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PowerBooks
The specialty store in book selling goes Fujitsu TeamPOS
Powerbooks expands branches with technology to improve customer service
PowerBooks - a haven for all book lovers, a building of books and nothing but books with a cozy coffeeshop - offers the widest selection available for every individual book worm's taste buds and needs. Its vision is to continuously strive to be the specialty bookstore of choice in the country.
Inaugurated in August 16, 1996, PowerBooks was then a subsidiary of National Bookstore, the country's largest bookstore chain, and incorporated in 1997 to offer the local market with over 42,000 titles in stock.
It has books on Asian Studies, Art and Architecture, Audio Books, Best Sellers, Biographies, Business, Children's Literature, Computers, Cultural Studies, Current Events, Education, Fiction, Gender Issues, Gift Books, History, House and Home, Literature, Leisure, Magazines, Multi Media, Psychology, Philosophy, Philippine Publications, Political Science, Reference, Religion, Self-help, Sex Education and Young Adult Literature.
PowerBooks carry not just books but other items too such as book marks, book plates, book lights and fancy journals among others sold as neat stuff that people can give as gifts or as keepsakes.
Leisure Luxury Item
Operations Manager, Adrian S. Ramos, says a specialty bookstore like PowerBooks faces tough challenges in the local market. "Books come far third to movies and television in terms of the people's choice for entertainment. Books are a leisure luxury item, not a leisure necessity. And value-wise, reading books is a more expensive leisure activity than watching movies and TV shows." Filipinos are very visual. With books, readers need to develop a lot of imagination and creativity. "The slow growth of book readers in the country is also compounded by the economic recession. Hence, income goes to other necessary expenditures," he claims.
The real market for the specialty bookstore like PowerBooks is the middle class, adds Ramos. "The upper class is always a given but in order to succeed in this business, we need a large middle class. When recession came in, the growth stopped. But PowerBooks has survived this challenge."
A key to its survival, he says, is PowerBooks' affiliation to National Book Store. In terms of value and competency, Ramos stresses that PowerBooks offers excellent customer service. "I would like to think we do. I always like to improve the levels of customer service."
Aside from continuously improving its policy of good customer service, PowerBooks strives to create loyalty among customers and to provide the specific books or titles that customers desire.
PowerBooks now has three branches - 918 A. Arnaiz Ave. (formerly Pasay Road) in Makati City where the first branch was inaugurated; G/F Building A of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City; and, Cortes delas Palmas in Alabang Town Center, Ayala Alabang.
Technology Tools
With this expansion of branches and the goal of meeting customer needs, PowerBooks is aware of the potential of effective information technology tools to support its growing requirements and demand for customer satisfaction. It requires on-time information on status of branches, including the latest inventory and sales reports per branch, to be available at any branch, anytime. Its existing standalone and PC-based Branch Inventory System could no longer keep up with the expanding requirements.
"Our system then had none of the capabilities we have today. It could only provide periodic inventory-based data, which contained data from one branch only at a specific time. For a company smaller in size, this kind of inventory should be sufficient," Ramos points out. "However, we needed to analyze sales information that we could get at any given time, which meant a perpetual inventory-based data was required. And to fit this requirement, we have to upgrade the system."
It turned to Fujitsu Philippines, Inc. (FPI) to install the Fujitsu TeamPOS and Softwear/POS application in the three branches. FPI provided six TeamPOS terminals, one Fujitsu Primergy C800 POS server, and two Fujitsu Deskpower PC's to serve as communication and purchase order receiving workstations. These systems were installed at the Makati branch in June 1998, and at the Megamall branch, in August 1998. The Alabang branch has similar set-up except for four TeamPOS terminals, which were installed last February 2000. Transactions have been growing rapidly at all branches. On a daily basis, 200 to 400 people flock to PowerBooks at the Makati branch alone. In the Megamall branch, about 1,000 people a day transact at the store. In Alabang, the estimated number is about 500 to 800 people a day. On a per purchase basis, however, the Makati and Alabang branches have the highest sales compared to the Megamall branch. The upper class markets pre-dominantly live in the Makati and Alabang areas.
"Information is always available as well as the integration of branches. Without the Fujitsu TeamPOS, I would not be able to generate the reports needed to supply data for our web page with regard to the availability of titles and inventory, if not for this system," adds Ramos.
The store is currently re-designing its web site at www.powerbooks.com.ph to re-structure its services online. PowerBooks also provides a venue for special activities for learning more and interacting with fellow book lovers such as lectures and demonstrations, Internet discussions, poetry readings and informal group discussions, author visits and many other presentations.
Available services include special orders from the US through email or a visit to its customer service booth; free delivery covering the whole of Metro Manila at PHP1,000 minimum purchase; provincial delivery; PowerCard privilege cards with discounted rates; gift certificates; and special discounts on institutional sales.
"I think PowerBooks is autonomous in terms of branding and image, and main operations, but we can't help but be tied with National Book Store in terms of purchasing and IT support. It works out better for us that way. I think we have good people, a very relaxed culture, and we are driven towards service to the customer," Ramos claims.
Two years from now, he says PowerBooks will definitely have opened at least another branch and have a total complement of web services and e-commerce solutions to supplement its present business together with the other parts of its group.
As its predecessor, luck is only a small part of PowerBooks' success. Through hard work and resilient leadership of its management team, the specialty store sees the endless possibilities of its future in good books because of its belief that knowledge is power.
