"Our
requirement was for a very high level
of national support with full cover
in trading hours for all our branches,
and round the clock cover for head office.
Interchange could provide what
we wanted"
Long
established £145 million business specialising
in workplace equipment, clothing and supplies
Product
range of over 18,000 different items
Operates
through a world-wide network
Over
£18 million of stock stored at any one time
Using
IT to maintain competitive edge
Established
in the early 1900's and operating as part of the Taylor
Woodrow Group since the 1950's, Greenham is a £145
million company specialising in the provision of workplace
equipment, clothing and supplies. With success based
on service and expertise, heavy investment has consistently
been made in IT, training, personnel development, logistics
and infrastructure.
The company's product range of more than 18,000 different
items includes protective clothing and personal protection
equipment, cleaning, hygiene and maintenance supplies,
contractors' site equipment, air conditioning units
and industrial hose. The company also specialises in the
supply of audio/video equipment from the leading manufacturers.
The company operates through a network of branches in
the UK, Denmark, Germany and Ireland and exports
worldwide.
The company's policy is to stock all catalogue items on
a regional or national basis, and, through a network
of modern warehouses, Greenham holds approximately £18
million worth of stock at any time.
Recent investment includes the installation of a wide
area network - the first in the country using BT's
original copper routing. This has produced tremendous
productivity enhancements - alleviating the need for overnight
batch processing.
A
key element in Greenham's competitiveness and rapid
growth rate is its use of IT to achieve a
very high level of management reporting efficiency.
Each night, branches notify details of sales and
stock movements to head office, which handles
invoicing and central buying. Greenham's CEO receives
detailed financial reports comparing branch
achievements against targets by 8 am every morning.
This provides the basis for evaluating individual
performance of branches, where managers have a high
degree of autonomy in width of stock range and selling
prices.
A further challenge is the increasing requirement
of larger customers for reports on their buying
statistics across the country. Some of customers
deal with Greenham on a national basis and want
to know how their account is being used and
what kind of purchases are being made. Sometimes
the provision by Greenham of this kind of
information is actually part of the contract
with the customer. Delivery, expenditure and product
usage reports can be produced in a wide range
of customised formats to suit customers' individual
requirements.
The need was for a managed maintenance service.
The then current systems downtime was considered
excessive and Greenham wanted a flexible maintenance
service that would reduce this to a minimum. Specific
requirements were to provide on-site responsive
and preventative maintenance, restoration of downed
systems to working condition, installation work
where required - and comprehensive reporting on
performance of work.
The
solution was a managed maintenance service by
Interchange - operated in close partnership with
Greenham. Greenham's business moves rapidly
and tight control was essential. The company needed
consistent, high performance from its IT systems
- and IT services supplier.
With such high performance targets, it was essential
that the maintenance service could rise
to the challenge and provide effective and flexible
cover during trading hours for the branches and
24 hours a day for head office. Interchange
could provide the service needed - even to the
extent of a four-hour response to such remote
branches as Aberdeen, which was beyond the
capability of other suppliers. Reports provided
by the IT department contain full market analysis
by branch to enable the company to maximise all
profit opportunities and react quickly to
any threats.
Ensuring maximum systems uptime was absolutely
essential. Greenham markets its products with
a strong emphasis on rapid response to customer
needs. For example, it provides a full electronic
catalogue on CD-ROM and via the Internet.
There is a free faxline service for technical
information. There is also significant use of
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and email -
both for ordering and customer communications.
EDI allows electronic exchange of orders and invoices
with major organisations on the INS Tradanet
and IBM networks.
Benefits
have included significant reduction in systems downtime,
faster identification and resolution of problems when
they occur, more comprehensive and proactive preventative
maintenance. Service has been improved for all branches,
and even far-flung outlets receive quicker response.
The quality of service management reports to head office
has been substantially improved, both in regularity and
scope, and the closer day-to-day relationship between
Greenham and Interchange means that there is a better
understanding of and response to the rapidly changing
needs of the company.
"Our
requirement was for a very high level of national support
with full cover in trading hours for all our branches,
and round the clock cover for head office,"
says Greenham computer manager Alan Leadley. "Interchange
could provide what we wanted. For example, for some support
companies, a four-hour response time for remote branches
was a problem, but not for Interchange."
Interchange
and Greenham have enjoyed a continuous IT support
relationship since 1981. The last major review of
the service contract was in 1995 and, following
successful performance, this was renewed for a further
three years in 1998. Since the initial contract,
Greenham has expanded substantially - in terms
of general company infrastructure, number of branches,
extent of product lines, sales and profit and
installation of new IT equipment and systems - and
Interchange has risen to meet the challenge.
"We expect this growth to continue," says
Alan Leadley, "with further moves into
new sectors away from our traditional roots in the
construction industry. Diversity will increase,
and the provision of information and analysis
will be even more in demand. This increases the
pressure on IT to perform effectively and for the
provision of the very highest level of maintenance
support becomes even more essential."
"Interchange
could provide what we wanted. For example, for some
support companies, a four-hour response time for remote
branches was a problem, but not for Interchange"
Copyright
2001 - 2008 Interchange Group Limited - All Rights Reserved
Interchange
and Greenham have enjoyed a continuous IT support
relationship since 1981. The last major review of
the service contract was in 1995 and, following
successful performance, this was renewed for a further
three years in 1998. Since the initial contract,
Greenham has expanded substantially - in terms
of general company infrastructure, number of branches,
extent of product lines, sales and profit and
installation of new IT equipment and systems - and
Interchange has risen to meet the challenge. 
Copyright
2001 - 2008 Interchange Group Limited - All Rights Reserved
