White Stuff adopts new network solution to cut transaction times and boost customer service

Vodat will provide a fully managed solution that has built-in PCI compliance to ensure card holder details are protected. The network is also suitable for chip and pin processing and will reduce transaction speeds for customers from around 40 seconds to under five. Network technology is Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) provided by THUS.

In addition, the solution enables stores to manage tasks more efficiently by communicating with head office. Venn Luscombe-Mahoney, Head of IT for White Stuff said, “The system gives us a standardised solution and closed loop audit trail; staff can send us pictures of window displays by connecting a digital camera to the store PC, report faults and incidents, link to the head office intranet and give us conversion rates and footfall data direct from our thermal imaging cameras. We are very pleased with the service and support provided by Vodat, from an initial pilot project initiated 18 months ago linking three sites together we have now implemented a Vodat based infrastructure across all our UK sites.”

White Stuff now has a complete infrastructure in place for accurate real time store reporting and Venn Luscombe-Mahoney says that in the future, “We will enable stores to do their own reporting and let store managers look at their store's performance based on best-sellers, KPI data, best-performing staff and so on. We are currently rolling out the Vodat network to all our stores. The next step will be to replace our old network so that we have a fully managed, flexible, cost effective and unified solution.” White Stuff selected Vodat due to their extensive experience of providing communication solutions for the retail sector. The stores will be connected via Private Access Broadband, while the head office and DC will be connected via a fibre pipe and a backup SDSL line for enhanced resilience.

Mike Bielinski, chief executive of Vodat International, said, “White Stuff has only begun to explore the benefits of store communications enabled by broadband networks. We look forward to working with them to develop new solutions.” Phil Male, Chief Operating Officer at THUS plc said, “We are excited by working with Vodat and their clients to provide network solutions that fully meet and exceed the needs of the retail sector. As technology becomes ever more important for businesses we will continue to work towards delivering the most advanced technologies available for companies making the transition to next-generation services.”