elKasa
Why didn’t we do it before?
A brand-new AWS-based service saves you time and money.
For example, we already have our own AWS guru, who managed to get 12 certificates out of 12. Our AWS community builder, Stanislav Kolenkin, is constantly being certified himself, inspiring the entire team to also move forward steadily.
What else have we made?
In spring, we started switching to Terraform. This process is closely related to the company’s global transition to AWS Cloud. Although Terraform is used mainly to work with cloud infrastructure — Amazon, Google, Azure — its functionality is much more extensive. We’ve already tested its tools, and now we share our experience with others.
We also managed to design an AWS-based service for calculating promotions for hundreds of stores and launched a new service, elKasa, which is described below.
The point of the project is to replace hardware Payment Transaction Registers (PTR) with Software Payment Transaction Registers (SPTR) and to administer them from the cloud. To put it simply and more specifically, with AWS capabilities, we managed to improve the cash register service in Silpo supermarkets.
So, what are the advantages of a software PTR?
- Security and safety of data storage, especially in conditions of volatility due to a full-scale war.
- Implementation of the option of issuing electronic receipts in accordance with Ukrainian legislation. This also allows to:
- protect the environment: fewer paper receipts mean more preserved forests and less waste;
- reduce the checkout time, which leads to less queuing;
- retain access to the receipt when proceeding online purchase (e-com);
- optimize the cost of thermal tape and cash register equipment.
- Automation of reporting and administration of access to the system for employees. Previously, these tasks were mostly manual, time-consuming, and subject to human error.
Nothing’s gonna reSPTRain us: first steps and challenges.
In April 2022, 13 specialists joined together to form a project team. There were .NET/SQL experts, DevOps, automated and manual testers, business analysts, architects, and project managers in the team.
The team took up AWS training and certification a bit later. They started with sorting out all the nuances on their own. The team relied entirely on their experience and knowledge, and expanded it vastly in the process. This way of proceeding was very helpful in passing the AWS certification later.
But there were other challenges. In the midst of massive rocket attacks, the project team had to work exclusively online. Sometimes they even managed to work from the subway or other bomb shelters with no electricity, heat, or internet connection. But this did not stop them. Nothing’s gonna reSPTRain us, they used to make fun with each other those days.
Indeed, it was really incredible, we are proud of our colleagues!
The first results
By the end of November 2022, the team managed to launch cloud-based administration for the first SPTRs in Silpo stores.
Today we’ve:
1. Integrated 4126 cash registers.
2. Covered 315 stores by 100% so far and continue to cover newly opened branches.
3. The cloud archive of receipts is already more than 140 million, and we’ve increased it by 25 million over the past month.
The team has also provided the colleagues with all the development, and they have already started synchronizing the app for Guests and elKasa. Now, our guests can choose to get electronic receipts instead of paper ones in most of our stores.
