Committed to Our Client's Success
The Calgary Stampede
Pulse Retail Systems (PRS) has a 30-year history with the Calgary Stampede (CS) which has been a client of PRS since 1991. It’s a history that has seen improvements, adaptation, and continuous growth in technological capability.
PRS has supplied software for inventory management, inventory performance, and point-of-sale to support the CS’s retail presence.
PRS has supplied software for inventory management, inventory performance, and point-of-sale to support the CS’s retail presence.
- Client: The Calgary Stampede
- Solution:Inventory & POS
- Date:1991-Present
- Sector:Retail Solutions
About the Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede, also known as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”, is an organization in Calgary dedicated to Western heritage, culture, and community. For over one hundred years, the Calgary Stampede has hosted an exhibition that attracts hundreds of thousands of people annually. Although a local retailer acquired the rights to Stampede Souvenir Stores in 2015, PRS remains involved with Stampede Showcase, an art exhibition that runs during the annual Stampede.
The Challenge
When PRS was approached by the Calgary Stampede in 1991, they faced difficulty managing retail sales and inventory for their large annual 10-day event. For 50 weeks out of the year, the Stampede Souvenir Store was in two locations on the Stampede Park and would be considered to be a small business. However, during the exhibition, it would expand to fifteen locations throughout the park and sell at a rate that on an annualized basis would be a significant retail chain doing millions of dollars in business, with accompanying staff levels.
Their existing proprietary system and surrounding business processes didn’t support the rapid expansion and equally rapid contraction that was required. Inventory levels were inaccurate, problems due to procedural errors, staffing challenges, and incorrect system setups, and confusion due to last-minute installation and lost equipment highlighted the frustrations experienced during the Calgary Stampede. To be fair, this rate of expansion would challenge any organization.
Their existing proprietary system and surrounding business processes didn’t support the rapid expansion and equally rapid contraction that was required. Inventory levels were inaccurate, problems due to procedural errors, staffing challenges, and incorrect system setups, and confusion due to last-minute installation and lost equipment highlighted the frustrations experienced during the Calgary Stampede. To be fair, this rate of expansion would challenge any organization.
2 to 15 Locations in 2 Days
The Solution
Many retail inventory and Point-of-Sale systems had humble beginnings to fulfill needs at a single location; typically these systems do not scale well. PRS's system was designed from outset as a multi-location, multi-channel environment. The overall solution fit well with the Calgary Stampede.
PRS first implemented their POSability Point-of-Sale systems in all the locations, along with a standardized hardware setup, so that the installations were repeatable. Also, PRS stored the equipment when they were not in use … this greatly aided the Calgary Stampede as they knew where the equipment was; and it was delivered back to the Calgary Stampede when it was required. PRS staff also came on-site to install, confirm proper operation, and then remove the equipment after the event finished.
PRS first implemented their POSability Point-of-Sale systems in all the locations, along with a standardized hardware setup, so that the installations were repeatable. Also, PRS stored the equipment when they were not in use … this greatly aided the Calgary Stampede as they knew where the equipment was; and it was delivered back to the Calgary Stampede when it was required. PRS staff also came on-site to install, confirm proper operation, and then remove the equipment after the event finished.
The Results
The result of the above is that systems were available for use without the usual frustration and last-minute (i.e. expensive) equipment acquisition. Instead of inconsistent setups due to untrained and inexperienced installers, the installations were neat and consistent when done by PRS’s qualified team. As a little reward for a job well-done, the PRS team would meet at a local pizza restaurant to celebrate finishing the installation … it could be challenging because of the weather (heat and rain) and the general confusion of pre-event setup by many, many vendors.
Game-Changer #1
The second phase of PRS’s implementation included ReACT EKG, our multi-store head-office environment. One of the key modules is Sales Audit. Prior to this implementation, the sales audit function was a paper-based function that would not be reconciled until weeks after the event was finished, and even then, because of errors that were untraceable, the result would be less than ideal. Errors that were identified and potential solutions couldn’t be implemented because the event was over!
After the implementation, and due to process-specific training, sales audit/till settlement was available to the head-office team in real-time … literally 1 minute after they completed the process at the store location. Errors and inconsistencies were highlighted, and automated reporting alerted appropriate managers. Problems were able to be researched online due to PRS’s EJ – Electronic Journal: specific transactions could be searched (ex. a specific Mastercard transaction for $249.99) and the full receipt recalled. More importantly, errors that were caused by procedural confusion could be identified and communicated back to staff the next day. This was a major game-changer for the Sales Audit team at the Calgary Stampede.
Game-Changer #2
We talked earlier about the rapid expansion in the number of stores during the Calgary Stampede, but another consideration was the transaction volume, which was exponentially higher during the exhibition. Prior to implementing PRS’s integrated debit/credit processing, staff would enter inventory data in POSability, but then complete the debit/credit transaction on a separate/unconnected bank draft capture terminal (we call this process double-entry). Because the systems were not connected, the likelihood of a transcription error was increased. It was also a much slower process.
PRS’s POSability supported an increased, efficient throughput of sales activity due to our integrated debit/credit/gift card processing. Data transcription errors that were present before in the double-entry environment were eliminated. The integration allowed a significantly increased transaction volume … another game-changing advance in the Calgary Stampede’s retail experience.
The Great Flood - 2013
In 2013, Calgary experienced what has been called “a 100 Year Flood”. Two weeks prior to the annual exhibition, the entire Stampede Park was under water. It was a testament to the human spirit and perseverance in times of extreme challenge that the Calgary Stampede event took place.
In light of the flood, the Calgary Stampede released a t-shirt with the caption “Stampede 101 – HELL or HIGH WATER”. To say that sales exceeded their expectations would be a major understatement … they were screen-printing the t-shirts every night as fast as they could based on the previous days' sales demand.
Only an effective sales and inventory system that had CORRECT and RELIABLE information that was updated in real-time could provide them with the demand forecast information that they needed to avoid stock-outages and lost sales.
The Pulse environment was already implemented … so it was a simple matter of looking at the automated reports that were sent to appropriate team members.
In light of the flood, the Calgary Stampede released a t-shirt with the caption “Stampede 101 – HELL or HIGH WATER”. To say that sales exceeded their expectations would be a major understatement … they were screen-printing the t-shirts every night as fast as they could based on the previous days' sales demand.
Only an effective sales and inventory system that had CORRECT and RELIABLE information that was updated in real-time could provide them with the demand forecast information that they needed to avoid stock-outages and lost sales.
The Pulse environment was already implemented … so it was a simple matter of looking at the automated reports that were sent to appropriate team members.
