A new digital, contactless feature for India-based software developer Marg ERP will hopefully help users maintain social distancing when working with retailers and other people dealing in day-to-day transactions, a press release says.
According to CEO Thakur Anup Singh, the process will revolve around QR codes. The feature is entitled “My Shop QRID” and will encourage customers to scan a QR code while standing six feet away from others as is mandated for social distancing guidelines.
After that, the customer receives a token number, which the shopkeeper will enter in order to generate a bill.
Singh said the idea was to help business move on even though the coronavirus pandemic has still continued to fundamentally change the way business is conducted and daily life is lived.
“The real challenge is with wholesale markets or crowded kirana & pharmacy shops; when a customer enters into a shop to buy something, he enquires about several things, i.e. price, deals, scheme, discounts etc,” he said, according to the release. “At billing time also, he needs to mingle with strangers in a que without knowing their CORONA status. Not only buyer, but seller also has some genuine problems like he can’t handle all queries at one go. This increases the chances to lose customers.”
The press release says some other benefits include allowing for fewer people standing in close proximity while waiting for orders, drastically reducing close interactions altogether, decreasing waiting time, and streamlining the entire process from ordering to billing.
To use the technology, the distributor or retailer can print the QR code and paste it outside the shop or on the counter. Then they can customize the code to modify what is showed on a customer’s phone, including special deals and other such things.
Last December, Marg ERP was said to be working on a new B2B ePayments platform, which Singh touted as a way to cut down on time and reduce manual situations where staff was sent to collect payment.