Derby software firm on acquisition trail as it commits to city

A Derby business intelligence company says it is on the acquisition trail as it pushes into new sectors, commits to the city and looks to concentrate on developing solutions for workforce engagement.

PXtech, which employs 50 people on Pride Park, supplies electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) and menu management systems to 44,000 Subway branches worldwide – and has won numerous awards for its work with the company.

Now, its founder says it is looking to expand into other sectors and concentrate on two main areas – hospitality and charity.

Richard Dorf told TheBusinessDesk.com: “We’ve picked our niches carefully – and we want to be specialised. There are 10,000 charity shops in the UK and we want to help the volunteers that work in them engage with the public in the best possible way, especially when it comes to sensitive issues such as GiftAid, which some volunteers find a big challenge.”

PXtech has been working with Save the Children and Oxfam to supply them with its Wil-U solution, stored on tablets, which means customers in stores can fill in a simple electronic form to help them donate through GiftAid. It’s been so popular that some stores have asked for multiple tablets.

PXtech is also partnering with EPoS software and systems specialist ICRTouch to target the hospitality sector in a move it says will help it project a more professional image to customers.

Dorf said: “It’s not unusual for many businesses in the hospitality sector to operate back-office systems on a variety of platforms, often with disparate and sometimes outmoded hardware. PXtech specialises in providing effective, results driven solutions to give businesses greater control and insight, and help them profitably grow.”

He added: “Reliable and harmonious technology is essential to your business if you want to maximise profits. Not only does it provide a more practical way of trading but also brings many other benefits too.

“The right EPOS solution can help you keep track of employee productivity, stay in control of stock levels, and spot – and stop- potential fraudulent activity. If used correctly, the right technology can help you to significantly boost ROI – a must for any hospitality business.”

Dorf said that in the past PXtech has concentrated on working with global organisations, but it is now looking to partner with more local East Midlands businesses – especially in the hospitality sector. He also committed the future of the company to Derby.

“Look around you. We’re on Pride Park, which is the centre of innovation and Derby is a hub for technical excellence – it’s a healthy environment for our staff to work in and to attract people to.

“We want to grow the amount of businesses we work with locally, in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham and help companies with their employee engagement.

“As far as our own expansion is concerned, we’re constantly looking for acquisitions, and that’s very much part of our future. We want to grow, and we’re exploring companies which may be the right fit for us.”

PXtech was founded in 1999. It’s software processes over eight million business transactions a day across six continents.