Ciconi Ltd
Industry : Mail
Order fulfilment
Scenarios :
Business Operations
Company Profile
A well-established UK player in the fast growing mail order fulfilment
marketplace
Situation
The 12-year-old company has experienced continual
expansion across the UK as a provider of mail order services to a select
group of high profile publishing customers. The company had switched its
main infrastructure to Windows 2000 on the advice of its IT partner Anglia
Business Solutions. This was to take strategic advantage of the e-commerce
capabilities of the .NET product range. The company has ambitious plans to
harness the power of the Internet as a further channel to providing
management information.
Solution
The solution involved the deployment of a Windows 2000 and Exchange 2000
infrastructure to provide the core IT platform. SQL 2000 Server provides the
core back office solution. The system now provides Ciconi’s clients with
secure access to a wide variety of on-line facilities. It has also spawned a
new direct sales model where the company can exploit its market leading
position in the mail order fulfilment sector.
Benefits
Ciconi has significantly reduced their administration
costs while improving the services provided to their client base. In
addition, the solution has enabled a new line of business to be launched
facilitating future major e-commerce growth potential.
Ciconi Ltd
Windows 2000 Web Based solution provides Ciconi Ltd.
with a massive e-commerce opportunity
Ciconi originated from Stork Postal Services that was formed in 1989.The
Company established its reputation by using its expertise in helping clients
succeed in the highly competitive mail order sector. The company deals with
a number of key clients in the publishing industry. Ciconi’s aim is to
provide a quality service and exceed customer expectations whilst
maintaining a pleasant working environment for its employees.
Ciconi Ltd. realised that targeted technology was the key to managing
successful growth. The requirement was a solution that provided a flow of
information across the company about what was really happening to their
customers and their products. The key was to ensure that the selected system
supported all operations in ensuring timely deliveries of quality products.
A totally integrated SQL 2000 based solution provided the base for an
e-commerce system that provided customers with improved access to
information and opened up a further channel to market for the company.
Working with Cambridge based Anglia Business Solutions the company deployed
a state of the art e-commerce system tailored specifically to meet the needs
of the business. The system has helped to radically improve the company’s
image and efficiency leading to a significant increase in its market
profile.
Company background
Ciconi Ltd was established in 1989 and is a privately owned mail order
fulfilment organisation. The company has developed a range of highly
professional services in the field of mailing, fulfilment, IT, data entry,
print and design.
The key to its success is the partnering approach with clients designed to
assist them to succeed in the highly competitive mail order market place.
This frequently involved providing exceptional administrative support
services designed to reduce the clients’ paperwork while providing them with
timely and accurate information.
The Business Need
The company needed a flexible, powerful, modern company wide business
management system capable of meeting its very specific requirements. Apart
from the normal financial reporting requirements, the system also had to
cater for a number of discrete applications specific to the clients
industry.
Ciconi selected the Windows 2000 BackOffice system as the platform of choice
based on its combination of powerful functionality, integrated development
facilities and ready-made e-commerce tools. As Managing Director Elisabeth
explained, “We were very impressed with the scope of the .NET based
technology. As a high tech company we understood the design concepts of the
system. However, it was the integrated development environment that really
appealed. We needed a mail order fulfilment system that precisely matched a
major client’s way of working. The development facilities were key to
tailoring the solution to meet these very specific needs. Once this was
delivered, we could focus on reducing our internal administration costs
while providing the client with unparalleled access to relevant
information”.
Once the complete solution was deployed and refined, the benefits became
obvious. Operating from one central system, as opposed to a variety of
databases, meant that data duplication was greatly reduced. It also meant
that client management had immediate access to vital business trends and
were able to react to what was going on in a fast moving environment.
However, the second aspect of the platform that appealed to Ciconi was its
inbuilt e-commerce capabilities.
“The integrated Microsoft based e-commerce facilities was also a key factor
in our decision to adopt the concepts inherent in the .NET philosophy” said
Elisabeth. “We were conscious that these would provide us with further
significant efficiency improvements as operating on-line became a more
accepted business practice. It would provide us with a seamless way of
working with our suppliers and clients as well as opening up further market
opportunities for our products and services. We also recognised that we
would have to adopt an e-business operating model if we were to fully
realise our market leading potential. The powerful development facilities
incorporated in the SQL 2000 database ideally met our needs as a solution
that would work for us”.
The e-Business Solution
The e-business solution had to cater for two main requirements; providing
access for the client for placing orders on line, and viewing stock and
management information such as order status. The main requirement was for
Ciconi to have all client's ordering 'writing' back into the main Ciconi
systems, thus enabling much faster turnaround for order fulfilment and
dispatch. The solution required the experience of stringent manual practices
being converted into e-business solutions ensuring that the client received
the best possible service along with high integrity information. Successful
implementation of e-business solutions into Ciconi has been achieved because
of the willingness by everyone at Ciconi to 'buy' into exploring new ways of
applying technology.
Business Benefits
The new management reporting system has already provided Ciconi with
significant advantages over the previous method of operation. It has greatly
reduced the data duplication activities throughout the organisation, which
has improved the accuracy of information. This has helped to reduce overall
administration costs while providing instant, easy to access, vital
information on the growing list of projects now being handled by the
business.
As Elisabeth Glasper explains “Our partnership approach with our clients
means that it is vital to keep them informed of changes to either the costs
or delivery timing of orders undertaken on their behalf. This was extremely
difficult and time consuming under the old way of working. With the new
on-line system, we can quickly detect delays and take action to resolve
issues in a timely manner.
As the new system allows us to operate more efficiently that the old, we can
pass the savings made on to our clients thus helping to reduce their costs”
Hardware & Software
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 NT Server
Terminal Sever 2000
SQL Server & SQL 2000
Checkpoint Firewall Software
Exchange 2000
Backup Exec.
Total Virus Defence
HP Vectra Workstations
HP Rack
HP Netservers
HP Laserjet Printers
Services Required
Windows 2000 server set-up & optimisation
Exchange Integration
Bespoke Microsoft Application Development
Business Consultancy