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Varlink, the York based specialist IT distributor founded in 2005, has completed the integration of their EPoS sales division, EPoS Distributor.

This process has resulted in significant benefits for retail system supplying resellers who can now access the full product portfolio including EPOS terminals, receipt printers, touchscreens, cash drawers and other EPOS peripherals online at www.varlink.co.uk alongside Varlink's comprehensive mobile computing and data capture product set which also encompasses leading brands Honeywell, Casio, Datalogic and Zebra Technologies.

 

Mike Pullon, Varlink CEO, commented “When the EPoS Distribution division was established there was a clear separation between the products purchased by EPoS specialists and those taken by our established Varlink customer base. Over time, whilst there remains some fundamental differences, there are many product sets that are of interest to both segments of our customer base. We have therefore moved from two websites to a single Varlink branded site which carries all mobile computing, label printing, data capture, networking and EPoS brands.

 

Whilst we are retiring the EPoS Distributor brand, our three EPoS sales team members will continue to work, exclusively, with our retail focussed customers.”

Since the establishment of EPoS Distributor in 2009, it operated as a separate brand entity focusing on the trade supply of EPoS hardware to the hospitality and retail sector, internally however, it has always shared technical, despatch, finance and marketing resources with Varlink.

All customers, regardless of their size, will continue to have the same dedicated sales contact ensuring a seamless integration with no detrimental effects to pre or post sales customer support.

For the first time, the full EPoS Distributor range of products will be available to order online allowing resellers to view real-time stock levels and individual buy prices. Not only this, but Varlink's feature rich e-commerce website enables customers to manage their entire account online 24/7, with the ability to view quotes raised by their dedicated sales contact, raise quotes, place orders, check proof of delivery and order status, view invoices, and raise RMAs fuss free.

While the brand integration strengthens Varlink's company image and provides the best use of company resources, it also provides resellers with the choice needed as technology trends around tablets and mobility within the workplace continue to grow. Resellers can source everything from semi-rugged to ultra-rugged tablets, handheld terminals, Smartphones, barcode label printers, card printers, associated printer consumables, barcode scanners, EPOS terminals and peripherals from one local distributor.

In addition to UK warehousing facilities, which enable next business day delivery as standard on in stock items, Varlink work closely with their customers providing pipeline management, credit facilities, technical services including configuration support, and free of charge marketing services fulfilled by an in house marketing team.

A specialist time critical logistics provider in the UK is overcoming nightly battles against ongoing roadworks to record successful on-time delivery of goods from Europe into the UK...

Bespoke Distribution Aviation (BDA) which is based near to Coventry Airport is still managing to fulfil its orders and keep customers satisfied, despite ongoing disruption to its vital road network.

The roadworks, which are coming at a cost of £105m and won’t be completed until 2016, have caused major headaches to businesses and motorists alike, with some workers in the area complaining that they are extending their journey to and from work by up to two hours each day. BDA relies on its road network to meet critical delivery of spare parts and vital components for the automotive, media and agricultural sectors but is having to battle against the ongoing roadworks in order to deliver on time. The company recently arranged a private meeting with local MP Jim Cunningham to discuss the issue, during which it called for greater communication from the Highways Agency in order to minimise the risk of a knock-on effect to the global supply chain caused by late delivery of goods.

Although the company has implemented processes to help it overcome the disruption and is still successfully meeting delivery times, it stressed to Mr Cunningham the importance of the local road network to the freight companies in the area. Many of these operate during the night which is when disruption is at its peak.

BDA has eight gateway hubs for both air and road linehaul routes across Europe, including Germany, France, and Ireland. The firm flies freight into Coventry overnight in order to meet next-day delivery times. If this freight is then held up on the road network, it has a knock on effect on the wider supply chain. BDA is currently having to send numerous vans out on the road for deliveries in order to get the first vehicle onto the road earlier than normal.

European Managing Director Kevin Turner explained: “Many of the roadworks are taking place at night because there is an assumption that few people are using the road network at this time. We rely on the road network at night in order to deliver goods on time.

“We are still meeting our customers’ demands, we’re not losing any business and we’re still growing, but the night time temporary road closures - when we’re at our busiest - and constant diversions are costing us a lot of money, and this means we can’t employ more people. Some of the boxes we deliver contain time critical medical equipment and supplies that hospitals up and down the country rely on in order to treat their patients. If these aren’t delivered on time then this has a direct impact on people who are in desperate need of urgent medical care.

