Client
GiftVoucherShopContact
Deirdre Synnott, Head of IT, GVS
Technologies . .Net SQL Server 2005 CSLA framework SSIS Solution at a Glance
2 Phase Rollout and continual business growth
Commercial Benefits at a Glance
Reduced operational costs through automated workflow and tracking of orders through all stages of processing.
Improved customer service levels through efficient management of bulk orders for business customers. Ability to support new products and improve time to market.
Reduced risk of financial loss through implementation of automated account validation rules. Reduces customer service calls by providing online order tracking to business customers. Reduced system administration overheads by implementation of a reliable file transfer hub.
Nature and Description of Products and Services
The Gift Voucher Shop was established in 2002 to provide the most comprehensive range of gift products to individuals and businesses in the Irish and UK market. GVS currently has 25% of the Irish gift voucher market and 50% of its business comes from corporate sales.
Gift Voucher Shop sells directly to the public via the post office networks in Ireland and the UK and through its websites. In addition, a significant proportion of its business comes from the successful offering to SME and corporate customers providing loyalty, staff incentive and bonus schemes. This success was compounded in 2005 by the introduction of the Irish Revenue Commissioner approved tool for businesses wishing to avail of the Small Benefits Exemption Scheme. This allows a €250 payment to staff that is completely Tax and PRSI Free requiring no return on payment when availed of with Gift Vouchers from The Gift Voucher Shop.
Back Office Sales Order Processing
System
Background
In 2006, following a tender process, the Gift Voucher Shop selected Avnet Client Solutions to support it’s rapid business growth by implementing a robust back office Sales Order Processing (SOP) solution flexible enough to meet the current and future operational demands of this dynamic business.
Growing corporate sales were placing a significant strain on back-office processes especially during peak periods such as Christmas. The company was also planning to fuel further growth with the introduction of the corporate offering in the UK and the launch of an innovative One4All gift card. These key factors led to the decision to implement a Sales Order Processing solution to streamline back-office processing, support increased sales and position the company to bring new products to market quickly and efficiently. The analysis phase began in June 2006 and the system went live on schedule in October 2006 in time for the peak Christmas period.
Solution – Phase I
Avnet Client Solutions recommended implementing a bespoke browser-based solution (SOP) to handle orders efficiently through all stages of processing from order-entry through account validation, payment processing, fulfilment, packing and dispatch. The system provides all departments including Sales, Accounts and Customer Service with fast access to order status and history, alerting the appropriate users where an order requires attention to move from one stage to the next or has exceeded maximum queue waiting time. The system is also tightly integrated with two versions of Sage Accounts (Line 100 and MMS) for retrieval of corporate account status information and update of corporate sales. This removes the effort and potential inaccuracies of manual re-keying of data between systems and ensures that the SOP has up to date account status information for corporate customers.
A core requirement of the solution was to provide a bulk fulfilment facility for large corporate orders that could require thousands of individual vouchers to be printed. The existing fulfilment process was designed for single order fulfilment. This was unsuitable for bulk orders. It frequently placed a huge burden on staff and increased the risk of backlogs and degradation of customer service levels. Avnet Client Solutions proposed building a high-volume bulk printing function directly onto the SOP to ensure full traceability of orders through the fulfilment stage. As the orders move on to packing and dispatch, this traceability is maintained and facilitated using hand-held barcode scanners linked to the system.
Benefits
Gift Voucher Shop’s business model relies on timely, secure and accurate sharing of information on a daily basis with a number of business partners in Ireland and UK. This is to facilitate key processes such as advising An Post of issued cards and vouchers, receiving details of UK issued vouchers and cards from the UK Post Office and sharing issue and encashment details of gift cards with the payment processing company PPT. To facilitate this, Avnet Client Solutions implemented a robust File Transfer Hub that includes workflow management, email alerts, scheduling, audit and archival facilities. Our experience of implementing electronic card products for First Rate in the UK was a key element in ensuring a reliable and secure implementation of this core functionality.
“
The collaborative approach and
technical expertise of the Avnet Client
Solutions team along with a “can-do”
attitude were key elements to ensuring
a successful implementation.”
Deirdre Synnott, Head of IT, GVS
Following this successful deployment, the next phase of development began in April 2007 and was rolled out in October 2007. The key objective of this phase was to introduce a comprehensive corporate membership management module and corporate member services website to help drive corporate sales and improve overall customer experience. The membership management module gives GVS corporate clients’ scheme administrators and departmental managers a powerful web tool to manage their staff reward and incentive schemes. The member services website provides individual employees and scheme members with an easy to use online facility to track rewards received and to redeem those rewards against GVS gift products. This website can be customised to the corporate look and feel and include company news and features.
Ongoing Development Supporting GVS Growth
Now firmly established as GVS applications development partner, Avnet Client Solutions continues to support innovation and expansion at GVS. Two projects scheduled for delivery in Q1 2008 will support the introduction of a major joint venture between GVS and Royal Mail in the UK as well as a new re-loadable gift card product for the Irish market. Phase III of the original project will be put forward for development in 2008 which will support a major upgrade of the public shopping website and public membership services.
Deirdre Synnott, Head of IT, Gift Voucher Shop
“Avnet Client Solutions helped us to meet our business objectives by delivering a robust and scalable solution in a very aggressive timeframe. The collaborative approach and technical expertise of the team along with a “can-do” attitude were key elements to ensuring a successful implementation.
The team’s ability to understand our business and work in close co-operation with our people resulted in a solution that is aligned to the unique elements of our business thus improving operational efficiency and supporting our planned growth through increased sales and market innovation.
applications in Ireland and the UK. Today we are the recognised industry specialists in this sector. We are also partners and consultative experts in Microsoft, Serena, MicroStrategy, SAP Business Objects and Teradata.
As a company, we have grown to a staff of +100 people – now the largest indigenous IT Services Company in Ireland. Avnet Client Solutions specialises in delivering solutions to its clients using the best tools and technologies available in Business Intelligence, Application Development, ERP and Business Service Management technologies. Our goal is to become the partner of choice in the provision of tools, training, and
consultancy and development expertise in our chosen areas.
We were established in 1994 and currently have offices in Cork and Dublin with a team of well over 100 consultants delivering solutions to a broad spectrum of customers.
Application Development Division
The Applications Division is the largest indigenous supplier of software development services to the Irish market. Our primary offerings are Turnkey Solution Development and Consultancy Services using enterprise technologies such as Java, Microsoft .NET, Oracle and PowerBuilder.
The Applications Division works in partnership with its clients to Manage, Design, Develop, Deliver and Support unique custom built software solutions.
Each solution is exclusively designed and implemented to meet our individual client requirements. The division has an unrivalled track record in project delivery with over 1000 successful projects to date. This success is the combination of a highly technical team, a quality driven software development process and our wealth of project experience. Our services include Project Management, .NET development skills, Java development skills and database skills. Customers include ICG, GiftVoucherShop, Ulster Bank, Irish Life and Permanent, Meteor and O2
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