RIO IT, BUSINESS CHALLENGES SOLVED

FMCG Success Case Study

FMCG Success: How Stourgarden doubled turnover as a preferred retail supplier with IT support

Having confidence and peace of mind that mission-critical operations for production and data are managed by Rio IT means I can focus on asking what’s next. In a business that never stands still, my focus is on horizon-scanning and planning 2, 3, 5 years out to identify improvements to keep growing the business.

Jonathan Bell, Senior Operations Manager, Stourgarden

Key Achievements

99.9% production and data uptime established for the 24/7 food operation
Sustained preferred supplier status with retailers through data responsiveness
Confidence in mission-critical systems managed by trusted IT partner, Rio IT
Relationships across the business enable growth and space for strategic planning

The Situation

Stourgarden, a leading UK-based onion producer, supplies over 975,000 tonnes of onions annually to major retailers, as well as food manufacturers, restaurant chains and wholesalers. In the fast-paced food and drinks sector, Stourgarden’s 24-hour manufacturing operation critically relies on IT systems to support both production machinery and data across the business.

Jonathan Bell is the Senior Operations Manager at Stourgarden, overseeing operations across all areas of the business. His role enables different teams to fulfil customer orders and ensures a smooth flow of product continuously moves through the business. He is also responsible for driving efficiencies in the business, including how to best utilise IT systems.

The Challenge

With sole responsibility for IT in the business as part of a wider operations remit, having trusted systems and people to look after them is essential for Jonathan. In 2017 he noticed a concerning decline in service quality from their IT supplier, where support and knowledge of the business seemed to be diluted after changes in their business. Jonathan identified a risk to mitigate.

As Jonathan was the only person in the business responsible for ITat the time, he was under pressure to find a solution. He needed an IT partner he could trust to handle the core business operations so he could focus on ways to innovate and meet goals for growth in abusiness he describes as ‘never standing still’.

What we saw on the horizon with our previous support provider was that we may not get the focus and the attention needed if there was an IT challenge. Our primary customers are big, well-known brands, and if we don’t supply orders there’s significant implications. We pride ourselves on our leading position in customer performance metrics and to maintain this position,we need resilience built into our IT systems.

The Solution

After investigating a few options, Jonathan selected Rio IT as their new IT partner. This decision was based on the ability to quickly understand their business model and IT infrastructure, as well as immediately making recommendations for security. Rio IT’s close proximity to the
Stourgarden site in Colchester was also a critical decision-making factor.

The first service that Rio IT delivered was a server upgrade, establishing 99.9% uptime for Stourgarden’s 24/7 operations andcustomer data. This was an essential source of security for maintaining their preferred supplier status with leading retailers.

The team at Rio IT just seemed to understand exactly what we’re doing in the business immediately. They quickly identified system improvements, knowing exactly what to put in place. Also, the level of knowledge in the team and explanation about the technology has been helpful, because we’re not all IT geniuses. The team at Rio IT take the time to break it down for us in simple terms: understanding when they put a system in, what they will do and how that will support the business. It’s been invaluable for operations decisions and growth at Stourgarden.

Evolving the IT partnership over 7 years of growth

Over the past 7 years, Jonathan has worked with Rio IT to fully managefundamental infrastructure IT systems, including servers, email backups, and cloud management. These have been key to supporting businessgrowth, as Stourgarden has doubled in both turnover and IT users. ImprovementsUpgraded WiFi network forenhanced site-wide performance,management, and security.

In recent years, the team has expanded to include IT Coordinator Eryk Bogacz, a colleague who progressed internally after showing a talentand passion for IT. Eryk takes care of first and second line supportonsite at Stourgarden, then when needs go beyond this, he turns to RioIT. Jonathan describes the combination of in-house and outsourced ITas finding the right balance.

The two fit side-by-side, it’s the more cost-effective way for us. We have Eryk in-house, who used to be an IT teacher in his home country before moving to the UK. He started work in our production team and it was clear he had a flair for IT. He is very driven and always keen to continue to develop his skills with new technology, so as the business grows he will grow. So we can trust that the mission-critical functions are supported by both Eryk and an expert team behind the scenes.

Improvements

Upgraded WiFi network for enhanced site-wide performance, management, and security

Installation of two physical servers hosting four virtual servers for improved IT performance and built-in redundancy

Migration to Microsoft Office 365 for increased email reliability and connectivity across all devices

Direct dedicated fibre connections between servers for reliable and uninterrupted data replication

Multi technology broadband implemented with automatic failover in the event of a failure (FTTP, FTTC, & Mobile SIM)

Cloud telephony solution implemented to improve resilience and accessibility when out of the office

As the relationship with Rio IT has developed over the years, the trusted collaboration between the Stourgarden internal IT resource and Rio IT team has grown. This enabled the business to manage IT smoothly, whilst also having space to be more strategic with their IT thinking to overcome business challenges. Next steps for the collaboration include strategic planning in collaboration with the Rio IT team of business analysts.

To find out more about how IT strategies could help to solve your business challenges, get in touch.

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