The retail sector is one of the most competitive industries in the market. Players in this industry are always looking for ways to gain competitive edge over their competitors. Information technology is one of the areas where competition is moving to as Retailers seeks to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. One retail area that has been revolutionised by technology is the Point of Sale. Traditionally, customers would line up at the cash counter each waiting for their turn. In the modern era, we have Electronic Point of Sale which is intelligent, adaptive and insightful giving the retailers access to important information such as inventory levels, customer behaviour in addition to providing business performance reports and analysis. The system is fast and customers no longer have to wait for long to be served. This study sought to find the role of Electronic Point of Sale on Supply Chain performance of Retail sector. The study sought to establish how various aspects of the Electronic point of sales affect the performance of the supply chain. The specific objectives of the study were; To find out the role of rapid scan systems on supply chain performance of Retail Firms, to find out the role of cloud based communication systems on supply chain performance of retail firms, to find the role of Mobile point of sale on supply chain performance of retail firms and to find out the role of EFTPOS on supply chain performance of retail firms. Supermarkets located in Nairobi, Kenya were the target population for the study. This research adopted a purposive sampling technique in selecting the sample. The study specifically involved employees from procurement, marketing, stores, Information Communication and Technology, Finance and Accounts departments. The main instrument for data collection was structured questionnaires that allow for uniformity of responses to questions. The study also utilised secondary sources of information. The data collected was analysed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency distribution and percentages were used to summarise and present data. Pearson’s correlations coefficients was run to examine the relationship among the independent and the dependent study variables that are set out in the objectives of the study. The review discoveries demonstrated that 73.2% of progress in Supply Chain Performance at retail division can be explained by four factors in particular rapid scan systems, cloud based communication systems, mobile point of sale and EFTPOS. Effects of rapid scan systems, cloud based communication systems, mobile point of sale and EFTPOS were found to be statistically significant with a positive effect on supply chain performance. The recommendations of the study are that it is study recommends that it is important that Supermarkets constantly look at ways to improve customer experience through the use of EPOS. Supermarkets should also use EPOS appropriately to reduce the long queues and also embrace and invest in the use of Rapid Scan systems, a retail technology that massively improves the speed with which items can be scanned on a retail conveyor belt. The study results make evidence of the conclusion that the relationship between EPOS and Supply Chain Performance is positive
Keywords: Bullwhip effect, Cloud-based communications and Information System, Electronic Point of Sale, Perpetual inventory
