and synchronize all the information later in the Central Office
7. Armed with his tablet, the driver will start new sales, by selecting products and/or customers, creating new customers or applying automatic or manual discounts. Discounts and other options can be securized. Peace of mind about what each driver can do!
8. Do you need to provide a receipt for the transaction? The best option in this scenario would be to use a bluetooth printer.  If card payments are possible, you could use an external payment device, integrated or not with the Web POS (see Note 1). Get maximum benefit from the solution interoperability capabilities!
9. For customers who pay later, you can use the credit sales functionality
10. At the end of the journey, your drivers will be able to close the day, thanks to the Cash Up functionality, a guided step-by-step closing process that updates all your financial accounts in the Backoffice. Full integration with the financial module!
11. Now you can replenish each truck and update their stock levels in the system (by using their associated warehouse) and be prepared for the next day!
12. In case you pay commisions to your drivers, it is really simple to calculate and process them
13. If you are also interested on a graphical information about the geographical spread of your customers, a better track of your trucks routes, or just a clear information about the customer adress you can  think on integrating with solutions like Google Maps (see Note 2)

Picture 1 : Orders in a map

Picture 2 : Customer Address

Full web capabilities, usability thanks to the use of mobile devices and On Demand are the most highlighted features by retailers who have showed interest in the solution. New pricing (simpler and more flexible) has also been very well received.

After announcing our plans for a mobile solution of Openbravo 3 last year, we decided to first launch the Openbravo for Retail solution with Web POS as the primary mobile interface. Having delivered, we continued working on the core mobile experience. Based on earlier interaction design, we are now in the last stage of completing the Openbravo Mobile platform.

This video shows the power of Openbravo Mobile. It features a lightweight HTML5 GUI that uses Enyo, the state-of-the-art open source development framework. This is an important step towards delivering our mobile vision where all standard windows in Openbravo 3 can be accessed through any mobile device with a web browser. This means full functionality, including record addition and modification, process execution, reporting, notes and attachments.

The featured video demonstrates Openbravo Mobile in different business contexts. Elena´s outdoor store is selling a lot of winter gear due to the cold weather that is coming up. Rob, the sales director, notices this trend while looking at Openbravo Mobile widgets on his phone and directly requests the purchase manager to order additional stock. A few minutes later he receives a notification that the order was placed and he approves, again using his mobile phone. The next morning, the goods are received in the store and Miguel, the warehouse employee, uses Openbravo Mobile on a tablet to register the incoming goods. The circle is closed and business continues.

Openbravo Mobile works seamlessly together with the standard Openbravo 3 browser experience against the same centralized database--further enhancing productivity and accessibility, making your business truly agile.

Openbravo Web POS is well on its way and in a few weeks time our partners and retail customers will be able to start using it for their businesses. We at Openbravo produce software and unlike Google or Microsoft we don´t plan to stray into designing hardware. We are proud to be hardware-agnostic in the sense that we believe our software should run on anything with a browser. With Google´s new Nexus 7 tablet however, it is hard for me to hide excitement about a piece of hardware and especially its usage in combination with Web POS. I can totally imagine using the Nexus 7 for client-side selling in stores. Here´s why it looks like an ideal candidate. 



The Size
With a 7 inch diagonal screen size and 340 grams weight, it seems like a tablet you want to keep with you at all times while talking to customers in your store. You could tuck it in a pocket or shove it in a waist-pouch similar to what some waiting staff wear in restaurants. The resolution of 1280x800px is ample (Openbravo Web POS has a 1024x768px minimum requirement) and its display size is probably just large enough to allow for low-volume product browsing and selling. Pythagoras helped me out with a^2 = b^2 + c^2 to model a quick mockup in real-life dimensions to assess the usability by printing a Web POS mockup on paper. Whereas a Galaxy Note would not be usable without stylus and an iPad is just too big to carry around, the Nexus 7 seems to have the perfect size.

The Specs
This tablet is designed for media consumption and gaming and the tech specs show this. A quad-core Tegra 3 processor should make it fast and smooth and Google claims eight hours of active use on a battery charge which is enough for a full day of selling.

The Jelly Bean
Android 4.1, aka Jelly Bean, is great for its browser experience. It runs Chrome which allows for smooth switching between active browser tabs and full integration with Google services. You would be running Openbravo most of the time while interacting with customers but little sidesteps to the back-office, product comparisons or even the competitor´s site will be easy. Also, staff can access other non-Openbravo internal business applications without having to find a back-office desktop computer. Having a quick meeting with other store staff via Google+ Hangouts also sounds very useful. Another nice feature is speech-to-text so you can find products by talking to the tablet, even in offline mode.

The Price
The Nexus 7 is cheap: 199 USD. This is a lot cheaper than the iPad (starting price 499 USD) and cheaper than most Android tablets in the market, apart from some cheap makes with low specs. The additional cost of adding a few more Nexus 7 tablets to extra staff on the shopfloor on busier days are peanuts compared to losing customers because of long waits for check-out lines or bad customer experiences. Mind you, your sales staff just needs a tablet and point their browser to the Openbravo Web POS instance in the cloud (or your server on-site). No installs, no maintenance, no risk, highly scalable. You could even let them bring their own tablets.

