Bill Barton may wear many hats for the rapidly expanding South Beach Tanning Company franchise, but his official role as chief information officer keeps him plugged into the latest tech trends and the unique needs of the indoor tanning industry. As the chain grows in size and influence, so does their approach to technology. In a Smart Tan exclusive interview, Bill shares his insights into the brand and gives his take on bringing tech into tanning.

Q: How has the recent growth of South Beach Tanning inspired change within the company?

A: We have been working on a lot of projects at South Beach Tanning — including the ongoing process of bringing locations into our brand. We have been growing like crazy here. In the last 12 months, we have added more than 20 new locations. That required a lot of setup as we convert all of their codes and data into our system while making sure that customers don’t lose any services they purchased prior to the conversion.

This all comes during a company-wide software transition. As of February 1, we will have 43 stores open, so tackling that kind of change required us to develop a plan and implement a lot of project management along the way. There were a lot of moving parts, but at the end we wanted people to be able to see and use all the data they want. Some franchisees are really hands-on in the day-to-day activity of the salon, and they require different reports than people who are more concerned with things like budgeting and filing taxes. Out goal was clearer business insight. The whole process started back in May 2013 and we got the last bit of stores converted to the new software in July 2014.

Click here to read the entire article in Smart Tan Magazine online.