Colebrook & Burgess selects ADP for their comprehensive system
Profile
Colebrook & Burgess, which began trading in 1965,
operates five Audi Centres in Tyneside, Newcastle,
Teesside and Wearside, plus a bodyshop operation in
Wallsend. The company, which employs 250 people, has
used the Autoline dealer management system for more
than 20 years.
The challenge
Although originally contracted with ADP for hardware support, the company subsequently switched to a third party provider in response to a need to reduce costs. At the time, the chosen supplier was offering significant discounts and a promise of comparable service levels. Having switched its hardware support contract, Colebrook & Burgess continued to operate and develop their use of the Autoline dealer management system, however the company suffered from frequent periods of system downtime which became increasingly unacceptable. Much of this was as a result of on-going difficulties in differentiating between hardware and software-related issues and therefore which company was contracted to diagnose the fault. Delays in achieving a resolution were therefore inevitable.
How ADP helped
Ultimately, Colebrook & Burgess wanted a return to the high quality of service they had once received - the company had been impressed with the support that ADP previously provided. To assist in the process of considering their options, ADP provided Colebrook & Burgess with a complimentary site survey of all their system installation, which resulted in a valuable audit report covering the equipment used throughout the group. ADP was then able to present a new hardware support proposal on 3 year/ fixed price terms, which Colebrook & Burgess subsequently accepted.
ADP now provides Colebrook & Burgess with a comprehensive support and maintenance service for their Autoline dealer management system, Audi-specific manufacturer integration software, PCs and printers.
ADP also manages and maintains the company’s server installation including Server Environment Support (SES) - a preventative maintenance option which is designed to maintain system operating efficiency and identify potential issues before they result in a major system disruption or failure - SES at this level, is unique to ADP. John Hutton, Finance Director, Colebrook & Burgess explains: “Moving hardware support from ADP, to help reduce IT support spend, proved to be a false economy. With different parties providing hardware and software support, fault diagnosis and responsibility for resolution became contentious. Extended system downtime resulting in indirect business cost and lost revenues, far outweighed any reduction in IT spend.”
ADP - ‘One-Stop Shop’
ADP offers a ‘one-stop shop’ support and maintenance service for system software and hardware. This ensures minimal disruption should an issue occur and resolution in the shortest possible time. Through a single point of contact, all support requests are logged and tracked through the ADP Helpdesk. This provides customers with total visibility of their issues, progress and status. Given the speed and scale of progress in all aspect of IT, every ADP engineer undergoes regular training to update their knowledge and skill levels, especially covering the equipment that is under contract with ADP customers. Once again Colebrook & Burgess are benefitting from ADP technical expertise across all areas of their system, and the company’s national technical and engineering coverage together with the comprehensive logistics and spares support. All of these components are fundamental in ensuring that the high levels of hardware and software support that they expect are delivered.
Further information
For further information about the range of products and services offered by ADP, please click here.