National Tyres
National Tyres increase grip on UK autocare market.
National Tyres
Nationals Tyres' key business divisions are split across two offices with file, application and mail servers located at the Stockport and Glasgow sites. Each National Tyres branch required access to information located at these sites.
At each of National’s branches EPOS systems facilitated customer invoicing and, using an ISDN based network, sent a daily update to systems located at National Headquarters. But this solution did not provide the performance the growing business demanded. If the business was to grow and remain competitive it needed to communicate better with branches and provide a future proof network that could cope with organisational growth.
The challenge
To deliver growth for the company, National Tyres developed and implemented a new business strategy. The strategy required the timely and secure delivery of information across the company and its growing network of branches.
National were keen to streamline processes and take advantage of new technologies including the implementation of new systems including on-line ordering with suppliers and automatic stock control.
As sites were widely dispersed across the UK it was important that company-wide communications could be delivered effectively. National wanted to build a new intranet site to provide company information and required a Wide Area Network that could support branches using this service. Although National’s communications infrastructure was adequate it did not offer the security, reliability and performance the growing business demanded. If the business was to grow and remain competitive it needed to communicate better with branches and provide a future proof network that could cope with organisational growth.
The solution
Zen designed a Wide Area Network that would meet their needs and find the right balance between cost, performance and reliability.
A Zen IP VPN was proposed providing National with their own dedicated private network to connect all branches and main offices securely. Zen IP VPN would provide a reliable and secure private network for National to share sensitive company information including EPOS data, e-mail and documents.
Both main offices were connected into the IP VPN using a Zen Direct Access leased line providing a fast and reliable circuit supported by a 100% SLA. Zen enabled 24x7 monitoring and ensured maximum availability of this circuit and the hosted servers that were accessed by the remote branches.
The benefits
Implementing the IP VPN drastically improved the performance and reliability of the network, whilst also delivering significant cost savings.
The new IP VPN provides a secure platform for inter-site communications allowing all remote sites to access information that was previously only available to employees at the headquarters.
National also benefits from a much more streamlined supply chain with the implementation of an online ordering system with their suppliers. This ensures stock levels remain constant without compromising on service or delivery.
