Background

With a head office in Poole and working on-site across the country, Batchelor Electrical are a true example of a forward-thinking company embracing mobile technology for optimum customer service.

As a recognised NICEIC Approved electrical contractor with an enviable reputation, they are in great demand for electrical installation and refurbishment for both retail stores and commercial office fit-outs.

With nationwide contracts serving a broad client base Batchelor Electrical worked with Grapevine to provide a solution that would enhance communication between Batchelor Electrical's team and clients.

Aim

Batchelor Electrical needed additional functionality with their mobile devices & package to...
o Enable their project managers to send & receive emails remotely when away from an office or on the site of one of their projects.
o Economically manage the increased amount of mobile data being processed with the ability to open large file attachments quickly and easily.
o Reduce costs by making free calls between company mobiles and their own landline numbers.

Specifics of the solution

Grapevine deployed Nokia E70 devices to those members of the Batchelor Electrical team who required the enhanced communication features. Running the 'Mail for Exchange' software program, the handsets allow direct synchronisation with Batchelor's Microsoft Exchange 2003 server. This gives full remote interactivity with each user's Outlook account and the associated functionality. Incorporated with this is real-time email and also full read-write access to users Outlook calendar and contacts database, all through a simple interface on the mobile.

In addition, Grapevine supplied a dual sim fixed cellular terminal that allowed for all office based calls to a mobile to be routed through the equipment and become a mobile-to-mobile call. This made use of spare minutes which were not previously being utilised in the pre-paid bundle.

Implementation

Grapevine was expertly positioned to study Batchelor Electrical's requirements and both recommend and implement a financially competitive, robust solution. Ensuring a smooth transfer from their incumbent suppliers was achieved, along with embedding the new devices across the company and the required liaison with their IT support. Most importantly, with comprehensive post-sales technical support available from a local office & site visits, Batchelor Electrical have a partnership with Grapevine to assist them going forward.