Taylor Woodrow is a leading developer of sustainable
communities of high quality homes, employing over 7,000 people
worldwide. The primary business is homebuilding, which accounts for
95% of its operating profit from across the UK, North America and
Spain. Established in 1921, Taylor Woodrow has 4,600 team members
in the UK based out of 11 regional offices and a central Solihull
headquarters.
Business Challenge
Taylor Woodrow Facilities Management has a large workforce of
mobile repair technicians (MRTs) who are permanently mobile and on
the road. The MRTs were looking to provide their customers with a
quicker response time, and were keen to adopt an improved method of
issuing and administering work orders. In the past, these work
orders had to be issued and cleared at the beginning and end of
each day's work from the MRT employees’ homes using a combination
of paper and laptop. It was decided that a system for the
'real-time’, automatic issuing and updating of work orders was
needed.
In addition to this, Taylor Woodrow wished to reduce the cost of
voice calls to and from their staff mobile phones.
Communications Overhaul
As the incumbent operator to Taylor Woodrow, the Orange Wirefree
Extension (OWE) voice link was initially chosen to reduce voice
costs. However, Orange recognised that an upgrade to the Orange
Link Voice and Data solution (OLVD) would provide both voice and
data requirements in a single cost-effective package. The
availability of appropriate user devices, such as the Orange SPV
M2000, contributed to Taylor Woodrow's decision to install the OLVD
solution.
Data
Taylor Woodrow's MRTs have been issued with Orange SPV M2000's,
replacing the laptops. These provide a more portable, direct
real-time connection to the Taylor Woodrow data centre via a secure
IP link. As calls are logged by the helpdesk, work orders are
automatically issued to the SPV M2000. The technician can then
accept, update or complete the work order at any time throughout
the day. This provides the helpdesk agents and customers with
real-time call status information and feedback. Additionally, the
device software is used to collect other useful information such as
vehicle mileage statistics.
Voice
Voice calls were previously routed over the PSTN network,
accounting for the largest proportion of the company's voice
expenditure. Installation of the fixed OLVD link means that the
PSTN network can be avoided, with calls routed directly from the
Taylor Woodrow data centre to the Orange mobile network. This also
led to features such as internal numbering - where calls from the
company desk phones are now presented to Taylor Woodrow mobile
phones in their internal four-digit extension number form, as
opposed to appearing as a 'withheld number'. Calls from mobiles
to landlines are also routed over the OLVD link, where users can
simply dial the four digit extension number.
Orange Solution – Orange Link Voice and Data
(OLVD)
OLVD is an intelligent solution that enables enterprises to access
both voice and data services through a single intelligent leased
line, combining multiple network infrastructures into a single
interface to the Orange network. Currently most businesses are
addressing voice and data needs with separate networks and this is
costly in terms of investment and management. OLVD minimises costs
whilst also implementing data solutions without the need for a
newly installed infrastructure. Being ‘intelligent’ OLVD can
automatically allocate the minimal amount of bandwidth needed to
match requirements. This means that Orange customers can save up
to 30% by using OLVD, when compared to buying voice and data
services separately.
"Orange has been Taylor Woodrow’s supplier of choice since 2001.
The implementation of Orange Link Voice and Data has brought
numerous benefits beyond that of the standard voice service. These
include us being able to efficiently mobilise our Facilities
Management workforce, which in turn has led to significant business
productivity enhancement. As a result, we have sought to extend our
contract with Orange Business Solutions to March 2007"
Gareth Kirby, IT Development Analyst, Taylor
Woodrow
Customer ROI
Benefits Taylor Woodrow has been able to achieve using Orange Link
Voice and Data include:
• Since OLVD installation, the accuracy of the data collected has
improved from a 40% to 100% accuracy rate every time, compared to
the previous paper based system
• Routing calls over the OLVD link immediately produced enormous
voice cost savings. An average of £9,000 per month was saved
• Much faster response times to Taylor Woodrow customers was
achieved through being able to use the SPV M2000s in real
time
• An substantial increase in staff productivity was seen, due to
enhanced mobile features and reduction in paperwork
"Taylor Woodrow takes its customers service extremely seriously and
OLVD has allowed the company to improve response times while also
offering its technicians greater flexibility in terms of where and
how they work. The business case for a combined voice and data
solution is crystal clear, both through the reduction in basic
voice costs and through the availability of vital information in
real time"
Further information can be found on the Orange website
Click
here
Alastair MacLeod, VP, Orange Business Solutions