Little Chef reduces communication costs by £700,000 a year

Vodafone helps restaurant chain get connected

Vodafone has given Little Chef mobile email on BlackBerry handsets

Little Chef has implemented a new IT project aimed at improving communication among employees and reducing costs.

The restaurant chain enlisted the services of Vodafone to install a new communication solution and claims the project will result in a £700,000 reduction in support costs.

Previously, communication among staff was limited because regional managers had no devices for mobile email. Instead, they sent sales data to the head office over an expensive dial-up internet connection at the end of each week.

When they needed figures quickly, they had to phone each branch individually or travel to the location in person, which was neither efficient nor cost-effective.

Now, Vodafone has installed a new, secure and high-speed fixed data network between Little Chef’s 180 restaurants and its head office. It has also set up mobile email on a consignment of BlackBerry handsets, running on Vodafone’s mobile network.

The companies claim that the projects help regional managers get more done on the move, receive up-to-date information on sales and customer numbers, reduce employee travel time and improve staff productivity.

“Our regional managers need up-to-date business information on individual restaurants to identify sales trends and react quickly to potential issues,” explained Chris Andrewartha, IT director at Little Chef.

“A number of factors, such as major roadworks or diversions, can affect sales. We have to act swiftly when they come up.”

To provide more effective communication between Little Chef’s branches and its head office, Vodafone installed a multi protocol label switching network solution, replacing the outdated dial-up system. Now management data from each branch is automatically sent through a secure, reliable and high-speed link.

Little Chef also credits Vodafone with helping to control its IT costs. The mobile communications provider identified redundant connections, reduced the amount of administration required to run the system, trained Little Chef staff to use the technology and ensured that the company’s IT department was prepared to support the systems.

“Vodafone played a big role in cutting our IT budget by more than £700,000,” said Andrewartha.