National Space Centre case study
The award-winning National Space Centre is the UK’s largest attraction dedicated to space. The attraction was opened in 2001 and welcomes approaching 500,000 visitors each year. The centre comprises five differently themed exhibition galleries containing space rockets, satellites and capsules, with hundreds of interactive hands-on activities, as well as a ‘Space Theatre’ with both regular and special shows being screened.
There is also a programme of both regular and special events throughout the year and venue hire options for corporate and private functions. An extensive educational programme is run by the Centre for different age groups from schools and colleges.
The solution
The National Space Centre decided to opt for an integrated solution from Gamma which would:
• Handle and manage all aspects of Admissions & Ticketing
• Process Gift Aid from start to finish including HM Revenue & Customs schedule production
• Manage all aspects of Bookings and Events from enquiry to conclusion
• Manage all aspects of Membership and season ticket schemes, including detailed reporting on visit history, purchase history and interest areas
• Provide a comprehensive yet easy to use Retail Point of Sale system with full Stock Control
• Provide integrated Chip & PIN facilities
• Provide a Web Interface to enable the purchase and booking of tickets via the web site which will interface with the Bookings and Event management module on a real-time basis
The client’s view
Graham Law, Head of Technical Services said, ‘We were attracted to the Gamma solution, which in addition to having the obvious UK support, also offered us the option of integrating our separate Epos system which was handling our shop & catering facilities. This gave us a one-stop solution for all our customer-facing financial transactions and a consistent reporting structure from Gamma.
It also meant that our staff training was simplified as the same look and feel was presented at all stations whither they be selling a ticket and guide book or a toy alien and a cup of coffee’. Graham added, ‘another attraction was the web sales module that offered a zero-overhead cost per transaction compared to rival ticketing systems that insisted that web sales be processed through a hosted dedicated server with an ongoing cost associated. Gamma have shown good flexibility and understanding of the various detailed requirements that tend to evolve dynamically as our business needs mature and I am sure we are going to have a long & successful business relationship’.
