There’s smooth sailing every day with Infinity’s speed and reliability

“We needed a platform to handle our multiple warehouses and help us serve customers quickly – even when limited network connectivity at sea is available. Infinity was the only one that could do the job and we’ve been happy from the beginning.”

Chris Bonner, Accounting Director

Catalina Express offers more than a boat ride – it’s the start of a memorable vacation experience

Catalina Express is the fastest, most frequent and comfortable transport option between mainland California and Catalina Island. Founded in 1981 as a commuter service for Catalina residents, today the company operates eight high-speed vessels, has three mainland departure terminals, and carries more than one million passengers annually.

Excellent service and comfort are hallmarks of a Catalina Express journey – from the spacious decks and cabins to the full bar and snacks on offer. Food and drink inventory is held on the boats and in three warehouses at ports in San Pedro, Long Beach and Dana Point. When the Catalina Express team were evaluating point of sale systems 7 years ago, they had a hard time finding what they needed.

Chris Bonner, Accounting Director at Catalina Express says, “We effectively have 11 warehouses, but all of the food and beverage software we looked at could only handle one. Then we found Infinity. It connects our point of sale and inventory just the way we want it to.”

Boat crew use their Infinity POS to request stock, then those orders go to the warehouse where staff organise it for delivery. “Infinity makes inventory management seamless and easy because it accurately updates everywhere. We use the reporting to see how things are moving across each boat and we trust it to help us meet customer demand at all times,” says Chris.

Reliability at sea is key

Chris says that Infinity’s reliability is its most valuable feature.

“Infinity doesn’t have to be connected to head office in order to work. That’s the most important thing to us. If a boat loses network connection in the channel – which can happen – Infinity will continue trading and will sync again as soon as it can,” he says.

And if someone at head office does change something like an item price, Infinity reflects the changes on the boats instantly.

Customised processes help speed up transactions

The team at Cypress Solutions, Infinity’s implementation partner in southern California, introduced Infinity to Chris. He says, “Cypress Solutions set up Infinity and take care of all our hardware and software requirements. They’ve set things up so staff can process transactions very quickly.”

For example, Catalina Express is well known for their Bloody Mary cocktails so there’s a one-touch button for those and other popular drinks. And liquor inventory is managed down to individual bottle pour, whether that pour is for a full-price drink or a complimentary drink that’s offered in the Commodore Lounge or Captain’s Lounge.

This accuracy and speed means that when people are coming on board, and throughout the trip, they can get their food and drink fast, then sit back to enjoy the journey.

“Infinity is a very solid system and we really like it. We’ve had no software issues and Cypress Solutions is always there for support,” Chris concludes.