“The situation changes each day, and the major issue is a lack of communication between businesses and the Highways Agency and their contractors.”

Mr Cunningham felt that it wasn’t fair that businesses were being impacted in such a serious manner and stressed that the Highways Agency must do more to communicate with BDA and other businesses in the area.

He said: “Everybody understands that the roadworks have got to be completed, but we think there can be improvements in relation to flow of traffic - particularly at night time, when this company is doing business.

“With a bit of give and take we can mitigate some of the problems and it’s important that the Highways Agency have discussions with BDA and other companies in the area. We’re going to meet with them and put some of these points to them.”

Surrey Based service management software provider are selected by nationwide building materials company and announce a new improvements to their Service Desk solution…

Specialist Service Management software Sunrise Software have recently been selected by the Nicholls and Clarke Group as they move to improve their customer service standards through the implementation of an improved IT infrastructure. With a team of over 550 employees based within 24 offices nationwide, the Nicholls and Clarke Group are recognised as leaders within the building materials sector operating as manufacturer, distributor and retailer. With a diverse range of activities and locations within the organisation it is of course imperative that their back office systems are robust and that integration between divisions is as seamless as possible to allow operations to remain effective.

In acknowledgement of this Nicholls and Clarke have already established an impressive approach to IT Service Management and ITIL best practice and the addition of Sunrise ITSM will further enhance this effort.

Narendra Joshi, Head of IT at Nicholls and Clarke explained “Previously we used a home grown Service Desk system. However, in an ITIL compliant environment like ours, where all IT staff are ITIL trained, we felt that we needed to make the investment in a platform that would rise to meet our operational standards and grow with us into the future.”

The decision to work with Sunrise followed on from an extensive review of the solutions available
Before selecting Sunrise based on a blend of their technology, people and also the company’s pragmatic and understated approach.

“We liked the flexibility that the software platform’s modular approach presented to us,” added Joshi. “It means that we can take a phased approach and grow across the business. The browser based interface is ideal for our environment and, coupled with the software’s integration with social media, showed Sunrise to be a really forward thinking company.”

A phased service management implementation:

The implementation will initially begin in the IT department, where Sunrise ITSM is providing a comprehensive Service Desk solution that will be especially beneficial in supporting the group’s ITSM best practice approach. The system will provide support for each of the 100+ merchant trade account, desktop, manufacturing, distribution, ERP and financial systems that need to be maintained across the 24 sites.

Nicholls & Clarke then plan to create a software Asset Management system heavily based around ITIL best practice to support the creation and management of a group-wide software library so that the IT team will be able to track and manage software versions, license management and renewals planning by using Sunrise ITSM’s reporting functions.

The next step will include extending the rollout to the customer services team; providing a support desk infrastructure to track and monitor operational and business issues ranging from pricing enquiries to business processes, order queries and web order support.

Geoff Rees, Sales Director at Sunrise Software commented “organisations like Nicholls & Clarke that have seen strong organic expansion often out-grow their existing software systems. The business benefits of moving to a fully integrated Service Management Platform that can span all service and customer facing functions, without the overhead of maintaining an in-house developed system, are wide-reaching; enabling the business to operate more efficiently, provide better customer service and better information to support commercial business decisions.”

New iteration of ‘Wall-board’ Service Management Software

Meanwhile the Surrey based software company have also released an improved version of their web-based portal, which includes improved visual displays and trends analysis of key performance data

The latest version of ‘Sunrise Wallboard’, which displays metrics for Service Desk performance, includes improvements to the display of critical operational KPIs as well as a simplified, easier to use interface.

It has been updated to include new FusionCharts libraries enabling animated and interactive data displays, new chart types for enhanced data visualisation, and has improved compatibility with Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 to meet customer demand. Also included within the new version is an enhanced aggregation engine to enable multiple data sets to be compared over time to enable trends analysis - for example tracking the volume of Incidents logged by month according to severity and displaying this on a chart.

Sunrise Software’s Product Director at Neil Penny, commented:

“Visual Service Desk metrics are critical to an organisation when providing real-time data on which to base informed decisions. We have enhanced Wallboard, which is available across all our Service Management products, making it easier for our customers to use it to its full capacity, supporting decision making and efficiency. This latest version has been designed with the user in mind, with increased capabilities for data analysis and providing more choice for how data is displayed. It puts more control into the hands of the Service Desk, enabling them to fully interrogate, analyse and display critical performance data.”

