The background

South West Communications Group provides Axminster Tool Centre with a multi-faceted business communications solution that includes the use of a range of technologies including SIP trunks, data backup and an ever-expanding wide area network.

Axminster Tool Centre is a family-run business predominantly distributing across Europe. It is a market leader in the mail order tools and machinery industry delivering to trade professionals and amateur DIY enthusiasts. Axminster operates out of 5 warehouses, 3 retail outlets and a mail order call centre selling its 15,000-plus products.

The challenge

Since Axminster was founded in 1972, the company has grown and developed by expanding its product range, entering new geographical markets and by establishing new customers.

Maintaining high levels of customer service and satisfaction has remained critical to ensure the business retained its core values. Aggressive growth plans meant Axminster needed an IT and communications partner to work with in the long term to develop and support the infrastructure on which the business would operate.

Calls to the business had increased dramatically following the introduction of its mail order service while calls to customer and staff mobile phones had become an expensive outlay so Axminster needed the means to deal with both these issues. As new warehouses were built to accommodate its increased product lines, Axminster needed a solution that would link these to its other offices. Furthermore, they wanted to modernise their data backup system.

Axminster needed a complete solution that was scalable and capable of growing with the business across all of its sites. They were keen to embrace the latest technologies to combine their data and voice networks and were looking for a single communications company to deliver this for them.

The solution

South West Communications Group has worked with Axminster since 1992 when it installed its first business telephone system. Since then, South West Communications Group has facilitated expansion and upgrades at head office together with the opening of new stores in Sittingbourne, High Wycombe and Nuneaton with future expansion plans in place for an additional 10 taken into consideration. They also provide their lines and minutes services as well as a full data back up solution. The overall communications solution provided comprises the following elements:

• 300 user IP telephony solution across all sites
• Centralised operators
• Contact centre software
• Full wireless data network supporting mobile scanners
• Wide area network (WAN) linking all sites
• SIP trunks
• Call routing services
• Non-geographic 0800 number
• Resilient Internet connectivity
• Data backup

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