Lamps Plus Goes Live With Next-Gen POS

Lamps Plus, the nation’s largest specialty lighting retailer, has completed the rollout of a next-gen POS solution across its entire chain of lighting and home furnishing stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

The new POS solution provided by Manhattan Associates allows the retailer to offer a modern, omnichannel experience to its customers. The implementation project began in April 2019 and was completed in September 2019, with Manhattan Associates managing the entire deployment.

“Our team is proud to have turned Lamps Plus’s omnichannel vision into reality,” said Stewart Gantt, senior vice president of professional services, Manhattan Associates. “We are leveraging our state-of-the-art cloud technologies to quickly build a unified commerce platform that gives store associates a single solution for point of sale, store fulfillment and store inventory management functions

Part of the Manhattan Active Omni platform, Manhattan Point of Sale unites selling, engagement and fulfillment for store teams to deliver better experiences through a single system of record for managing omnichannel customer interactions and transactions. Manhattan’s solutions now power all of the Lamps Plus’s activities from the moment a customer decides they want to purchase an item to the moment it is picked up or shipped.

To help shed some light into the decision to upgrade its POS technology and the benefits the new solution set is providing Lamp Plus, chief financial officer, Clark Linstone agreed to speak to RIS for an exclusive interview. Below is the transcript of our conversation.

RIS: What was your POS solution like before? What were the greatest factors influencing your decision to upgrade?

Linstone: Our previous POS system served us for the time we used it and provided basic capabilities. We were looking for a POS system that would be fully integrated rather than a standalone system tied to our control database. Our goal was to find a system that would allow us to interact seamlessly with an omnichannel customer.

When we discovered the capabilities of the Manhattan POS, we knew this would be a great opportunity to move our POS into a future-focused platform to remain competitive. We viewed the Manhattan POS as next-generation with a modern architecture and leading edge functionality. 

RIS: What features/capabilities were most critical in choosing the Manhattan POS solution?

Linstone: We were really favorable about the cloud native and microservices elements architecture that enables the POS to continuously adapt to ensure it is always current. The resilient cloud means critical point of sale functions are always available even when the network is disrupted.

RIS: In the past retailers were reluctant to place the POS in the cloud. What advancements have been made in that area that made you comfortable placing payment in the cloud?

Linstone: We had been leery of the cloud as well but Manhattan POS offers resilient cloud technology, which has dependability of features to make us more confident of the technology updating and improving.

RIS: How will having a single system of record help streamline operations and improve the customer experience?

Linstone: A single system of record offers a single view of the customer and their purchase history so Lamps Plus can provide a higher level of service. We’re really focused on improving the customer experience so this advances those intentions.

RIS: Technology is always advancing and a retailer’s tech stack is never complete – what is next for Lamps Plus as it continues to push the omnichannel envelope?

Linstone: We will be going through a few relatively minor product upgrades over the next few months. After that, we will access the latest technology innovations and how they could positively impact our customers’ experiences.