Communication is key for ByBox

"To effectively communicate, we must realise that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others".  ByBox and Hartwood Services do just that and have worked together to create a winning solution.   

ByBox provide solutions to the field service market and work with hundreds of companies in different sectors to streamline their supply chains. Operating 365 days a year, including Christmas Day and New Year's Day, ByBox deliver pre-8am to a network of 18,000 drop boxes at 1,400 locations in the UK, ready for an engineer to collect before the start of a day's work.

When it comes to towers and switching centres, Hartwood Services is integral to the UK mobile phone networks for the commissioning and maintenance of their networks. While the networks buy the infrastructure and work with their partners, Hartwoods' engineers are qualified to install and commission all this equipment in order that the UK population can simply use their mobiles to communicate. The unseen heroes of the ever-expanding mobile phone and network industry, Hartwood is presently busier than ever ensuring that we all benefit from more speed and clarity of mobile communication.

Previously, to get the parts needed to carry out these jobs, Hartwood Services used to use pre 9:30am couriers who would deliver direct to their engineers. Using this method, a large number of failed deliveries occurred as Hartwood engineers would be fitting parts in hard to reach areas so would regularly be working at height. Because of this, couriers found it hard to locate the engineers to hand over the parts and so would fail deliveries.

ByBox' solution eliminates this problem. ByBox deliver Hartwood's parts in night to arrive pre 8am to electronic boxes called iBoxes which are on around 400 sites around the UK. The iBoxes are situated at convenient locations such as supermarkets and petrol stations and are never far from an engineer; no matter whereabouts in the country the engineer is located.

Parts are picked from the Hartwood Services warehouse. ByBox then collect the parts daily and deliver them to the main Coventry Distribution Centre to get them ready to be distributed in night to an iBox. Hartwood engineers pick up the parts they need from an iBox before starting their jobs. They can also return parts to any iBox in the country by simply scanning their unique access card, placing a part inside the iBox and sticking a return label on it. ByBox then ensure the part reaches the correct return destination.

The reliability of the service is the main benefit for Hartwood and the fact that ByBox' unique Thinventory software platform gives 100% stock visibility is a unique added bonus. Hartwood can see exactly where a part is which allows for greater control over parts in the field.

The service also allows engineers to collect parts at their convenience and cuts out the problem of failed deliveries resulting from being unable to locate an engineer on site. This in turn delivers a huge cost saving to Hartwood as they do not lose time and money having to fail jobs or get parts re-delivered.

Everyday, everyone of us that uses their mobile to talk, text, send e-mails or photos from or to our mobiles, PDAs or iPhones has Hartwood Services to thank for making it possible. And with a first time delivery success rate pre 8am of 99.63%, ByBox ensure that Hartwood continue to provide a first class service.

Mark Garritt, Managing Director of ByBox said, "We have, and continue to work closely with Hartwoods to provide them with a tailored solution that is reliable, convenient and will inevitably secure savings in time and money. For ByBox, communication is key to providing our customers with a first class service that enables them to exceed service levels that are becoming more difficult year on year."

Rob Law, Operations Manager of Hartwood Services said, "The UKs major Mobile Networks and Vendors heavily rely on Hartwood Services for their deployment on time, every time, without that we lose our USP (Unique Selling Proposition). ByBox are fundamental to that objective and helping Hartwood Services both retain and build their reputation".