In a world filled with technology it can be easy to lose sight of what it’s all for. But this hasn’t been the case for Directors of Eden Repair Centre, Andy Payne and Richard Kennedy, who have built their business on human connection and 360-degree loyalty. Here, they share how new software is set to take their business to the next level of engagement with all their stakeholders.
We’re all familiar by now with the ‘computer says no’ refrain of the information age. So, it’s heartening to hear from a company that works with technology every day, yet has a clear focus on looking after people well.
Eden Telecom was founded by Director Richard Kennedy in 2011, starting out as a mobile phone dealer, before being joined by Director Andy Payne in 2013. The company broadened its scope to include IT service and telecoms and began doing repairs in 2015.
The company was split in two in 2017, with Eden Repair Centre becoming its own entity, allowing the directors to adopt a different business model. The company deals with repairs, recycling and the disposal of devices, and can also offer attractive savings on refurbished technology compared to new products. Resellers can become partners, getting Eden’s repair services white-labelled as an add-on for their customers.
Eden enjoys trusted partnerships with industry-leading manufacturers and communication networks such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, 02 and Vodafone among others. The team has also just been pre-approved for an Apple accreditation, which is expected to grow the repair business rapidly.
Modernising Operations with Digital Investment
Seeing steady growth, the companies have won a level of loyalty that is rare to see, especially in the highly competitive telecoms and technology industry. Some of Eden’s customers have been with the company since its inception.
Richard says: “We are extremely flexible. If a customer asks, ‘Can I have a contract that lasts four months?’ We’ll say yes, whereas a lot of the big telecom names are so automated and have so many customers, they will just say no. I think that’s where we’ve always won business because we will say yes, and we’ll figure out how to make whatever request work.”
Loyalty is obviously important to the two directors, who also mention their desire to stick with trusted suppliers where possible, and to attract and keep employees by having the best systems and processes for them to work with. It’s been a driving factor behind their decision-making to invest heavily in new technology that will benefit all their stakeholders.
Andy explains: “For us to progress the business further we needed an all-encompassing CRM/professional services automation (PSA) package. We had been working off several spreadsheets to manage orders and stock, then we had our accounting package and an online portal for the tickets. It was a lot of manual processes and places to update, and they didn’t talk to each other.
“We realised that if we could pull it all into one place, we would free ourselves up. As we roll out the system, it’s going to make everybody a lot more efficient in the business and get more out of what we’ve already got. Then we can add more people as we grow.”
Connecting the Dots: Integrating Systems to Increase Efficiency
Having specified their needs, the directors settled on HaloPSA, which provides everything they need and can integrate with technology such as Xero and Eclipse, which they wanted to retain. But with quotes for the project coming in at about £50,000 it was going to be a stretch too far for the business’s finances.
Richard says: “Long story short, without the £23,520 High Impact Grant from Digital Enterprise we probably would not have shelled out for this project until we got to the point where we really couldn’t cope without it.”
It’s clear that the implications of that for the business would become more and more painful. Not only in the potential for customer service to get bogged down as the company continues to grow, but also in missed opportunities to continue expanding markets and recruiting.
The software is in the early stages of being onboarded, but already Richard and Andy are seeing how it’s going to make a huge difference to the business on lots of fronts.
Longer-term it will help the company become more resilient and mitigate some of the risks the directors have identified that are inherent in a business built on highly specialised knowledge and skills.
“As we’ve grown, we’ve had experts across the business, but it’s very insular, they work on their own,” Richard explains. “If one person’s not here for any reason, it can be a struggle. The system will help us share knowledge across everybody, so that they know what’s going on in the business.”
Andy adds: “A lot of instructions at the minute are locked in our heads, and that’s not a good place to be. So, we want to do some skill-sharing as well, and work on our knowledge base. It’s going to be easier moving forward to onboard people into the business. We’ll be able to sit them down and show them where to find all the information they need in one place.
“The team are going to be able to come in and go to Halo first, and it’s all there for them, rather than having to open multiple systems and spreadsheets.”
Long-Term Vision: Planning for Continued Success
While there’s a lot to be said for the effect of the technology on internal processes and efficiency, the new technology will also be strongly welcomed by the company’s customers. Halo’s self-service dashboard will allow them to find information they need easily, such as a contract end date, or the real-time status of a logged ticket.
The timing of this couldn’t be better, with the expected growth driven by the new Apple accreditation. These discerning customers will want high-quality customer service, and Richard and Andy are more confident than ever in being able to deliver it.
Andy concludes: “I don’t think many organisations of our size have something as comprehensive as our new system. We certainly see it as a way to push our growth.”
With the help of Digital Enterprise, we expect to:
- Increase the turnover of Eden Repair Centre by 200% from our current £1m per annum to a minimum of £3m by 2027 by maximising the efficiency of our existing staff and processes.
- Increase our current headcount of 16, creating another six to 10 roles by 2027.
- Become more resilient and improve our customer service further by providing visibility of ongoing work for staff and customers, and develop our knowledge base to share skills more effectively.
Eden Repair Centre was named as one of DE3’s Top 30 businesses, read more case studies in our online brochure to find out how we’ve supported other West Yorkshire businesses and the impact the digital investments have had: DE3 Digital Enterprise Top Thirty.
