CASE STUDIES

Industry: Retail

Bluewave Services: Strategic Sourcing

Company Profile

A nationwide automotive parts retailer with 2,500 locations faced several challenges in their network infrastructure.

CHALLENGE:

They needed to undertake a network refresh project that involved implementing SD-WAN and SIP trunks across all their locations. The retailer required a reliable and efficient network solution to support their operations and ensure seamless communication across their stores.

SOLUTION

To address the challenges faced by the retailer, the following solutions were implemented:

Network Consultation and Design: A team of experts conducted a comprehensive consultation to understand the retailer’s requirements and design an optimal network infrastructure solution.
Vendor Evaluation and Proof of Concept (POC): Multiple vendors were evaluated based on their capabilities and offerings. A POC was carried out to test the performance and compatibility of the proposed network solution.
Contract Negotiation: Negotiations were undertaken with the selected vendor to ensure favorable terms and conditions.
Project Management: A team consisting of six Project Management, Voice and Data Engineers, and Program Management professionals was coordinated to oversee the nationwide rollout. The team managed the project from initiation to completion, ensuring smooth onboarding of the new network infrastructure.
Account Management: Regular Bluewave account management was provided to address any issues or concerns during the project implementation.

RESULTS

The implementation of the network refresh project and the associated solutions yielded several positive results:

Successful Nationwide Rollout: The team coordinated the deployment of the network refresh across all 2,500 locations over a period of 18 months. Rollouts were scheduled four days a week from 4-8am to minimize disruption to store operations.
Largest US-Based SD-WAN Deployment: The retailer achieved a significant milestone by implementing the largest SD-WAN deployment in the United States at that time, enhancing their network capabilities and performance.
Cost Savings: The implementation of SIP trunks and voice ROI led to a reduction of $1 million in annual costs related to POTs lines (voice). The cost savings enabled the retailer to invest in upgraded bandwidth and LTE failover capabilities. In addition, Bluewave provided 6 additional headcount at no extra cost to manage the customer side of the daily rollout, saving thousands of hours for retailer’s telecom team.
Network Diversity and Redundancy: The new network infrastructure implementation provided the retailer with improved network diversity and redundancy, ensuring increased reliability and minimizing downtime.
Streamlined Operations: By managing the customer side of the daily rollout, the Bluewave project team saved thousands of hours for the retailer’s telecom team. This allowed the retailer’s team to focus on other crucial tasks, resulting in improved efficiency and productivity.