Established in 1979, Wall to Wall Communications Limited is one of the UK's leading independent two-way radio equipment suppliers, offering short-term and long-term radio hire and associated accessories for festivals, conferences, construction sites and television productions etc.
The Challenge
Charlotte Rich, Office Manager at Wall to Wall Communications, outlines the driving factors behind the company’s implementation of MCS-rm hire software, “We were experiencing several business issues, which were all, essentially, related to gaining greater management control. Our main objectives were to change from paper to an electronic customer management system; improve the traceability of serialised equipment; manage depreciation of assets more efficiently; provide our management team with meaningful reports; and consolidate all processes onto one system.”
The Solution
Initially, Wall to Wall Communications considered a bespoke system, but after evaluating hire management packages from six different providers, Charlotte and her colleagues decided to purchase the MCS-rm hire management solution from MCS. This offered the benefits of a tried and tested packaged solution that could be cost-effectively tailored to the specific requirements of the business.
Commenting on the choice of MCS-rm, she says, “The software and the company ticked all the right boxes. In terms of the product itself, MCS-rm offered modern technology with a user-friendly Microsoft based look and feel. We were also pleased to know that the software would be updated regularly, so that once it was installed we wouldn't have to worry about the technology supporting our business becoming obsolete.”
The team behind the system also made an impression: “MCS combined a strong track record of successful solution delivery with product innovation, and could provide references for successful implementations in different sectors. They had a can-do approach to meeting our needs and offered comprehensive support. This all helped to reassure us that our business would be safe in their hands, both in helping us to make the transition to the new system and in the years to come.”
The Benefits
Today, MCS-rm is used by staff across the business, in sales, hire, administration, despatch, repairs and finance where the system integrates to the Sage accountancy package already in use.
MCS-rm coordinates all the company’s contracts and associated administration, as well as maintaining a central database for all itemised equipment, storing customer/prospect details and keeping track of all assets. Charlotte notes, “Everything is now streamlined and runs on a single system, which has the added benefit of reducing the cost of software support for Sage.”
Wall to Wall is an ISO 9001:2008 certified and quality controlled company, and having all staff using the same system and the same up-to-date documents and templates documents supports greater consistency. Charlotte explains why: “It forces everyone to work in the same way, so following ISO procedures becomes an integral part of our working practices. The idea of ISO is to be able to trace everything for an order from sales to despatch, and the system allows us to do this with ease.”
Other key improvements include reducing paperwork and eliminating labour-intensive manual processes, “We’re much more efficient as no time is wasted duplicating paperwork from one system to another and we spend less money on consumables, too. Furthermore, our equipment is now traceable and can be tracked quickly.”
The CRM functionality is proving useful in managing Wall to Wall’s diverse customer base, as staff use it to create quotes and manage opportunities with both prospects and existing clients. The full call history is stored and follow-up actions can be set on the system.
Charlotte highlights the advantages: “Having a central location for all customer details and contacts allows the sales team to cover for sickness and holidays. They can easily access the complete history of the account. Furthermore, it allows other staff to identify the right account manager and ensure that calls are appropriately handled and transferred.”
Wall to Wall has begun to generate reports to extract and analyse management information. “When we purchased MCS-rm, we could see that the reporting ability would be very useful in helping us to gain tighter control of our growing business. While we have not yet fully explored all the system’s reporting capabilities, we have started analysing stock valuation, stocktaking and stock history within the core solution. Within CRM, we can now better identify and understand calls and entries made, contracts won, contracts lost – and why – by industry type. Reports also assist with staff appraisals.”
The Future
With the system now firmly embedded within day-to-day operations, Charlotte feels that it is time to explore what else it can provide, “It’s good to know that a year on we’re nowhere near exhausting the functionality available within MCS-rm.”
The company has a training session scheduled with MCS to maximise the value of the CRM module: “By using the customer relationship management functionality, we’ve greatly improved account management. However, there’s still more we can learn to help us deliver excellent service, forging closer relationships with our customers and running campaigns to build our business.”
To find out how MCS-rm could help your business, call us on +44 (0)1628 828000 or use our enquiry form.
View All Case Studies