 

Masternaut, one of the largest European providers of telematics solutions, has announced the MT400 telematics hub which has been designed exclusively by Masternaut’s dedicated R&D team for Masternaut’s Connect platform.

The MT400 delivers unprecedented levels of connectivity, modular applications, and over-the-air device & application management. Masternaut’s patented technology for Vehicle CANbus data acquisition is fully integrated so that real time, accurate odometer, fuel, diagnostics and other floating car data can be extracted for reporting and telemetry applications such as driver behaviour, risk profiling, crash detection, and remote diagnostics.

The MT400 can integrate directly with tachographs, temperature control units, salt dispenser units, weighing sensors and other on-board vehicle equipment. All of this data & control is seamlessly integrated with Connect to provide accurate and flexible reporting, alerting, visualisation and control. MT400 can connect to smartphones, tablets, and other screen devices for rich driver integration features including navigation, messaging, workflow, etc.

MT400 is designed using latest automotive grade electronics and mechanics to provide best-in-class performance and reliability, with a streamlined installation and in-field support process, minimising vehicle installation times, and ensuring devices can be fully managed remotely.

Alex Rothwell, Masternaut’s CTO comments “The MT400 transforms in-vehicle solutions and is a step-change from current “black-box” technology. It is the culmination of substantial R&D investment, building on Masternaut’s patents and know-how from 10 years designing market leading telematics devices.

“To ensure our customers get the most out of Connect, they need flexible in-vehicle solutions which provide the telemetry, vehicle system integration, and driver interaction demanded by advanced telematics applications. MT400 addresses this need, and with a new automotive grade design also provides superior performance and reliability.”

Martin Hiscox, Masternaut’s chairman and CEO, added  “Masternaut is unique within in the industry in that we design and develop all components of our core service ourselves, from hardware right through to SaaS-based end-user applications. Our vision is clear, and by structuring the development process in this manner – and supporting it with the largest telematics R&D team in Europe – it is our responsibility to execute it.

“To ensure our customers get the most out of Connect, they need leading hardware which is not only versatile enough to support our full suite of modular applications, but which delivers business intelligence based solely on absolute vehicle data. The introduction of the MT-400 technology as standard provides even greater accuracy for our customers, enabling them to get even more return on their telematics investment.”  

 

FeedHenry, provider of the  open standards based mobile application platform for enterprise, has just announced the release of it's first ever fully dedicated Field Workforce Management mobile solution.

The solution provides 'out-of-the-box' field workforce management features which has a high level of customisation available through what seems to be a fairly intuitive drag and drop process.

As our own research here at FIeld Service News recently revealed with roughly a quarter of companies struggling to fit there work processes around their software solution such simple yet effective customisation is a big positive. The mobile workers apps can be easily configured to support company-specific field workflow processes, backend data integration, forms, and branding. The solution is also cross-platform supporting deployment to all major mobile devices, and as you would expect makes use of location, camera, signature capture and other device features.

Powered by FeedHenry’s flagship FeedHenry 3 platform, the new Workforce Management (WFM) solution gives businesses the option to implement as a standalone solution, or to securely integrate into existing work order, ERP or other systems. FeedHenry’s cloud-based platform architecture supports secure backend integration, data storage and caching, online/offline data syncing, user authentication, and app management that underpin secure, scalable and sustainable mobile innovation.

“In today’s era of mobility, it’s no longer enough to simply port legacy field workforce solutions onto a mobile device and expect high performance,” said Cathal McGloin, CEO of FeedHenry. “Mobile-first organisations are demanding a more flexible mobile experience that delivers a faster return on investment. For companies where field operations are critical to business results, we’ve created a ready to run cloud-based mobile solution that provides secure, real time updates to and from the field, all with a great user experience.”

Key features of FeedHenry’s Field Workforce Management solution include:

Cross-Platform Development and Deployment – Using the functionality of the FeedHenry 3 platform, the new WFM solution supports both development and deployment across multiple devices and platforms: iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Featuring built-in scalability and security, the solution’s backend connections are reusable, making subsequent app developments fast and cost-effective.

