The Customer
Cape Grim Beef, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, is a sixth-generation family business. It exports high-quality beef from its two processing facilities in Smithton, Tasmania, and Tongala, Victoria. The exported beef is used in the world’s finest restaurants and is also sold to consumers. Max Soukhomlinov, director of Intellect IT, said: « Intellect IT has worked with Cape Grim for many years, so we understand their business and their challenges. We knew they needed a solution that would allow employees in different locations to communicate as easily as if they were at the same site. »
Cape Grim Beef, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, is a sixth-generation family business. It exports high-quality beef from its two processing facilities in Smithton, Tasmania, and Tongala, Victoria. The exported beef is used in the world’s finest restaurants and is also sold to consumers. Max Soukhomlinov, director of Intellect IT, said: « Intellect IT has worked with Cape Grim for many years, so we understand their business and their challenges. We knew they needed a solution that would allow employees in different locations to communicate as easily as if they were at the same site. »
Business Challenges
Cape Grim Beef staff work in a fast-moving and changing industry subject to international import and export conditions. It is therefore crucial that employees can easily contact their colleagues, suppliers, and other partners to keep the business running. In the past, outdated equipment made communication difficult, leading to delays in important decisions and slower customer response times. Many Cape Grim buildings are located in areas with limited mobile coverage, and even two-way radios do not always work reliably, which hindered communication. In some cases, decisions had to be made quickly, but the people concerned could not be contacted. Robert Cox, site manager at Smithton, Cape Grim Beef, said: « We sometimes encounter issues where shipments are delayed or we need to change the production schedule. If the site does not receive this message quickly enough, it can have serious consequences. If we change the production schedule, we also need to request permits and documents in order to deliver the products to a different destination, for example. So time is crucial. » Cape Grim Beef collaborated with its long-standing outsourced IT partner, Intellect Information Technology (Intellect IT), with whom the organization had maintained a long-standing relationship.
Results
The three sites are now integrated to operate as one, sharing common features such as a global directory, intelligent call routing, and more. All employees have telephone extensions relevant to each site. A shared directory for key suppliers and customers allows staff members to look up numbers through the directory or by using the shortcut. The centralized system supports staff productivity, even when they work outside their usual office. « For example, » Ryan explains, « employees can now contact one another instantly regardless of their location, and calls are free thanks to the system configuration. Employees can communicate more easily with people inside and outside the organization thanks to the new solution. Conference calls are simple and contribute to staff productivity. « This has improved Cape Grim’s customer service: instead of wasting time trying to contact people, our staff can focus on meeting customers’ needs. »
The three sites are now integrated to operate as one, sharing common features such as a global directory, intelligent call routing, and more. All employees have telephone extensions relevant to each site. A shared directory for key suppliers and customers allows staff members to look up numbers through the directory or by using the shortcut. The centralized system supports staff productivity, even when they work outside their usual office. « For example, » Ryan explains, « employees can now contact one another instantly regardless of their location, and calls are free thanks to the system configuration. Employees can communicate more easily with people inside and outside the organization thanks to the new solution. Conference calls are simple and contribute to staff productivity. « This has improved Cape Grim’s customer service: instead of wasting time trying to contact people, our staff can focus on meeting customers’ needs. »