Yorkshire-headquartered car retailer JCT600 has invested £1m in a new communications system as it hopes to gear up its business.
The privately-owned firm, which has grown into a £1bn brand, has thrown out its old phone system and introduced cloud-based technology.
The new system – powered by West Yorkshire-based Vapour Cloud - hopes to improve communications between JCT600 and its customers, as well as enabling it to meet security standards for card payments taken by phone.
Earlier this year, JCT600 announced its sales had hit a record high in 2018, despite continuing challenges faced by the automotive sector.
Chris Gensmantel, group IT manager at JCT600, said: “In so many parts of our business, we excel in terms of state-of-the-art, technology-driven customer service, but our historic on-premise telephony would have undoubtedly started to hold us back.
“Vapour’s solution will allow us to streamline our systems and processes, whilst integrating voice into the other exciting technologies we’ve implemented throughout JCT.
“Our 100-seat call centre also plays a crucial role in the long-term, customer-focused service delivery of the group, so we will continue to invest in the infrastructure we provide to this team.”
With 50 locations in the north of England and representing 21 car marques, fourth-generation family business JCT600 is now a £1bn brand.
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When its old phone systems started to hold JCT600 back, the decision was made to overhaul the telecoms technology used across every site.
Vapour and Leeds-based tech group PTG recommended Avaya’s ACS Select solution. The software allows businesses to control their voice, video and messaging services all in one platform.
Tim Mercer, CEO at Vapour, said: “JCT600’s phone systems were previously updated on a site-by-site basis, as necessary.
“However, this staggered telecoms investment has resulted in inconsistencies when it comes to the technology utilised and the potential level of service delivered.
“If left unaddressed, this could have started to impact upon the qualities that the brand is renowned for.”
The 12-month upgrade which commenced last summer is now nearing completion, with all of JCT’s dealerships soon to be kitted out with the new cloud-based platform.
Vapour’s cloud-based technology will also safeguard JCT600 from breaching data protection laws.
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With desk-free showroom environments, all calls now take place behind the scenes. But this can make it difficult to contact a salesperson if they’re out on the forecourt.
An app will therefore ensure salespeople can be reached on their mobile, via their DDI, with calls still securely-recorded.
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