Ready-To-Use Functionality – A flexible off-the-shelf solution, major field force management features are already built out and ready to use, including scheduling, dispatch, data capture, forms, location, reporting and messaging. The WFM solution also helps organisations to take full advantage of native mobile device features, allowing for text, photo, signature and barcode capture with the ability to add GPS and timestamps for any work order type, with zero coding required.

Drag and Drop Forms - Flexible workflow configuration is supported with drag and drop forms which allows non-developers to define job order types, without the need to change business processes.

Real-time communication between back office and frontline staff – FeedHenry WFM provides a highly functional web portal that provides a range of administration tasks. Office supervisors can communicate with workers in the field by creating, managing and dispatching new work order information as well as sending in-app messages to the workforce. Real time reporting is available, complete with worker tracking, helping to increase collaboration across teams and improve response times.

Designed to provide high mobile ROI – FeedHenry’s cloud-based WFM solution includes cloud storage and caching to improve app performance and scalability. In addition cloud data sync functionality allows workers to continue using their apps while offline, with data automatically syncing when back online.

“Enterprise mobility has the power to improve employee productivity, transform business processes and drive new revenue streams. This has elevated mobility to a strategic level,” said Chris Marsh, principal analyst at Yankee Group. “Companies should look to cloud-based and agile mobile application strategies to support their growing mobile workforces, without which enterprise productivity and profitability improvements will suffer.”

 

Software provider Fast Lean Smart (FLS) have recently announced that they have secured a significant new customer win in the form of Mitie’s pest control division.

German owned FLS who operate their UK division for their Reading office are providers of specialist mobile workforce management and scheduling software and in Mitie they have won the business of the UK’s third largest provider of pest control services. Having seen consistent organic growth greater than their peers within the last decade Mitie were in the market to support yet further development and growth by implementing optimisation solutions for both routing and task scheduling as part of a drive to improve their service offering by responding quicker to customer call outs.

With a client base that encompasses both residential and commercial clients, Mitie offer a ‘one-stop-shop’ service offering that covers everything and anything to do with pest prevention and eradication. They maintain their high standards of service by undertaking all services in-house and as a business they employ a nationwide field force of pest technicians.

Commenting on the agreement with FLS, Peter Trotman, Mitie Pest Control Managing Director said ‘Our success has brought us many challenges, especially in organising resource to meet our objectives which include continuously improving customer service, but also to reduce operational costs. We already differentiate our services through advanced management information and customer portals and we are now embarking on a dynamic enterprise to interface a route planning and resource optimisation tool to further our leading edge technology”.

Trotman added “As part of a year long evaluation of potential vendors, we completed a successful pilot with FLS which proved FLS VISITOUR technology was flexible to meet our requirements and the ideal choice. We are now pleased to appoint FLS as supplier and implementation partner for this immensely exciting project from which we already know the opportunity for performance improvement is significant”.

Jeremy Squire, FLS UK Managing Director, also commented saying “FLS are pleased to welcome Mitie Pest Control to our growing family of UK customers, the mix of routine visits, booked appointments and requirement to quickly react to emergency callouts make excellent use of FLS VISITOUR real-time scheduling capability. We look forward to making this deployment a showcase for the dramatic efficiency gains achievable and the ease of configuring our technology to meet unique customer needs.”

 

BJB Lift Trucks, the intelligent materials handling solutions provider, is using Masternaut’s powerful fleet management solution to monitor the location of its fleet and distribute workloads accordingly, to create the most cost-efficient and productive workforce.

BJB Lift Trucks has seen widespread benefits across the business, since installation, with Masternaut’s solution giving it the ability to distribute work loads according to exact vehicle positioning. This has produced a 15% drop in fuel cost through cutting down on the unnecessary time vehicles spend out on the road.

The knock-on effect from this has been a reduction in vehicle usage, meaning that vehicle depreciation has been lowered, extending the vehicle life-cycle and reducing the requirement for maintenance or repair work. Operational efficiency has been improved, with a cut down in driving as well as quicker depot turnaround times, meaning that each member of staff is fully utilised throughout the working day.

The HR division has seen a number of benefits, with Masternaut’s in-depth retrospective reporting providing evidence for disciplinary matters such as speeding, while forming a comprehensive audit trail. The finance department benefits from improved operational efficiency as these reports can be cross-checked with timesheets instantly, making expense claims easily verifiable.

