The latest version of our Tower Systems software enables newsagents to run multiple newsagency locations from one server. Each newsagency can know what the other has in stock. It makes comparing performance easier as well as a bunch of management tasks.
The challenge for the industry and magazine distributors in particular is how we manage the movement of magazines between the stores. The Tower software can do it easily but the magazine distributors are not able, at their end, to track this movement.
I see it already between our Frankston and Forest Hill locations. A title slow in one location could be a sell out in the other. Using the multi store software I can, in an instant, account for the movement of the stock between businesses so my accounting is all taken care of. The only problem is the implications in the magazine supply model since they, still, only look at returns to determine sales.
With consolidation of distribution and retail newsagencies high on the agenda, this is an issue which needs to be worked through.