More Bandwidth, Reduced Costs By Laurie Pasquerell Integrated Solutions for Retailers September 2006

Connecting retail locations to corporate offices for data transmission is a challenge for all retailers. According to Alison Hulcher, CIO at Marvin’s Building Materials & Home Centers, this link is needed for inventory management and financial processing.  

Marvin’s previously used dedicated frame connections to transmit POS data to headquarters from store locations and merchandising information from headquarters to store locations. Marvin’s connected its store locations to headquarters via intranet service from a large service provider. Hulcher disagreed with the provider’s business practices in solving outages and billing discrepancies, so she sought service through a smaller provider. That small provider was later purchased by the same large provider that Marvin’s previously received service through. Due to contract requirements, Marvin’s continued service with that provider for another year, but it again encountered billing and customer service problems. Marvin’s also found the provider’s service options inflexible as it added store locations.

While researching other companies, Carol Riddle, a representative who worked for the small service provider Marvin’s used previously, contacted Hulcher. Riddle was working as a major account manager at Cybera, Inc., so Hulcher considered the Cybera SmartNetwork, a managed broadband network for multilocation businesses. “The pricing and options Cybera offered fit our needs,” states Hulcher. “We were able to upgrade some store locations to DSL, while maintaining frame connections where DSL was unavailable. Additionally, Cybera has relationships with the major vendors servicing our stores, such as BellSouth. The other providers I investigated added little value and appeared to only resell basic connectivity service.”

Cybera worked with the local phone companies at all store locations to find the best connections available. All communications types are tied into one managed network, which supplies one secure intranet connecting all of Marvin’s stores to its corporate office. Furthermore, Cybera is very proactive in monitoring the local phone companies’ service and notifying Marvin’s when service upgrades are available.

In addition to the intranet services connecting its stores, Marvin’s uses Cybera’s managed Internet connectivity. This service limits store connections to specific sites, such as the store’s suppliers, and its own Web site. Additionally, Cybera has a Visa certification, so all credit card processing from Marvin’s processes through Visa’s online processing service, thus eliminating the need for an additional security layer for transmitting credit card data. Plus, Marvin’s is planning to use the service to allow access for customers to supplier décor and design sites from home and from Marvin’s stores to make it easier to plan their projects. This will also assist Marvin’s associates in providing the best customer service possible by accessing recent online transactions. The connections should always be available because the Cybera SmartNetwork also includes built-in network redundancy.

Add Seven Stores, Reduce Costs
Marvin’s is capable of managing its connectivity better than in the past. “Cybera monitors the network regularly and often knows about problems before we do, even though we monitor closely,” says Hulcher. “Cybera stays right on top of the problem and notifies us of ETAs [estimated time of arrivals].” In 2003, with 18 store locations, they paid an average of $8,000 per month for less bandwidth than it currently uses. At the time of conversion, Cybera’s services for the same 18 locations cost about  half that amount .  

“The increased bandwidth gives us flexibility with our applications,” says Hulcher. “We are investigating monitoring store HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems, as well as our DVRs and security cameras over the intranet connection. This service has opened doors for us that we never had in the past — we have the bandwidth options to transmit almost anything over this connection, and we can prioritize our applications when doing so. As we grow, we can evaluate and increase our bandwidth as needed.