Speedy Hire improves cost control and competitive advantage with new IT solutions and centralised sourcing

Customer challenge

Speedy Hire is expanding at a rate of around 25 per cent every year. To cope with this growth and ensure a consistently high-quality service to customers, the company needed to ensure that the IT infrastructure was robust and industrial-strength. In addition, it was necessary to improve the efficiency of its hardware supply chain. Speedy Hire needed to enhance the cabling infrastructure at its 520 depots and find a cost-effective IT solution to provide staff with access to critical customer service applications.

Computacenter solution

Using a combination of Citrix thin client systems and HP desktops and laptops, Computacenter has helped Speedy Hire transform the way staff access data and applications at both its offices and depots. Computacenter helped to source and configure the devices and provides ongoing support and logistics services. To further enhance availability, Computacenter has also designed and installed a new cabling infrastructure for Speedy Hire's depots.

Results

By partnering with Computacenter, Speedy Hire has been able to reduce the costs and complexities of IT management. The new IT solutions have also helped to reduce costs by providing the company with a standardised and scalable infrastructure that will support future business growth. Speedy Hire has also been able to increase business agility and productivity.

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Customer profile

Providing tools and equipment to the UK's construction industry
Speedy Hire is the UK's leading tool and equipment hire company. Founded in 1977, it now incorporates 10 separate operating companies. In addition to tool hire, Speedy Hire also offers portable accommodation, lifting equipment, surveying and measurement instruments, power generators and high performance pumps.

The company has more than 5,000 employees and its 2007 revenue topped £300 million. The company invested £134.5 million in acquisitions in 2007, and is continually opening new depots in order to increase its geographical footprint.

Business challenge

Equipping staff with reliable and effective technology
These acquisitions along with organic growth mean that Speedy Hire is expanding at a rate of around 25 per cent every year. In addition to its head office and 520 depots, the company has 10 regional offices. To ensure that its business runs smoothly and customers are served efficiently and to a high standard, Speedy Hire needs to provide its staff with reliable technology.

Although, historically, IT was not a priority for the company, over the last two years Speedy Hire has started to invest heavily in technology and to consolidate the group's separate IT organisations into a single department responsible for providing services to the entire group.

Speedy Hire was still, however, relying on multiple suppliers for the delivery of some IT services. James Fleming, Infrastructure Manager at Speedy Hire, comments: "Using a range of suppliers meant that managing the IT estate was not as efficient as we would have liked. We are growing rapidly and need to be able to source reliable IT hardware and services quickly to ensure our staff are fully equipped with the technology they need to keep the business operational."

Speedy Hire's programme of IT improvement was hastened by the acquisition of the Hewden Stuart Tool Hire Division in 2007. "We needed to rapidly integrate and align 180 new depots with our processes and systems in order to minimise disruption to the business," adds James.

Speedy Hire's existing depots were equipped with IBM desktop computers and Linux operating systems to minimise costs. After investigation, however, Speedy Hire realised that the support overhead for this environment was actually very high. In addition to the financial implications, expertise was scarcer which made recruiting support staff difficult.

As a result, Speedy Hire decided to investigate alternative infrastructure solutions that would still provide its depot staff with easy and reliable access to the company's customer service applications.

Computacenter solution

Fast and simple IT provisioning
To help meet its IT requirements, Speedy Hire turned to IT services provider Computacenter. "We contacted HP in the first instance for advice on how best to procure its hardware, and it recommended Computacenter. After extensive discussions, we selected Computacenter for its scale and ability to deliver the services we needed," explains James.

To keep the company's desktop and laptop environment at its administrative offices up to date, Computacenter is responsible for provisioning new devices – which can be as many as 100 per month. In June 2008, Speedy Hire also signed a logistics agreement for build and roadmap management. As part of this deal, Computacenter will image each device at its Integration Centre in Hatfield with Speedy Hire's standard software. "Configured equipment will be held in stock by Computacenter and delivered to our offices as and when we require it. This procurement model not only reduces costs, but also means we can source new equipment quickly without having to store it onsite at our offices," adds James.

By purchasing HP products via Computacenter, Speedy Hire also has access to a range of vendor resources and value-added services.

Future-proofing depots
Ensuring its offices and staff are furnished with the latest desktop technology is just one of the IT challenges facing Speedy Hire. The company also needs to ensure that staff have reliable access to critical applications and data via these devices.

With cabling at its depots aged and haphazard, Speedy Hire called in Computacenter's cabling experts to design and install a new Category 5 cabling infrastructure. This massive project will cover all 520 of Speedy Hire's depots, starting with the newly acquired Hewden Stuart Tool Hire facilities. James comments: "Computacenter has the resources and engineering capabilities to manage a national cabling roll-out of this scale, and cope with difficult environments."

Although desktops were suitable for the company's administrative offices, Speedy Hire needed to provide staff at is depots with a more robust infrastructure that could withstand a dusty and dirty environment. "We decided to implement a thin client infrastructure, as this would provide the functionality staff need but minimise the chance of breakdown and avoid onsite data issues," comments James. "Thin clients also take up less space and would help us to reduce our impact on the environment, as they use less power than standard devices."

Computacenter provided Citrix software and WYSE V90 terminals, as well as HP monitors, laser printers and Oki dot matrix printers to create a reliable end-to-end IT package for each Speedy Hire depot. Computacenter was also responsible for configuring each terminal, which were dispatched to the relevant depot for Speedy Hire engineers to install.

Maintenance services for reduced downtime
To ensure all its new systems remain highly available, Speedy Hire has signed up to Computacenter's support services.

Every desktop, laptop, monitor and printer provided to Speedy Hire's regional offices is covered by a three-year 'lifetime' maintenance contract. "Purchasing lifetime maintenance with each device as a one-off expense aids cost control," comments James. "By sourcing this service via Computacenter, rather than with separate vendors, we can simplify management and have a single point of contact for all our maintenance needs."

Computacenter is also responsible for a next-day 'swap' service on Speedy Hire's depot and office equipment, whereby faulty equipment is replaced the following day. In addition, Computacenter provides a four-hour fix maintenance contract for Speedy Hire's distributed servers. "Computacenter's maintenance services are reliable yet flexible to enable us to minimise the impact of hardware failure and safeguard business continuity," adds James.

Results

Simplified and more cost-effective IT management
Speedy Hire has a single point of contact for hardware supply, maintenance and ad hoc projects. "Working with a single supplier reduces the IT management overhead," comments James. "We wanted a partner that would understand our business and could advise on new projects and technologies. We have achieved this with Computacenter."

As a result of the IT services and solutions delivered by Computacenter, Speedy Hire has been able to:

Safeguard staff productivity: Office and depot staff now have access to the IT systems they need to carry out their daily tasks and serve customers quickly and efficiently. The new technology is both easy to use and reliable.

Reduce costs: By working with Computacenter, Speedy Hire is able to source hardware at a better price. Its new standardised infrastructure also means that support and maintenance is more cost-effective, resulting in a decrease in total cost of ownership.

Facilitate future growth: Computacenter provides a fast and efficient procurement service, which means that new staff or even whole new sites can be up and running with minimal delay. The cabling infrastructure has also been designed to support growth at the company's depots.

Speedy Hire's improved IT environment is crucial to the success of the business going forward, as James explains: "By working with Computacenter to enhance our IT infrastructure, we will be able to boost productivity, improve customer services and increase our competitive advantage."