Collaboration between Brooks Deacon and STL has enabled GB Oils to save a significant amount of money on its telecommunications. Following a period of growth, GB Oils had gathered a large portfolio of regional numbers which needed to be diverted across its wide depot infrastructure and Brooks Deacon and STL were able to provide a cost effective solution.

GB Oils distributes oil products to domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers across the UK from a network of locations, providing national coverage. Each depot is an individual operation with a clear commitment to service and customer care, so communication with head office in Warrington, Cheshire is central to the company’s operations. 

Independent business telephony specialists, Brooks Deacon, were called in to advise GB Oils on how they could save costs. Brooks Deacon proposed transferring the forwarded numbers over to Gamma Virtual Numbers, removing the geographical limitations and the need for an expensive call divert.  Using STL to provide the service, GB Oils now saves the monthly rental charges as well as the monthly call divert charges. With over 240 numbers transferred to date, this annual cost saving amounts to a massive £62,500.

Virtual Numbers redirect through the Internet, which makes the call rates much cheaper. Additionally, Virtual Numbers provide easier management via the Feature Plus Web Portal for moving calls quickly and there is higher visibility in the number of calls going across to assist in management decisions. For a fixed monthly fee, users can redirect calls online as often as they like to any number they choose, without the caller knowing that they are contacting a different location. GB Oils also like the flexibility of having Virtual Numbers in case of disaster recovery. If any of their offices become unusable through fire or flood, they have the facility to log on and redirect the phones so that business can carry on unaffected.

Rachel Brooks of Brooks Deacon commented, “Cooperation between ourselves and STL has resulted in a solution that provides a real cost benefit for GB Oils.” Philip Donigan, STL’s sales director, added ”Virtual numbers are just one element of VoIP technology that can save money and make businesses more efficient, which is why VoIP is growing so quickly.”

Rachel Brooks

Brooks Deacon Partnership Ltd

Tel: 0845 345 4321
Fax: 0845 408 4545

Email: rbrooks@brooksdeaconpartnership.com

www.brooksdeaconpartnership.com

Only with the business telephony experts, stand C53, FPS Expo 2010

Date                   Venue                                                 Directions                  Register

21/22 April          Harrogate International Centre               Click for details          Click to register

FPS Expo is where anyone and everyone from the oil distribution industry comes together to make new contacts and renew old ones. This year, we’ll be there too, telling exhibitors and visitors how they can cut their telephone bills and reorganise their telephone systems for smarter working and greater efficiency.

It’s worth stopping at stand C53 for a chat. Over the past year we’ve been working with Adler and Allan to streamline telephony across their nationwide network. Another big customer is GB Oils, the UK market leader in heating and fuel-oil distribution. They too have a huge network with plenty of opportunity for cost savings.

By working with successful oil distribution businesses, we’ve come to understand the complexities and seasonal variations of the industry. We can use that knowledge to help you cut your telephone costs and improve the way you work.

Spend a day with the Magic Bullet Racing Team at a British Superbike race

Another good reason for visiting stand C53 is that we’ll enter you in a free prize draw to win a day’s hospitality at a British Superbike race of your choice. You’ll spend the day in the testosterone-fired company of the Magic Bullet Racing Team. If they can’t convert you to the roar of the engine and the smell of burning rubber, no one can.

To be in with a chance – and to learn how to save money on your phone bills – introduce yourself at stand C53.

At Brooks Deacon, we count the things the matter: the passing years, fresh coats of lippy, and the amount we’ve slashed from our customers’ phone bills.

This month is our fifth anniversary, and our excuse for a bit of mental stocktaking. The first thing we note is that in five years our shoe collection has outgrown our cupboards. Not much we can do about that. A habit is a habit.

On the positive side, we’ve easily saved our customers well over £1m in telephone charges. We sat down one evening with a bottle of Merlot and a shiny new calculator, and did the sums. The savings are cumulative. With each passing year, old savings increase, while we’re continually adding new customers to the list.

