CASE STUDY
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A LEADING GROCERY CHAIN IN THE SOUTHEAST WITH 900+ RETAIL STORE LOCATIONS
GROCERY CHAIN MAXIMIZES NETWORK UPTIME
Network uptime can spell the difference between a successful business and one that struggles.
When a regional retail grocery chain saw sales disrupted by outages with its in-store networks,
they needed a partner with the expertise and the geographic reach to implement at more than
900 locations. GCI created a managed service that delivered four-hour SLAs with 99.99%
performance rate.
OVERVIEW
Project Scope
The grocery chain needed a faster, more efficient method to troubleshoot problems
with in-store routers. Their existing process was convoluted and caused business
outages; a four-hour Service Level Agreement (SLA) was imperative to resolve
network issues and keep stores operational and productive.
Approach
GCI engaged our 7x24x365 Global Services Center to provide support to the
grocery chain’s 900+ stores. The proposal included a four-hour resolution SLA
to provide on-site remedial router maintenance, leveraging GCI’s Deployment
Services, Logistics Support and Managed Services capabilities.
Results
GLOBAL CONVERGENCE, INC.
GCI is a specialty distribution and IT
services company providing partners
access to rapidly emerging, innovative
and disruptive technologies complemented
by a full line of global IT services.
GCI developed a managed services offering to support in-store networks and
provide round-the clock support. Adhering to a four-hour resolution SLA at a
99.99% performance rate, GCI provides exceptional response time to network
issues, allowing the chain’s IT staff to focus on other strategic IT projects.
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NETWORK NIGHTMARES
Help Wanted: Outages, Delays Lead to Frustration
When it came to supporting 900 locations, the IT staff of this regional grocery
retailer was low on resources — and patience. Technicians were forced
to manage through multiple priorities and manual processes, for example
troubleshooting in-store network outages that required negotiating manufacturer
warranty claims on faulty equipment and managing returns on broken routers.
Replacement units — and response times — often were delayed, and the stores’
productivity was suffering.
The grocer’s IT team had a four-hour internal response SLA in place for the
stores, but regularly missed that deadline. Both the IT team and the stores were
increasingly frustrated with the process that hindered the repair of business-critical
networks. The team needed help from a third party that could streamline their
outage resolution processes, keep spare equipment on hand in close proximity to
their stores and provide a four-hour resolution SLA to ensure operations remained
up and running.
They selected the perfect partner in GCI, which had the regional logistics
framework to keep spares on-hand near store locations, a Global Support Center
(GSC) to provide 7x24x365 dispatch services and the team of technicians to
respond quickly to equipment outages.
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SERVICES PROVIDED
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Deployment: implementation services
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L ogistics: staging, testing services, project
management, returns processing
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anagement: dispatch services,
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monitoring and reporting
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AT YOUR SERVICE
Analyzing the Problem, Developing the Solution
Business-critical network outages can have a major impact on the grocery
chain’s ability to complete transactions, so maximizing network uptime is
vital to the organization’s financial success and customer satisfaction. GCI
resources analyzed the company’s networks, diagnosed the issues and ultimately
recommended a solution that would improve response time and provide more
reliable in-store IT networks.
After an initial assessment, GCI determined that it could provide the necessary
resources and coverage to dispatch and deliver in-store remedial router
maintenance within a four-hour SLA window. Leveraging its broad geographic
reach, GCI offered to keep spare equipment near each of the grocery chain’s
900+ stores, ensuring that GCI could meet the SLA requirement. Further analysis
found that the chain’s IT staff had an inefficient process for returning damaged
equipment for replacements, driving administrative costs higher.
GCI designed a program to support the grocery chain’s entire returns and
warranty process on their behalf. The comprehensive router dispatch, maintenance,
logistics and disposal program was implemented to support all of the chain’s
stores throughout the Southeast.
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RESULT
Business Back on Track, Focus on the Future
The grocery business is highly competitive and margins are slim. Consumers
have many choices in the marketplace and highly available networks are
essential for grocers to support Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, manage inventory
and provide efficient service to customers. GCI designed a customized managed
service solution to provide on-site maintenance and logistics of their in-store
networks, combining technical expertise to their outstanding logistics engine to
provide a solution.
The GCI team was able to guarantee round-the-clock on-site service and
remediation within a four-hour window at a performance rate of 99.99%. As a
result, the customer experienced a significant improvement to its in-store network
availability for all locations with GCI’s support. The store locations received better
service response times from partnering with GCI, and their internal IT team was
able to redirect their time to focus on additional projects critical to the ongoing
success of the business.
(800) 638-8481
servlink@globalconvergence.com
www.globalconvergence.com/services
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