A Safety Retrofit
"A difficult set of tasks which were completed, well within the planned timescale and gave a good result, not only for the customer but also for the users"
The Brief
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We were contacted by a project manager in Germany who had been retained by a manufacturing company to contact an existing customer database (of over 750 records) in the UK.
Parts of the database had been inherited from another company which had been taken over and all the data was old and had not been updated with deletions or changes of address, etc.
There was a potential, safety issue with equipment which had been supplied to some customers, but there was no indication of which customers had the potentially faulty equipment, so a common approach to all customers was required, which would not needless alarm them.
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The Work
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It was a mammoth effort to work through the database and clean the data as we went (updating customer records, in case of death, moving address, no longer in possession of the equipment, etc.) – the original database once cleaned was reduced to 430 active records.
In the course of updating the database, appointments with customers were made for engineers to visit and carry out product upgrades (if necessary) or to verify that supplied equipment was safe and fit for purpose.
In tandem with customer contacts being verified, we were also selecting from our partners the correct resources to carry out these service interventions,.
As the equipment was mostly located in private residences, engineers had to be pre-vetted as suitable to potentially deal with vulnerable adults, appointments with customers were confirmed in writing and then re-confirmed, by telephone, a week and the day before the appointment.
The actual appointments themselves were perhaps, the simplest part of the process – if a potentially faulty unit was confirmed by the attending engineer, the parts were swapped immediately, and photographs taken of the newly installed parts with a report signed by both the customer and engineer to say work had been completed.
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Key achievements
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Project completed within 4-months of the initial enquiry;
Original database = 750+ records;
Database once cleaned = 430 active records;
Actual customers requiring replacement parts during an engineer visit = 235.
The Results
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Reporting to project management team carried out in real-time via the YouCall-IT.com portal (updated customer records; schedule for service visits; photographs and sign off available immediately following service calls).
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Quick Setup For European Support
"Increased satisfaction from customer staff in retail locations, knowing that IT problems will be resolved swiftly"
The Brief
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Our customer had won a major service contract for retail sites in European cities, although they had, via YouCall-IT.com, been delivering this type of service for several years on a limited basis – this was of a considerably larger scale.
With only 3-weeks until the go-live date, we were given a list of sites (across multiple European countries) with some fairly sketchy information about the equipment which was, generally, at each site. Warehousing and forward-stock-locations and logistics needed to be arranged as the contract had some aggressive SLA’s already agreed.
The Work
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Fortunately, because of the well-established business relationship we enjoy with our partner network, discussions to reach agreements about rates, sla’s, warehousing, out-of-hours cover, etc. were concluded swiftly. This allowed contacts to be drawn up, procedures to be agreed and then shipping and inventory of initial buffer stock to be arranged, all before the go-live date.
Key achievements
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Increased achievement of SLA targets (according to apocryphal data) across all locations (98 at a reduced cost and with far improved reporting to our customer and ultimately to their customer.
The Results:
Increased satisfaction from customer staff in retail locations, knowing that IT problems will be resolved swiftly.
Installation Project
"We have been able to revise the project timeline as it is very likely to be completed ahead of the original
estimated time, e have confidence to now start the pilot sites in other countries ahead of schedule"
The Brief
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on-site visit to install Signature Pad and Scanner on existing hardware
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train users how to receive packages from courier and release packages to customers
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train users how to use dedicated web-portal to record deliveries/collections
The work
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There was specific training for the installation teams, which needed to be carried out before any site visits could take place, the installation of equipment wasn’t difficult, but the engineers needed to be trained so that they could effectively train the end users to operate both hardware and software.
As the sites for training/installation are busy retail outlets, there was a great deal of initial discussion with the site owners to find a workable time when they would be available for training and the installations to be carried out, without a major impact on their day-to-day business.
Additionally, some sites where in remote locations, which meant that transportation (ferries/flights) needed to be arranged, all within the constraints of the overall rollout schedule.
Results & Key Achievements
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Despite several initial delays with training being arranged for installation teams and with correctly identifying suitable pilot sites, the initial rollout was completed within the client specified time-frame.
With the next phase of installations, the client has passed over control of creating a working installation schedule to the local partner, this is already saving significant time, as soon as the customer site agrees the date/time of install the site is added to the installation schedule and client is updated.
Results
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Due to the success and smooth running of the pilot site installations, we are satisfied that we no longer need to control the individual site schedule for installation, the local partner can now control the project with minimal intervention from us.
Further, we have revised the project timeline as it is very likely to be completed ahead of the originally estimate, also we have confidence to now start the pilot sites in other countries ahead of schedule.