Disaster recovery – all part of the service

In five years we’ve fixed a few disasters too, like the customer whose lines were cut by BT by mistake. We sorted that out sharpish, before switching them to a better service provider at a reduced cost. And when many of our customers couldn’t get to work during the January snows, we transferred their lines in an instant to locations where they could take their calls.

Here’s to the next five years

A few days ago, we went back to Kilworth House, the place where it all started. There, in early 2005, we made our plans over tea and biscuits.

So what are we planning now? More of the same, of course. Much more. Telephone tariffs keep changing, plus there’s a steady flow of new technologies to simplify and streamline the way you do business. We’ll continue to keep you up to speed with business communications, and to make sure your tariffs are the best we can find.

So, if you know anyone who hasn’t spoken to us yet, send them our way. We intend to find at least £2m in savings over the next five years. They should be part of that cost-cutting bonanza.

GFT Operations Director Clive Palmer said:

“We simply said what we wanted in operational terms without the telecoms jargon and Brooks Deacon did the rest. It was flawless and I cannot rate them more highly for their professionalism. Our telecoms requirements are growing rapidly and we needed a reliable and flexible telecoms partner who can grow with us. We are delighted to appoint Brooks Deacon to do the job.”

Brooks Deacon Partnership specified a secure 3G wireless router to connect to the internet and a Linksys Feature Plus VOIP handset to enable calls to be made and received over the internet at a competitive rate.

All the Magic Bullet® team were able to answer calls whilst out of the office as their numbers simply routed directly to the NEC without the need for costly call forwarding to mobiles. The secure 3G wireless router provided laptop connectivity with plenty of room for other devices too.

With a head office and call centre in Chesterfield, CPL relies heavily on good communications. Brooks Deacon and STL worked together to provide a complete review of CPL’s telephony with the aim of improved efficiency and cost savings.

Rachel Brooks of Brooks Deacon commented,” CPL is a long standing client of ours and over the years we have managed to save them thousands of pounds by making sure that they have the very latest telephony solutions. We partnered with STL who have outstanding experience in systems, lines, calls and mobiles.”

Following a complete review of the existing telephony, STL recommended a Samsung 7400 OfficeServ system that offers the benefit of a bespoke solution to meet the individual needs of a multi-site organisation such as CPL, incorporating IP and enhanced networking technology. CPL is in the process of rolling out Gamma FeaturePlus VoIP into each of the distribution depots, which will mean that all communication between head office and branch sites is free. Virtual numbers will be used across the whole organisation to make calls more flexible. In the CPL call centre, STL has installed CMS professional call centre software with wall boards to show call stats, including calls in queue, waiting time, agent status and total calls received.

“The CPL project is a prime example of two successful companies working together,” said Phil Donigan, Sales Director of STL’s Network Services Division, “STL’s expertise combined with Brooks Deacon’s relationship with CPL has provided them with significant cost savings.”

When businesses grow, merge, or relocate, they gather a portfolio of landline numbers that rarely match current patterns of trade. But your customers still use those numbers, which is why you can’t get rid of them.

So why not free your historic numbers from their geographical limitations? By converting them to virtual numbers, you can redirect them to any other landline or mobile number in the world – and you can change the settings minute-by-minute to match call volumes with staffing levels or patterns of work.

Virtual numbers redirect through the Internet, which makes them cheap to use and easy to manage. For a fixed monthly fee, you can redirect your calls online as often as you like to any number you choose.

Virtual numbers are great for disaster recovery too. If an office or warehouse becomes unusable through flood or fire, you log on, redirect your phones, and carry on elsewhere without losing a single incoming call.

FeaturePlus lets smaller multi-site businesses manage their numbers

FeaturePlus is a virtual-number package that’s ideal for smaller businesses with multiple sites or remote workers. It gives you free site-to-site calls and sophisticated call-handling features. You also have unlimited opportunities for redirecting calls between sites when, for example, a remote worker is on vacation or taking ten minutes out to walk the dog.

Never miss an important call again

To find out how to channel your calls to wherever you can respond most profitably, call us now on 0845 3454321.