About Carolina Data Systems

Carolina Data Systems is North Carolina’s leading provider of accounting, inventory control, point-of-sale and payment card security systems to county and municipal alcoholic beverage control boards. CDS provide turn-key hardware, software, maintenance and support solutions to more than half of North Carolina’s ABC boards from the mountains to the coast.

CDS was founded in 1987 with two primary objectives:

• To earn a reputation as the ABC community’s most-competent, dependable and responsive service and support organization.
• To establish the company as the premier vendor of integrated computer solutions for North Carolina’s ABC boards.

The group of four IT professionals that started the company over 30 years ago has evolved over time into a diversified staff with centuries of collective experience in the industry. The growth has been fueled by treating customers as stakeholders and rewarding employees generously.

A primary factor that sets CDS apart from its competitors is its focus on North Carolina ABC boards. Undistracted by grocery stores, restaurants and other vertical markets, this specialized concentration assures that the company’s technological and personnel resources are not diluted by conflicting goals but are squarely aimed at serving ABC boards.

CDS has been a trendsetter throughout its existence. Until CDS came along, North Carolina’s ABC boards made do with conventional cash registers in their stores and rudimentary computer or manual systems in their offices. CDS pioneered the concept of replacing the traditional cash registers in ABC stores with PC-based POS systems capable of effective data communications with custom-developed computer systems in the offices of ABC boards. This approach, employing industry-standard computers, has enabled our customers to migrate their systems generation after generation to the latest technology without the chaotic transitions that had previously been typical of equipment upgrades.

CDS’s Point-of-Sale and Inventory Control software systems were written in-house by company programmers, who continuously enhance the products over time. The code was not adapted from canned packages developed for another retail industry, but was written specifically for ABC Boards. This gives CDS the ability to modify or debug programs as needed and makes it possible to support the POS and inventory products without the involvement of third parties.

The strategy has been effective as our customers have become accustomed to smoothly transitioning from one generation of our hardware and software to the next without the chaos and disruption typically associated with upgrades or changeovers.