IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 23, 2012 ― Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division (Toshiba) —www.telecom.toshiba.com, helped Baisch & Skinner, a leading wholesale floral supplier, connect its employees and customers with Toshiba’s Strata CIX IP business telephone systems. Based in St. Louis, Baisch & Skinner’s facilities span two city blocks across eight 50-year-old buildings. It also has seven remote locations throughout Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Arizona.
Baisch & Skinner’s IT manager, Jim Schaft, and John Baisch, president, identified the need for a business telephone system that would meet the company’s goal of improving customer service. Objectives for the system included:
- Mobility for its entire workforce by using wireless handsets both inside and outside of the buildings so they can look at their floral inventory while they are on the phone with their retail florist customers;
- Reliable and durable business telephone systems to support more than 30,000 inbound and outbound calls every week;
- Networking between all eight locations, delivering centralized applications including voice mail, auto attendant and remote administration; and
- Reduced costs by eliminating long-distance costs between locations and by using SIP trunks.
Authorized Toshiba Dealer Advanced Technology Consultants (ATC) of St. Louis, Mo., installed and provides service and support for the system. David Ansehl, Sr., and Dorothy Callier, senior account rep, both of ATC, recommended Toshiba’s Strata CIX system for its reliability. Baisch & Skinner has been a Toshiba user for decades. ATC has been an Authorized Toshiba Dealer since 1993.
Solution: Toshiba’s Strata CIX Delivers High Reliability
Installed by ATC, Baisch & Skinner’s Toshiba business telephone system consists of:
- One Strata CIX670 business telephone system at the St. Louis headquarters networked to seven remote locations;
- One Strata CIX670 and six Strata CIX100 systems at remote locations in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Arizona;
- Networking between eight locations via Strata Net;
- More than 100 ports, utilizing SIP trunks where available;
- A mix of IP, digital, and analog endpoints, including more than 100 Polycom SpectraLink 6020 wireless telephones;
- “Find-me Follow-me” call routing to forward calls to cell phones;
- Network eManager® for remote management of all locations;
- Centralized voice mail and auto attendant; and
- Unified messaging for select users, which allows them to receive their voice mail via email
Result #1: Dependable Mobile Telephones
With the Toshiba IP systems and Polycom SpectraLink mobile wireless telephones, Baisch & Skinner’s workers can roam both inside and outside of the buildings while still staying connected to internal or external calls. This improves customer service as the sales reps can look at floral inventory and describe what’s available every day while they are on the telephone with customers
Result #2: Virtually Unbeatable Reliability
Toshiba met Baisch & Skinner’s need for high reliability. The Strata CIX systems process more than 30,000 monthly calls delivering virtually unbeatable reliability, which empowers staff to communicate more effectively with customers, vendors and each other.
Result #3: Reduced Long-distance Costs by $15,000
With direct-extension dialing, long-distance costs between locations were eliminated, resulting in a $15,000 annual savings. Utilizing SIP trunks, where available, further reduced costs. In addition, having remote centralized system administration reduced the need for on-site tech support, and having on-campus wireless telephones eliminated the need to use costly cell phone minutes.
Bottom Line: Toshiba’s Strata CIX Systems Deliver Reliability, Cut Costs and Improve Customer Service
Toshiba’s Strata CIX telephone systems have met Baisch & Skinner’s communications objectives, including:
- Virtually unbeatable reliability and durability with both the Toshiba business telephone system and Polycom SpectraLink handsets;
- Networking of eight locations via Strata Net;
- Mobility for on-campus mobile workers using Polycom SpectraLink handsets;
- Centralized applications across all locations, including voice mail, auto attendant and remote administration;
- Improved customer service;
- Reduced long-distance costs by nearly $15,000 per year; and
- The ability to grow and migrate to new communication technologies in the future.
“Together, Toshiba and ATC have met our key objectives of providing dependable wireless connectivity and handsets, which have succeeded in taking our workforce mobile. This enables us to provide enhanced customer service and facilitates improved communication between our employees,” said John Baisch, president of Baisch & Skinner.
For an Authorized Toshiba Dealer, Visit: www.telecom.toshiba.com