Retail Services Challenges
- Fixed Telecom Visibility
- Lack of Wide Area Network internal resources
- Existing networks are outdated
- Lack of Corporate Oversight
- Limited governance over vendors
- No strategic visibility
- Expired Contracts & Decentralized Invoicing
- Limited Redundancy
- Frequent service outages
- Poor support
- Compliance issues and high risk for error
CBI Offers these Solutions
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Nationwide Hardware Company Case Study
Company Profile
Nationwide Hardware Company is an American based, retailer-owned hardware cooperative with over 4,000 independently owned locations worldwide.
Business Situation - The Problem
Our clients existing Wide Area Network (WAN) was outdated and costly. There was no corporate oversight, limited vendor governance, no strategic visibility, which resulted in expired contracts and decentralized invoicing. In addition, there was limited redundancy, frequent outages with poor support opening this retailer to numerous risk and compliancy issues.
Technical Situation - The Solution
Based on previous successful results with our company, Nationwide Hardware Company re-engaged CBI to manage a sourcing event for their wide area network. The objective being to minimize telecommunication network costs across all operating units, modernize data network, consolidate vendors, centralize Telecom contracts and update new technology for efficiency and resiliency.
In addition, CBI conducted a full competitive analysis of predetermined vendors based on criteria jointly developed with client and CBI’s twenty-five-year historical data base. Our subject matter experts developed a plan to provide our client with redundancy and the foundation to upgrade their voice networks. Our efforts resulted in increased overall efficiency and doubled their bandwidth. Through our bench-marking efforts the client was also provided with a competitive contract analysis as our consultants lead the RFP process & contract negotiations.
The Results
By utilizing CBI’s RFP specialist (SME) and perfected RFP process we provided the Nationwide Hardware Company with a return on invest (ROI) analysis, metrics and scorecard on each proposed solution. This enabled us to deliver a customized vendor solution with timeline, dependencies and benefits. This selection determined the lowest quoted combined cost for WAN solution, which includes full management of network and equipment. Overall, Nationwide Hardware Company reported over 71% in annual savings from the RFP.
Family Christian Stores
“Family Christian Stores reaped many benefits, including consolidation of vendors, lowering over all costs and streamlining our bill payment process as a direct result of partnering with CBI Telecommunications Consultants. CBI provided Audit and RFP services for over 300 retail stores throughout the continental USA. Throughout the last three years we have utilized other CBI services such as having their consultants develop a line inventory database and utilizing CBI for moves, adds and changes for all telecom activities. We have been extremely impressed with the level expertise and the integrity CBI’s has exhibited throughout the partnership and will continue to utilize them as outside consulting is needed.”
Don Schilstra
Director of IT Operation & Support