Five Senses Coffee adopts Cisco Collaboration to improve employee productivity and customer service

Transcription

1 Customer Case Study Five Senses Coffee adopts Cisco Collaboration to improve employee productivity and customer service Key points Business need Introduce a streamlined collaboration system to improve communication, enhance corporate culture and connect geographically dispersed teams in Western Australia and east coast offices. Solution Five Senses Coffee uses Cisco Business Edition 6000 and Cisco Unified Communications Manager to streamline collaboration using premium voice, video, mobility, conferencing, instant messaging and presence technology. Benefits Enhanced inter-office communications, quicker resolution of business- and peoplemanagement issues, and improved staff productivity have resulted in strong financial benefits. Poised for rapid expansion Established in 2000, Five Senses Coffee is a family-owned coffee roasting and supply business based in Rockingham, Western Australia. Its success has seen the company grow its business locally and globally to encompass coffee roasting, barista training and online sales. Five Senses employs about 70 people across four offices in Western Australia and Victoria. Each state has a sales and training office, a roastery, and a production and administration office. The team includes several buyers who travel the world sourcing coffee beans to send back to Australia for roasting and distribution. Despite its relative youth, Five Senses Coffee has stamped its place in Australia s café culture and is growing rapidly. The company recruits five to 10 people each year and now has its sights set on conquering the competitive coffee supply market in Australia s eastern states. Growing business, growing needs Cost savings through travel reduction Five Senses also understood that a reduction in travel expenditure was key to supporting its expansion plans, as the funds could be reallocated to other areas of the business to aid growth. In 2010, a Cisco global study conducted by Ipsos Mori found dramatic differences with users versus non-users.1 The overwhelming majority (90 percent) of frequent users (those who use videoconferencing technologies once or more per week) say video collaboration technologies save them at least two hours of valuable work time a week. Cisco research has also found that companies around the world have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars each year by offering employees alternatives to traveling for internal or customer meetings. One such example, global architectural and design firm Woods Bagot, saved US$440,000 on travel costs alone in just one year as part of a pilot program to connect its Sydney, Dubai and San Francisco offices with video collaboration technologies. 1 Cisco White Paper, Global Study: The benefits and barriers to video adoption, Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

2 When we discovered this Cisco communications technology we knew it was what we d been looking for so we grabbed it with both hands. In addition, a 2010 report by Bernstein Research found that technical advances in videoconferencing have moved the capability to an entirely new level over the last 18 months. 2 The firm reported that early adopters of video conferencing could replace 70 percent of internal travel and 10 percent of external travel over the next 10 to 15 years. This in turn will enable them to cut down their corporate travel spending by as much as 21 percent. Streamline inter-office collaboration infrastructure As the business continued to expand, Five Senses faced internal communications issues related to growth. The company s geographically remote headquarters made it reliant on internal and external collaboration. However, its communications systems were not as efficient as they needed to be in light of its expansion plans. The company relied on separate PABX phone systems in its roastery, production and administration offices in Western Australia, and Melbourne, Victoria. We knew that improved collaboration was vital to business growth, says Sexton. Previously, our sales and training team could only communicate via mobile phone. We knew we could improve productivity if we provided staff with more flexible and cost-effective ways to communicate with each other. Face-to-face communication to convey context The company s geographically dispersed office structure presented unique communications issues that affected their bottom line. Several executives, including the Human Resources Manager, are based in Melbourne, making it hard to communicate with teams in Western Australia. It was difficult conducting conflict-resolution meetings via phone or , explains Gavan Hogan,. Unlike a face-to-face meeting, I didn t have the context provided by facial expressions and body language to guide me. To enhance communication by adding the context provided by visual cues, Five Senses wanted to have video available on every employee s desktop and provide videoconferencing between the Western Australian headquarters and main Victorian office. Increase technological capability to improve customer service Five Senses was also keen to improve customer service and its online store by making it easier for staff to collaborate. We re managing a lot of blends and origins of coffee each day, explains Caleb Sexton, National IT. The availability of different products changes daily and we have to ensure our online store is always up to date. But the only way some of our staff could work together to update the online store was via or mobile phone, which was not as efficient as it could be. Flexible systems to enable growth As part of its expansion plan and to future-proof its collaboration infrastructure, the company also had to ensure that any new communications technology it introduced could quickly scale to add new offices and users. 2 Carl Wiese, Vice President, Global Collaboration Sales, Cisco, The Return on Collaboration: Assessing the Value of Today s Collaboration Solutions, Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

