Powering the Growth of a Retail Franchise Network with TCS POS & NetSuite - NetSuite Retail POS

Battery World is Australia’s leading retailer of batteries and accessories. Operating under a franchise model, the business currently has 119 retail outlets across Australia and an ambitious expansion plan.

As the business continued to grow, Battery World required a point-of-sale (POS) system that could easily support new stores and sales channels, manage thousands of SKUs, provide real-time inventory visibility, and maintain restricted data access and privacy. The system also needed to accommodate the unique requirements of its retail franchise model.

Operating Framework:

NetSuite ERP, TCS POS, SuiteCommerce

Company Size

30 HQ staff + 188 associated members

Founded

1997

Headquarters

Carole Park, Queensland, Australia

Sales channels

119 stores + webstore

TCS POS customer since

2018

Audience

2.5 million

Inventory

17,000 product codes

Business model

100% franchise since 2021

The Challenge

One of Battery World’s key challenges with its previous POS was customer management. Managing a single customer alongside linked global customer records was complex and difficult to use in conjunction with NetSuite.

As the franchise network expanded, Battery World also needed greater control over inventory visibility, pricing and data access across its stores, while ensuring franchisees could access the information they needed without compromising sensitive financial or commercial data. NetSuite OneWorld was able to meet these challenges, but the existing connector POS could not.

Inventory and ERP Integration

Battery World implemented TCS POS, natively integrated with NetSuite ERP, in 2018. The integration provides real-time stock visibility across stores, online and warehouses, reducing data lag, synchronisation errors and instances of outdated information.

With TCS POS writing processing directly in NetSuite, the system provides a single source of truth for pricing, customers and inventory. This helps reduce IT overhead associated with reconciliation and supports faster month-end closing.

“As TCS POS writes directly into NetSuite, it is extremely good to use – smooth, clean and one solution. It is highly efficient and there are no issues with out-of-date data.”
— says Alex Kernke, IT Support Coordinator, Battery World

Scalability and Store Expansion

Battery World is one of Australia’s fastest-growing franchise networks, with a strategy of opening three to five new sites each year, including both greenfield stores and satellite locations.

TCS POS provides the scalability required to support this growth. Battery World manages the setup of new locations and says the process is straightforward, following a standard formula that includes configuring stock-on-hand visibility based on each franchise owner’s requirements.

TCS POS also provides the flexibility to add new sales channels without requiring the business to re-platform.

“Scalability and franchise operations are really important to Battery World. The franchise model leverages unified technology to support multi-site growth and standardised store setups, helping to future-proof our retail operations.”
— says Alex

Franchise Structure and Data Access

Since 2021, Battery World has operated as a 100% franchise business, using NetSuite OneWorld technology to manage separate subsidiaries for each franchisee.

Franchisees can view stock on hand at other locations while being restricted from accessing sensitive financial or pricing data belonging to other stores.

TCS POS gives Battery World greater control over data access, including dashboard visibility of financial data, enabling faster, more informed decision-making while providing franchisees with the visibility they need to manage customer requirements and inventory effectively.

Reporting and Insights

TCS POS provides real-time sales, inventory and financial data through store, staff, product and customer reporting.

The system provides more granular visibility into transactions, including voids, returns, discounts and dwell time. Because TCS POS processes data directly into NetSuite, Battery World can also access consolidated sales, inventory and financial reporting through NetSuite dashboards.

Pricing Management and Discounting

To manage pricing across its national network, Battery World uses custom scripting to support 119 different store-specific price levels.

Promotional pricing is updated across the network through backend scripts, ensuring consistency while allowing individual stores to apply specific discounts when required.

This approach enables Battery World to manage promotions efficiently without extensive manual setup, with price changes taking effect in real time.

Customer Profiles and Loyalty Integration

Battery World uses the Vault loyalty program, which is managed through TCS POS, with customer profiles synchronised directly to NetSuite.

When a customer signs up for The Vault, website access is automatically generated. Customer data is also integrated with the Klaviyo email marketing platform.

This connected approach has helped support increased customer retention, conversion rates and average order values.

Staff Training and Usability

Alex highlights the simplicity and ease of use of TCS POS, with a clear interface that makes it easier to onboard new team members.

A more intuitive system helps reduce training requirements and operational errors while allowing staff to process transactions efficiently.

Lower Long-Term Cost and Risk

TCS POS provides vendor-supported upgrades rather than requiring major re-implementations. This helps Battery World manage technology changes while improving security and compliance across areas such as PCI requirements, tax changes and device management.

The result is more predictable technology costs and less technical debt over the long term.

Checkout Efficiency and Hardware

TCS POS provides faster transaction processing through a modern user interface, fewer screens and improved hardware support. The system also supports integrated EFTPOS.

This helps reduce queue times, increase transaction throughput and improve the overall customer experience, while reducing the risk of lost sales.

TCS POS Customisations

A key benefit for Battery World has been the ability to customise TCS POS to suit the way the business operates.

Alex describes the customisation process as simple and straightforward, with features developed specifically around Battery World’s requirements.

Recent enhancements include customised discounting functionality at both transaction and item level.

Omnichannel Capabilities

While click and collect currently represents a smaller part of the business, roadside servicing for flat batteries is a significant and growing component of Battery World’s operations.

Deliveries are primarily provided to local account customers, including mechanics and car dealerships. These orders are typically managed via phone rather than online channels, although this can vary by franchise.

The flexibility of TCS POS enables Battery World to support these different customer journeys and sales channels while maintaining its centralised NetSuite environment.

Supporting the Next Stage of Growth

With 119 stores, 17,000 inventory items and a 100% franchise model, Battery World requires technology that can scale with the business without adding unnecessary complexity.

TCS POS provides the native NetSuite integration, real-time inventory visibility, controlled data access, flexible pricing, customisation and scalability required to support Battery World’s national franchise network and continued growth.