Introduction
How dedicated leased lines and a migration to Microsoft 365 provided RCI with a foundation on which to innovate and grow.
The Client
Established in 1971, Ralph Coleman International (RCI) is a leading retail support business, delivering the provision, washing, storage, haulage, and repair of plastic crates in the food sector. Plastic crates are a critical element of the retail food supply chain, enabling food producers to deliver produce in an environmentally friendly manner for retailers to package and sell.
The business’s main customer is the world’s leading supplier of reusable plastic crates, and are trusted by the world’s top retailers (including Morrisons and Waitrose) to deliver on their reusable plastic crate washing requirements.
RCI’s business model is based on a high volume of work, with a low margin. The business went through a buyout in late 2018, and new directors wanted to increase the efficiency of their operations, and therefore increase the profitability of the business.
The Challenge
The new directors of RCI were looking for a technology partner who could provide reliable infrastructure, as well as implement solutions to improve the operational efficiency of the business. Across their UK sites, most of their operations were running using spreadsheets, and the data was self-contained within each site. This caused problems with data accuracy, visibility, and integrity, and made reporting a very complex task.
They wanted to improve, simplify and centralise their foundational infrastructure, which encouraged better collaboration and more visibility within the business. That same infrastructure needed to also act as a platform to build automations, digitise processes and visualise their data. The model needed to be easily scalable if they expanded their operations to further sites.
The Solution
We proposed a cloud-first approach powered by Microsoft 365 to provide a stable, secure foundation for their operations. The first step we took with RCI was deploying dedicated leased line connections to all of the sites that didn’t already have one. This provided them with resilient internet connectivity so they could connect to their cloud services reliably, and at ultrafast speeds.
Next, we moved all of their critical infrastructure services to Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory. We migrated their files away from on-premise storage and into SharePoint, which we rolled out in conjunction with Microsoft Teams. Once all of the data was accessible across all of their sites, the individual site’s servers were decommissioned.
Once the foundational infrastructure was up and running, we used business analysts to understand exactly what was causing the efficiency problems in the business, and identify processes which needed automating and digitizing. We went on to build several Power Apps to modernize these processes and eliminate the spreadsheets, along with some Power BI dashboards for enhanced multi-site reporting.
"Emerge Digital understood our business goals and designed a set of best-in-class solutions in support of them. We’ve seen significant business improvements thanks to our new infrastructure – our employees are more productive, our systems are more reliable, and our Power BI dashboards have directly influenced our profitability. Emerge Digital have always put our goals at the heart of what they do."
Jon Graves, Managing Director - Ralph Coleman International
The Outcome
Running on infrastructure powered by the Microsoft cloud, RCI now have a strong foundation on which they can innovate and grow. Using ultrafast, dedicated internet connectivity, they can access Microsoft 365 – including SharePoint and Teams – which acts as a central hub for their digital operations.
Their new SharePoint file structure was designed to bring all of their data into one centralised location, which can be securely accessed from anywhere. Employees can spend less time searching for files and sharing them over emails, and more time on optimising the operations of the business.
RCI have been using Microsoft Teams – which is closely connected with their SharePoint structure – to collaborate across sites in a more productive manner. They’re able to chat to and call colleagues, find and edit files, view dashboards, and use bespoke apps all within Teams.
RCI are also benefitting with the advanced, enterprise-level cyber security features that Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses bring. Microsoft Defender for 365 is helping to guard RCI against viruses, spam, unsafe attachments, suspicious links and phishing attacks – reducing the risk of downtime and financial loss.
Having a fully cloud-based infrastructure on Microsoft 365 means that RCI have access to the Microsoft Power Platform. With Power Apps and Power BI, we created apps and dashboards that gave the management a better view at the utilisation of resources. Using this data, they were able to make important decisions which ultimately increased ulilisation, and therefore profitability.
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