“We selected Masternaut above other telematics providers due to the high level of professional service they offer at a very reasonable cost, in comparison to competitors. Since using Masternaut’s solution, we’ve seen benefits across the whole business – not just fleet operations.” Commented BJB Lift Trucks.

“With 80% of our team out on the road, it’s vital we keep track of their locations and without Masternaut we couldn’t have done it. The team are always on hand to advise and support us whenever needed, and we look forward to working with Masternaut in the future to introduce further innovation to our business.”

Martin Hiscox, CEO and chairman of Masternaut, adds: “It’s great to see that as a result of our work together, we’ve helped oversee a 15% cut in fuel costs businesswise at BJB Lift Trucks.”

“With the bulk of BJB Lift Truck’s workforce mobile, we knew it was essential for fleet managers to have full visibility of their fleet at all times. Our solution has ensured this has been the outcome and we’re looking forward to seeing how we can further cut costs and improve efficiency with BJB Lift Trucks.”

Research commissioned by customer service specialists KANA Software suggests many organisations are overlooking the potential for customer service improvements that could drive revenue.

The survey of UK Contact Centre Association (CCA) members included a diverse mix of industry sectors, from financial services, to local government and retail. It reveals that only 40 percent (39.6 percent) believe senior management places a clear focus on customer service as a way to drive revenue; noting one-fifth of respondents (20.8 percent) think there is little or no focus on customer service at a senior level.

The survey also found that the majority of respondents are unconvinced of the link between customer service and the bottom line. Well below half (41.5 percent) take a keen interest in revenue loss resulting from poor customer service. According to the data, one-in-10 management teams pay no attention to the financial implications of a poor customer service experience.

Improving quality and reducing the “cost to serve” are currently seen as primary challenges in today’s organisations. The research also highlights what call centre agents perceive as key barriers to providing a better service: outdated systems, lack of investment, agent skills gaps and a lack of understanding or support at a senior level.

“Unfortunately, the contact centre is often seen as an operational expense and nothing more,” says Steven Thurlow, head of worldwide product strategy for KANA. “Often, senior management will review functional aspects, such as speed of handling times and resolution times. This approach is unlikely to drive further investment and instead maintains a focus on efficiency above all else. Fast service and good customer experiences are not always the same thing. Strategic investments in people, processes and the technology platforms that can aid them should be considered by the C-suite and across organisations.”

Thurlow adds, “The commercial value of an effective call centre, balanced against mitigating and eliminating the potential damages of poor customer service, should not be overlooked. A contact centre is not an unavoidable cost – it can be an invaluable tool.”

 

Sunrise Software has announced the appointment of Nigel Moat as Sunrise Solutions Manager, a senior role managing the configuration of all the services that are maintained within the Sunrise product line that are based on the Sostenuto platform. Nigel joins from Anglian Water Services Limited, where he spent the last 15 years of his 30 year tenure, leading teams to deliver solutions within this large corporation on a range of IT and business process based projects, developing bespoke build solutions and, since 2004, using the Sunrise IT Service Management (ITSM) product.

Whilst Sostenuto, Sunrise’s Service Management platform, provides a standard build, the Sunrise team configure this so that each product is aligned to business processes in a number of strategic and vertical market spaces. The Sunrise Solutions Manager role is pivotal in ensuring that configured solutions are aligned to business processes and that the business will stay ahead of the markets’ needs in each area. Configured versions currently exist for ITSM, Customer Service Management (CSM) and HR Case Management (HRCM).

“Business process mapping skills are a core competency for this role, but a working knowledge of the product, and knowing how to configure the solution to meet the real world challenges of users adds true value,” says Neil Penny, Product Director at Sunrise Software. “We are thrilled to have Nigel join us. He has a wealth of business process knowledge and because he has been a Sunrise ITSM user, this knowledge will be really advantageous to our existing and future customers as we continue to develop our products for new sectors.”

On joining Sunrise Nigel commented; “This was no small step for me after 30 years with Anglian Water, but I have always had a fondness for Sunrise. It’s such a dynamic, innovative company and the team have been really supportive and knowledgeable. I always felt that if a career change came my way, then Sunrise would be the first port of call – and the timing of this role fitted in for both Sunrise and myself’. I’m excited about the opportunity and already have some ideas, based on my previous experience, on how we can configure Sostenuto to work effectively in other areas of business, and other vertical markets.”

Sunrise will be making further announcements about new products and configurations later in the year.