The challenge
Since 1966, Kuoni UK has consistently been the country’s most successful luxury tour operator. The company traditionally sold its holidays via its sales centre, website and through other third-party travel agents, and had recognised that by transforming its UK business model it could not only deliver an improved service to holiday-makers but also further grow its business in the UK. To do so, in 2009, the company began an ambitious project to open Kuoni branded stores across the UK in order to bring its services onto the high street.
To implement such a large scale project in a short time, IT needed to play a crucial role; ensuring the success of the transformation of Kuoni’s new retail model would be dependent on guaranteeing constant network connectivity between its new stores, and its central file servers in Dorking which house all its critical data. Any downtime of the network would mean the stores would be unable to operate, and seriously damage the viability of the project.
Kuoni’s previous UK network provider could only guarantee a time frame of between 60 and 90 days to install the connection into each new shop, whereas the shop fit often only took six weeks. In effect, IT was slowing down the project rather than driving it. Kuoni required a dynamic network partner which could support its retail expansion plans and provide the flexibility needed to ensure the success of the project.
The solution
Kuoni chose to work with Telstra International to bring its new retail stores online, due to Telstra International’s experience in supporting its customers’ expansion, with the provision of fast, reliable and highly secure communication networks. Telstra International’s Multi-Protocol Label Switched (MPLS) network has been implemented across all of Kuoni’s new UK stores and to its central file server in Dorking.
Telstra International provides the flexibility and scalability required to connect Kuoni’s new stores and get them up and running as soon as they are fitted. The MPLS network provides highly-available connectivity, low-latency, and improved Quality of Service (QoS) to ensure Kuoni’s in-store sales staff have constant, reliable access to its central servers.
The benefits
The network has provided the platform from which Kuoni’s in-store sales staff are able to demonstrate their efficiency and expertise directly to the new customer base. Supported by stringent Service Level Agreements (SLAs) guaranteeing optimum network availability, Telstra International is providing the fast, reliable network required to support Kuoni’s business transformation.
By the end of 2011 and just two years after the project started, Kuoni will have over 20 retail stores across the UK. The flexibility and 24/7 customer service provided by Telstra International means that it is able to quickly bring new stores online as required as Kuoni continues to implement
its new retail strategy. By working with Telstra International, IT has become a driver of expansion
rather than detracting from it, and a key element of the project’s ongoing success.
This is an EMEA based case study
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