Past Times has completed the roll-out of an EPoS application from Cegid/VCSTimeless and has enlisted the help of Vista Retail Support to maintain its EpoS estate.

The nostalgia gift retailer began to roll out the Colombus Retail store application across its 102 stores last August.

In addition, Past Times has introduced the Colombus Head Office system to manage the interface between the stores and existing head office applications.

With phase one of the implementation complete, Past Times said it is experiencing improved customer service levels and better management of pricing and promotional activity. A second phase will aim to maximise additional functionality.

The applications were chosen because the retailer needed comprehensive and powerful reporting for rapid and informed decision-making, and effective pricing and promotions management. It also required the store and head office system to be user-friendly.

Now that the store system is live, Past Times has appointed Cegid/VCSTimeless partner Vista to support the maintenance of the 220 tills in the retailer’s stores.

Past Times senior business analyst Simon Watson said that the support provider had been chosen because of its in-depth knowledge and because Past Times had received positive feedback from existing Vista customers.

Vista business development manager Mark Townsend said that maximum uptime for the EPoS system and all of its EPoS hardware is critical as each store only has two or three tills. He added: “Past Times is an expanding company and has exciting growth plans for 2009. We look forward to supporting them with their expansion plans through efficient management and maintenance of the company’s EPoS system.”