Cape Grim Beef Connects with Switchvox
The Customer
Cape Grim Beef, headquartered 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 best restaurants around the world as well as being 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 let employees at different locations communicate as seamlessly as if they were at a single site.”
Business Challenges
The staff of Cape Grim Beef work in a fast-moving, changing industry subject to international import and export conditions. This means it is important for employees to be able to easily contact each other, suppliers, and other partners to keep the business moving. In the past, outdated equipment meant employees found it difficult to communicate effectively. This resulted in delays in important decisions and slower customer response times. Many of Cape Grim’s buildings are in areas where mobile phone coverage is limited and even two-way radios sometimes don’t work reliably. This hampered communication. In some cases, decisions needed to be made quickly, but the relevant people couldn’t be contacted. Robert Cox, Smithton site manager, Cape Grim Beef, said, “We sometimes experience issues where shipments are held up or we need to change the production schedule. If the facility doesn’t get this message fast enough, it could lead to serious consequences. If we’re changing the production schedule we may also need to apply for permits and paperwork so that we can deliver products to a different destination, for example. Time is of the essence.” Cape Grim Beef worked with long-time outsourced IT partner, Intellect Information Technology (Intellect IT), with which the organisation had a long-standing relationship.
Solutions from Sangoma
Grant Ryan, managing director, Cape Grim Beef, said, “Intellect IT presented the Switchvox solution and we saw a demonstration of how it would work. We liked it immediately because we could see that it would make communication more efficient throughout the organization.” To improve its internal and external communications, Cape Grim Beef installed new Switchvox IP PBXs in each location, linking all three sites, with more than 70 advanced IP desk phones across all three sites. As well the desk phones, 45 DECT cordless extensions were added to the PBXs at the two processing facilities. With full integration to the Switchvox PBXs, the D-Series IP phones are simple to use and easy to program, putting critical information at employees’ fingertips.
The Results
All three sites are integrated to operate as one, sharing common functions such as global address book, smart call routing, and more. All staff are on phone extensions that are relevant for each site. There is also a shared address book for suppliers and key customers so that staff members can look up numbers via the address book or using speed dial. The centralized system makes it easy for staff to be productive, even if they’re working away from their normal office. “For example,” Ryan explains, “staff can now contact each other instantly regardless of location and the calls are free because of the way the system is set up. Employees can communicate with people both inside and outside the organization more easily using 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 concentrate on fulfilling the customer’s needs.”