The Catch
There is none. Well, there is maybe one. I have to be frank with you: I did not try Openbravo Web POS on the Nexus 7 hands-on yet. Based in Barcelona Spain, I have to wait for one of my US colleagues to bring one over. I will keep you posted on our hardware experiences.

UPDATE 03/09/2012
I finally got my hands on the Nexus 7 and it is indeed a wonderful device. However, there is one big BUT that I did not anticipate, which is the lack of a full-screen browser view mode for Chrome on Android. The standard browser that is used in Android 4.0 (and lower) has a full-screen mode but with Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) Chrome is the standard and only browser. This said, it is expected that full screen browsing is coming soon to Chrome for Android. Until then, I do not recommend the Nexus 7 for Openbravo Web POS yet. It works fine technically but the tabs, address and navigation toolbars take away too much of the available screen space, which is far from ideal. I apologize for the confusion I may have caused with my original post. Find recommended and tested tablets in the retail documentation.

With the technology and interaction design well on their way, we´re now about to close the graphical design phase for Openbravo Web POS. It's going to look like no other Point of Sale you have seen before and sets a new design direction for Openbravo Mobile and Retail. Here's the design rationale.

Minimalist & direct: Openbravo Web POS features a minimalist design inspired by De Stijl and the Metro design language, that prefers content over GUI chrome. It uses straight and rectangular forms and is strongly typography based. The user is encouraged to interact directly with labels. For example, to add an item from the product catalogue, you just click the label (1). To reduce the amount, you just click the amount (2). There is no need for additional buttons and a minimum amount of taps is needed.
Light & flexible: Elements float on top of a background, emphasizing the lightness and flexibility of a web based application where the presentation layer is separated from business logic and data.

Optimized for modern touch screens: The new design makes use of modern touch screen capabilities that are offered by consumer devices such as the iPad but also increasingly by more industrial terminals. Products are browsed by swiping lists rather than using tedious next/previous or scroller bars. These are only rendered in case of older touch screens or mouse/keyboard operated keyboards.

Happy to be personalized & customized: Openbravo Web POS runs on anything with a browser - which means it must look good on all platforms and devices. It should also blend in with the retailer's shop and brand. The open architecture and use of standard web technology (HTML5) allows for easy adaptation for specific environments and even without coding, personalization should be easy. Colors and backgrounds can be matched with the company's corporate identity and adjusted to temporary themes.

Playful and proud to be seen: Most POS GUIs are dull looking, which is a missed opportunity because the exposure of these systems to staff and clients is high compared to other back end systems. POS systems take central stage in most restaurants and bars and retailers more and more let their customers co-interact with the system. Openbravo Web POS wants to be an appealing, fun and professional piece of software that staff and customers love to use and show. Nifty little design details such as the folded corner, animations, illustrations and intelligent messaging add to the experience. The exposure of the POS GUI to staff and customers is also an opportunity to communicate with them, through the GUI itself (e.g. branded themes), the message area (for staff) or the customer display (for customers).

Here's the full set.

The last month we have been working in stealth mode on the Web Point of Sale (POS) project so you may not be aware of what this is all about. Good things need to be shared and stealth is stupid, so let me give you an update on the latest exciting developments for retail.

What is Openbravo Web POS?

• Openbravo Web POS is intended for multi-store retail businesses. The solution will be modular, providing a full list of advanced functionality to cover all requirements needed from the point of sale, store management, to the central head quarters.
• Openbravo Web POS will have an agile, flow oriented, best of breed web user interface oriented to tablets and touch screen systems. The solution aims to provide a highly satisfying staff and customer experience but also needs to be easy to customize and personalize by business partners and end users.
• Openbravo Web POS is an enterprise level solution that is fully integrated with the ERP using one logical data model. It is also highly scalable and offers web services to expose the enterprise model to the outside world.
• Openbravo Web POS is an addition to the existing POS client. The choice of deployment options will be left to the business partners and customers.

What have we done so far?

• The architecture has been decided. Read details here.
• The main flows and functionality have been designed. Here´s a SlideShare presentation showing the latest iteration.
• Interactive mockups were built for both desktop and iPad. Download HTML Mockup (unpack zip and run in browser). Download iPad Mockup (you need an app called Presentation Link to run the iPad version).
• Usability tests were conducted on 12 users using the interactive mockup mentioned above.
• Based on the findings, we improved weaknesses of earlier versions along the way, resulting in the 8th iteration, which is considered mature. This means that we are now very confident this is going to work for our users.
• The visual design phase has started. Here's where colors, typography, layout and style are defined. Most POS software is butt ugly and this needs to change. I will share some art work in the next few days.

We're very excited about the Openbravo Web POS. Mind you, this is not your average POS system. This is a retail solution that combines a great web-based user experience with a solid enterprise architecture.