About 530 AURES POS terminals have been installed
An entertainment hub
The showpiece of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, ANZ Stadium was built to impress and entertain. Opened in 1999, the stadium has seen more than 23 million visitors through its doors. Playing host to Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer and AFL, ANZ Stadium has cemented its standing at the pinnacle of Sydney sporting and entertainment venues.
The ANZ Stadium business is managed by the Stadium Australia Operations (SAO) under a long term lease. Not only does SAO manage the marketing of the stadium but it oversees all maintenance and operations of all facets of the stadium; A critical component to maintaining the satisfaction of the revellers is ensuring that the stadium outlets can effectively process the thousands of food and beverage sales during events.
The challenge
Managing sales at a venue such as ANZ Stadium poses a number of challenges.
The venue features numerous retail and hospitality outlets.
Due to the nature of the events, the outlets experience periods of intense sales processing requiring effective point of sale infrastructure that is not only reliable but quick in performance to keep the crowds moving.
With the venue also hosting non sporting events such as music concerts, the need to mobilise sales areas to pop up locations is required. This involves also setting up POS areas that can be assembled and disassembled easily whilst also providing the reliability and performance experienced in the fixed outlets in the stadium.
With POS hardware that was reaching the end of its life and becoming very difficult to source parts and repair, SAO had to find a new hardware solution that could take it into the future.
The AURES Solution
With approximately 530 POS terminals in use at the stadium, the decision to renew hardware and change brands was a significant step.
The team at AURES worked with the stadium solution provider, InfoGenesis, and SAO management to begin an evaluation process of suitable hardware. The NINO (225) and 680 terminals were earmarked for evaluation.
Multiple terminals were installed for evaluation purposes at the stadium with all exceeding the performance and reliability targets. The 680 terminal was destined for use in fixed outlets. The powerhouse terminal in the AURES range, the 680 offered a rugged terminal with the highest performance and reliability.
Not only does the 680 offer high speed performance but is capable of driving a 14” customer display which SAO was interested to use in their member areas for promotional advertising.
The smaller footprint and size of the NINO terminal (former 225) made it the perfect solution for use in pop up outlets with SAO staff easily able to deploy the solution as required.
“We take our role of delivering a “fans first” experience extremely seriously. We are able to take 40 POS units up the Hunter Valley to operate during a concert, update sales back to our central server from remote locations and then have these same terminals back at the stadium running wirelessly at pop-up bars, ready for a 80k fan attendance soccer game the following day”, said David Fletcher, Manager Information Technology.
SAO found that the ability to pole mount terminals has assisted in freeing up valuable counter space making for a neater and more useable POS space.
A 7 year warranty ensured that the hardware was effectively supported throughout its life providing SAO with the confidence that its POS terminals will be serviceable for many years.
AURES services sealing the deal
It is definitely an AURES future for ANZ Stadium with all terminals now transitioned to the 680 and NINO solution.
When it comes to harsh operating environments, they don’t get much more complex than ANZ Stadium.
Terminals have withstood the dust and grime that goes with a semi open environment and food and beverage service.
The performance of the 680 and NINO terminals has exceeded the requirements of SAO.
The performance and reliability of the solution coupled with the reliability and support from AURES and InfoGenesis in what is one of Australia largest single POS installations has given SAO the confidence that it has invested in the right solution both now and into the future.
The ability to easily deploy the NINO terminals has allowed SAO to tap into greater revenues by being able to respond to heightened loads experienced at events.
AURES terminals have also become part of other venues that SAO manages including the Sydney Aquatic Centre and Sydney Motorsport Park as well as other pop up events it is involved in managing.
The performance and reliability of the solution coupled with the reliability and support from AURES and InfoGenesis in what is one of Australia largest single POS installations has given SAO the confidence that it has invested in the right solution both now and into the future.