“From quick attendance to our requests for quotes for new services, to dealing with the technical teams for on-site implementations, the after sales service from Telviva subsidiary, AnD Communications is phenomenal – you don’t get that from any vendor. Our slogan is ‘passion for innovation’ and it also describes the work that we have done with them. We are partners rather than vendor and customer, and it makes it easier to work with them, and share our views, which makes the service amazing.”
Corné Raubenheimer
National Factory Outlet Manager at Tevo
Customer: Tevo
Industry: Retail
Background
Tevo is a South African business specialising in the sourcing, development, marketing and distribution of innovative, high-quality products. Tevo products are stocked exclusively by the most reputable retail chains in Southern Africa.
Tevo was dependent on the incumbent fixed-line provider for its telecommunications, and had faced a number of challenges. This included disparate telephony systems at various sites, high cost of external and inter-branch calls, and degraded service that ultimately resulted in a poorer experience for the company’s customers.
Furthermore, there was a high cost and complexity associated with telephony when opening new branches. As a result, the company decided to seek out an alternative telecommunications provider that would help cut costs and enable them to better service their customers.
Simplifying business telephony
Starting in 2016, Tevo worked with AnD Communications, a subsidiary of Telviva, to upgrade their telephony systems and cut costs, starting with the company’s offices in Cape Town as well as Port Elizabeth, with several more offices being added over the past years.
Currently, Tevo uses Telviva’s dedicated voice access services to maintain high quality voice, and the Cloud PBX solution to cover 13 locations and over 260 users nationally, and advanced IVR functionality. The company uses the Telviva One client and Telviva mobile app to ensure that company staff are able to work from any location using any device.
In addition, multi-cell distributed DECT cordless phones, implemented on-site by AnD, help keep workers at the company’s distribution warehouses connected.
Call cost reduction, better service levels
Tevo saw a significant reduction in cost of calls, both as a result of switching from fixed-line to VoIP, as well as by benefiting from being part of South Africa’s largest cloud free call community. This means zero-rated calls between all of the company’s connected sites, as well as to other Telviva customers. Being on a single platform also provides Tevo with the ability to redirect calls between sites, locations and switchboards as required, and the ability to manage and report on telephony via the web-based tools provided.
The shift away from on-premise equipment and toward a cloud-based Telviva service has also meant that provisioning telecommunications services to newly opened branches is far more cost-effective, and easier to deploy than before. Supported by AnD, Tevo has seen a higher level of telephony uptime, and the support structures put in place have ensured that issues are quickly resolved, helping maintain a high level of service for their customers.
Improved customer experience, cross-selling opportunities
Beyond seamless call transfers within the company, Tevo made maximum use of Telviva’s advanced IVR functionality by working closely with engineers from AnD in order to implement an Auto Attendant, IVR and queuing system that directs callers to the right departments, cutting down on dropped calls and allowing for customers to be attended to as quickly as possible.
Tevo maximised the benefits of Telviva’s technology by developing comprehensive call flows in order to provide a better experience for customers, with the level of detail provided making it much easier for AnD’s engineers to implement.
In addition, Tevo uses the Messaging on Hold functionality from Telviva to expose customers to other products from within the company’s broad portfolio of brands, helping drive awareness and increasing cross-selling opportunities.
“We are all on one platform, and are growing the business with the support from AnD. We don’t have any second-thought of moving away from our current solution, despite the competition in the market – they simply don’t have the same level of customer service that we get from AnD. We work as a team to develop solutions and that saves time and makes a difference. That is what makes it worth the investment,” says Raubenheimer.