3 Solution In March 2013, Five Senses took the opportunity to see Cisco s collaboration systems in action. I recently had to resolve an issue between two Perth-based staff members. In the past it would ve taken at least two days to sort things out via . I had them both on the video phone and the problem was resolved in five minutes. It s a huge step forward. We visited Cisco s Melbourne Demonstration Centre and were impressed by the possibilities of Cisco Jabber, the unified communications client app that provides presence, instant messaging and video calling capabilities, says Sexton. In June 2013, Five Senses worked with Cisco business partner Comscentre to implement a centralised collaboration and videoconferencing architecture based on Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition 6000, an integrated platform for medium-sized enterprises. Cisco Unified Communications Manager enables Five Senses to centrally manage voice and video systems in its four office locations in Western Australia and Victoria using a single platform. Comscentre, a Cisco Advantage Unified Communications Partner and Master Managed Service Provider, installed 50 Cisco Unified IP Phone 8941s with integrated voice and video across the four offices. There was minimal interruption to their daily business, because the learning curve for the solution was low, says Sexton. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 8900 Series includes a Cisco EnergyWise Power Save Plus mode, which reduces power consumption in off hours, resulting in substantial cost savings. Another energy-saving feature called Power Save also works with Cisco EnergyWise technology. Power Save mode turns off the LCD when the phone is not in use. Both features offer substantial cost savings to a corporation. For example, in a three-year time span an average company with 1,000 users can save US$100, Comscentre also installed the Cisco Jabber app on ipad for executive staff and frequent travellers, and on office PCs. In November 2013, Five Senses introduced videoconferencing, installing two Cisco TelePresence SX20 Quick Sets in the company s boardrooms in Rockingham and Melbourne. The entire collaboration infrastructure can quickly scale to add new offices and users. Benefits that speak for themselves Enhanced inter-office communication The combination of Cisco video, voice and instant messaging has vastly improved communications between offices. Seeing people s faces and body language when I talk to them makes my job so much easier, says Hogan. I recently had to resolve an issue between two Perthbased staff members. In the past it would ve taken at least two days to sort things out through . I had them both on the video phone and the problem was resolved in five minutes. It s a huge step forward. 3 Cisco White Paper, Cisco EnergyWise Return on Investment with Cisco Unified IP Phones, page 2, Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

4 Distance is no longer a barrier and we can draw on a wider pool of talented staff, regardless of their physical location. Improved employee productivity Time and distance are no longer hurdles for Five Senses employees. Every day, they use Cisco Jabber to communicate and ensure processes run smoothly across the accounts, marketing, orders, sales and training departments. The head of our Green Bean team is based in Perth but travels the world sourcing products, says Sexton. Each week she liaises with the Rockingham-based Marketing Manager to let him know which coffee blends are available for sale. It used to be a time-consuming process via . Now they communicate using Jabber and it s a quick, affordable and simple process. With added flexibility making it easier to do their job, employee attitudes and job satisfaction have also improved. Enhanced business processes According to Sexton, Cisco Jabber has also enhanced business processes across departments, from checking and tracking orders and deliveries, to managing product shipments and sales. By making it easier for staff to communicate between departments, Cisco Jabber has helped us enhance customer service even further, he adds. Meeting future growth plans With business growth on the horizon, a flexible communications system was a critical component of Five Senses strategic plan. According to Hogan, the company s centralised collaboration and videoconferencing architecture will be critical to the continued success of the Five Senses brand. When we discovered this Cisco communications technology we knew it was what we d been looking for so we grabbed it with both hands, he says. Distance is no longer a barrier and we can draw on a wider pool of talented staff, regardless of their physical location. The cost-effectiveness and scalability of our collaboration infrastructure will help us continue to expand and grow effectively, now and into the future. Products and services Unified Communications Cisco Business Edition 6000 Cisco Unified IP Phone 8900 Series Collaboration Applications Cisco Jabber Cisco WebEx Meeting Center TelePresence Cisco TelePresence SX20 Quick Set Switches and Routers Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switches Cisco 2900 Series Integrated Services Routers Mobility Cisco 2500 Series Wireless Controllers Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

5 This customer story is based on information provided by Five Senses Coffee and describes how that particular organisation benefits from the deployment of Cisco products. Many factors may have contributed to the results and benefits described; Cisco does not guarantee comparable results elsewhere. CISCO PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties, therefore this disclaimer may not apply to you. Americas Headquarters Cisco Systems, Inc. San Jose, CA Asia Pacific Headquarters Cisco Systems (USA) Pte. Ltd. Singapore Europe Headquarters Cisco Systems International BV Amsterdam, The Netherlands Cisco has more than 200 offices worldwide. Addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers are listed on the Cisco Website at Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco and the Cisco Logo are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco s trademarks can be found at Third party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1005R)