Wolseley UK, the largest distributors of heating, plumbing and building products in the UK, has selected Thus for all its voice requirements. Thus will provide a fully managed solution that will deliver direct and indirect voice connections, including inbound call services to 1,700 Wolseley sites across the UK, in a contract expected to be worth nearly £5 million.
With a nationwide network of branches and many leading brands under the Wolseley umbrella, including Plumb Center, Build Center and Electric Center, it is essential that the company has a resilient voice network to support its UK sites and customer management teams. Wolseley requires a managed solution that will not only provide cost reductions but will also help improve customer service and support its rapidly growing retail business.
Following a competitive tender process, Thus was chosen as Wolseley’s preferred supplier after it demonstrated an understanding of Wolseley’s business model from the outset. As part of the solution, Thus will provision wholesale line rental, carrier pre select, direct voice connections and deliver an inbound call service, incorporating the on-line management interface Call Control Self Care, for Wolseley’s call centres around the UK.
“Thus’ commitment to our business, flexible solution and realistic commercial proposition helped us make our selection. Throughout the competitive tender process, the Thus team continually demonstrated that they fully understood our voice requirements and would be able mitigate risk throughout this large scale deployment. In fact, out of all the operators that replied to our RFP, Thus had the best total offering,” said, Brian Horsfield, Information Systems Director at Wolseley. “Thus’ solution will support one of the most vital communication commodities of our business, while adding value at the same time.”
As Wolseley’s only voice supplier, Thus has underpinned its solution with a service orientated service level agreement (SLA). The SLA not only provides guarantees on billing accuracy and account management but also reinforces the aggressive roll-out schedule that has been put in place. In addition, the transparency of a single supplier enables Wolseley to monitor what is happening on its voice network, allowing it to determine its need for new technology as the business grows.
Phil Male, Chief Operating Officer at Thus, said, “From the beginning we listened to Wolseley’s requirements and built a managed voice solution that fitted its needs. With Thus as the single supplier, Wolseley has one point of contact for its voice network, which means we can provide pragmatic consultancy on all its current and future voice needs. Our flexible approach and experienced project and service management teams mean that as Wolseley grows its voice network can grow with it.”