Whilst initially the car dealers were hit hard in the early stages of the pandemic, a steady recovery in consumer sentiment eventually saw the automotive sector regain much ground by the end of 2020.
As one of the country’s largest dealer groups, Tony White Group has dealt with plenty of changes to their industry in the past 30 years. However, responding to the crisis meant looking at new ways of responding to customer needs across more than 50 locations along the East Coast of Australia.
A long-time Orro network customer, Tony White Group was able to leverage its cutting-edge WAN to roll-out new collaboration tools to more than 2,000 employees to help the business thrive.
The Business Challenge
Purchasing a new or used car is a very tactile experience. Most people want to get behind the wheel before they purchase their new ride.
However, the onset of the Covid-19 virus meant this was difficult, or even impossible in some cases. For Tony White Group it was critical to find a way where they could both protect the health of customers and staff, as well as continue to deliver the high levels of services customers had come to expect from dealerships from Cairns to Hobart.
This meant finding new ways to interact with customers, as well as allowing staff across showrooms, service departments, parts departments and corporate headquarters to work seamlessly in often trying circumstances.
It was clear that the company’s technology footprint would play an important role in navigating these challenges.
The Solution
Tony White Group first started working with Orro in 2016, as it looked to consolidate voice services across the business. Over the next few years it would continue to improve its networking footprint in a bid to centralise costs, introducing a new wireless platform and consolidate cost structures.
What the business couldn’t have known at the time, was that the hosted collaboration solution would ultimately help it navigate the extremely challenging pandemic period.
Having transitioned to a fully resilient call manager platform the company was able to introduce features such as unified messaging, voicemail, instant messaging services – as well as mobile and remote access.
Not only did this allow for Tony White Group to better manage existing operations, but the platform could also support new ways of connecting employees and customers.
For example, thanks to robust remote working services dealers were able to provide customers with off-site test drives and deliveries. Customers could experience a dealer-like experience in their very own driveways. Network stability and speed meant that customers could even opt for video vehicle demonstrations – where dealers would walk through vehicle features straight to a potential customer’s smartphone.
Behind the scenes the robust network was also critical in helping navigate the often-challenging logistics support which is critical to running a large-scale automotive business – from parts inventory, to updating staff on changing safety procedures and other business critical tasks.
As the entire network was centralised on the Orro network, stakeholders were able to connect and collaborate seamlessly. Employees were able to use their own devices to connect to the company network, whilst numerous failsafes were in place to strengthen connections between the data centre and dealership groups.
The Results
The Tony White Group story highlights how long-term technology strategy and partnership with companies such as Orro can not only improve business operations today, but also adapt to unexpected conditions tomorrow.
Moving into 2021 demand for cars is high. Tony White Group is well positioned to meet that demand, as well as maintaining a reputation built over decades for high-quality customer service.
Orro’s long-standing partnership has supported the technical requirements involved with designing, implementing and sustaining the network.
It is a technology solution and partnership that is well placed to deliver for many years to come.
