EDC 03 Hampers-R7.Indd
Hampers&Co.
Case Study| Broadband
2 Case Study - Hampers & Co
Customer Overview
Based in Thurles, Hampers & Co. creates and sells luxury food and drink hampers, using its online store to drive sales globally. The development of its customised online store
means that it now ships 30,000 hampers and has a turnover of € 2.2 million.
The Need
As it looked to grow its business, Hampers & Co. needed a solid and reliable communications infrastructure on which to base its fully functioning online store.
The Solution
Hampers & Co. selected eircom broadband for its Thurles and Dublin sites.
Benefit
eircom broadband has enabled Hampers & Co. to drive sales globally through its customised online store. With its warehouse located in Thurles, Co.Tipperary and an office in Dublin, broadband has facilitated communications between the two sites through the use of video conferencing. This has enhanced productivity and customer service.
Case Stucty - Hampers & Co
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Hampers & Co. taste sweet success
From humble beginnings in 1993 to a successful multimillion euro business that exports products around the world, Hampers & Co. has come a long way. The business was founded by Emer Purcell 20
years ago, at which time she was compiling and selling 300 hampers a year. Hampers and co will be celebrating 20 years in business in 2012.
Over the years, as the firm grew exponentially, it has maximised its use of the internet and eircom broadband to enable its expansion.
With locations in Thurles and Dublin, Hampers & Co. sources, compiles and sells luxury hampers for a range of occasions. With an emphasis
on food, wine and liqueurs, the hampers are primarily targeted at the corporate market. More recently Hampers & Co. has broadened its focus on the consumer market and is making a concerted effort to raise its profile among this particular segment.
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“The web is key. People want to use the web primarily due to its convenience. By continuing to making our products available online we can tap into that demand and expand our
global reach.“
Emer Purcell, MD, Hampers & Co.
Moving forward with broadband
As Hampers & Co. continues to expand, the internet has become even more important as the firm is keen to use its website to process sales. “Originally we had a brochure-type site where people could view some of our products and send us emails. We have just revamped the site and it has now become the backbone of the business through which we are able to
process and send out all our orders, from 1 item up to 99, with no passwords, and no account setup required.” explains Alan Metcalfe, General Manager.
The company has progressed its website primarily as a result of user demand but also to drive efficiencies and reduce the amount of time spent on administrative tasks.
“Having a fully customised online store is a huge step forward for us. Previously we used to take phone and fax ordering, then we moved to email ordering; now all orders are processed automatically through the site. Even though we make ourselves available if any problems arise,
we are saving a good deal of time and the whole process is streamlined, ultimately improving our customer service.”
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Broadband is an essential tool in Hampers & Co.’s arsenal, and the firm enjoys the many benefits of eircom broadband. The ability to remotely update the website using the new content management system, for example, means Hampers & Co. can select images and hamper designs from its product database remotely, enabling them to provide timely and relevant products and information to all clients and website visitors.
One of the firm’s key objectives is to provide a streamlined, efficient website to customers.
“We wanted to give people a user-friendly site, which reflects our high-quality products, ” said Metcalfe. “With our new-look site, we can do just that.”
Broadband is key to success
The website is not the only aspect of Hampers
& Co.’s business that has benefited from broadband. Internal communications have also been revolutionised by the firm’s high-speed internet connection.
The firm’s Thurles site houses its warehouse facility; while Managing Director Purcell recently relocated to Dublin. By making clever use of
its broadband connection, Hampers & Co. has been able to keep the heart of the business in Tipperary, enabling it to avoid the high cost of moving the company to Dublin.
“We extended our phone system via broadband to Dublin so that when we get a call into Thurles for Emer we can simply transfer the call to Dublin in much the same way as transferring
the call to the person sitting next to you,” explains Metcalfe.
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Effective Remote Management with Video Conferencing
Hampers & Co. also used broadband to set up a video conferencing facility between its two locations; this enables Purcell to maintain
strong communication links even though she is based in Dublin. A camera set up in the Thurles warehouse which feeds through to Purcell’s laptop means the Managing Director can preserve a hands-on feel with the warehouse; she regularly uses the camera to check and supervise display hampers as well as the presentation and content of sample hampers going out to customers. In essence, the video conferencing and the camera connection has allowed Purcell to operate with confidence remotely, according to Metcalfe.
Future needs
Looking to the future, Hampers & Co. plans to continue to expand and market its business. The firm aims to make use of emerging media such as Facebook and other social networking sites to raise its brand profile online.
“Essentially, we want to make sure we are competitive in all aspects of our business, and we aim to do that through effective use of technology. We want to carry on meeting our customers’ needs and offer them everything they want from gourmet foods and fine wine, to a user-friendly online store,” concludes Purcell.
Get in touch
To find out how eircom broadband can benefit your business, please contact your
eircom Account Manager.