Situation:

Cargo Brokers International is an international trade logistics company that enables importers and exporters to transport merchandise with the highest efficiency. They are a multi-site company with five locations in the southeastern United States. As one would imagine, coordinating system operations for a multi-site company can be a daunting task. Keeping employees connected takes on vital importance because phone, email, and Internet connectivity issues have a greater impact when employees are spread throughout the country. To reach their maximum efficiency employees in remote areas must be able to stay connected to their central office and to other remote sites. And unlike single-site companies, the cost to keep “business as usual” throughout all locations is often high.

Challenge:

Cargo Brokers International had slow email and Internet connections at several of their remote locations. While Nicole Steinmetz, V.P. of Technology for Cargo Brokers, considered upgrading her system, any solution she chose would have to be seamlessly integrated into the current framework, installed without any downtime (international shipping logistics is a 24/7 business) and affordable for her company.

DiscountCall Solution:

Steinmetz’ relationship with DiscountCall was established when Randy Berlin, president of DiscountCall, contacted her to gauge her satisfaction with her current telecommunications carrier. As it turned out, she wasn’t happy with her service and was willing to see what Randy and DiscountCall had to offer.

“What people don’t realize is that phone contracts need to be upgraded regularly. There are always discounts available and you should always examine your contract when it comes time for renewal. Phone carriers don’t always inform customers of discounts,” Berlin said.

Berlin examined Steinmetz’ contract with her phone carrier, assessed her current needs, and found a carrier that allowed her monthly phone bill to be reduced from $8,000 to around $4,000.

In dealing with the network (WAN) upgrade, Berlin suggested US Lec, a national telecommunications carrier. They installed an integrated T-1 at each location; this system included local phone lines, T-1 Internet, and frame relay service.

Results:

The solution was seamless and with increased throughput, remote sites, such as the one in Greensville, SC, were able to connect to the network at the same speed as the company headquarters in Atlanta. DiscountCall also provided a cost savings because its extensive network of national carriers allowed them to find the most affordable telecommunications carrier for Cargo Brokers International’s wide-area network. If you are interested in learning more about how DiscountCall can achieve similar results for your company contact us.