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Hurtigruten
RULING THE WAVES:
Doherty’s mobile working solution increases the productivity of Hurtigruten’s sales force by 15%.
"Doherty's mobile solution has given us a competitive edge. Our productivity is up by 15%, we're far more responsive to new opportunities and we are winning more business as a result."
John Smith, Head of Finance and IT, Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten is a niche cruise operator that employs 40 staff and generates turnover of £20 million. The firm traditionally marketed its cruises to the public, but recently decided to invest on the trade side by creating a dedicated team of field executives to build relationships with trade agents round the UK.
Head of Finance and IT, John Smith, realised early that their agents' productivity could be affected by the amount of time they were spending out of the office. "Sales executives can be on the road for days. This meant that travel agents could be left waiting for responses to their emails, which gives a poor impression. Equally, when the agents did return to the office, they had to spend hours catching up on their emails."
John turned to Doherty Associates for help. "I knew Doherty well and had every confidence they would come up with an innovative solution."
Everywhere email
Doherty's solution was to give staff access to email via their mobile phones. They used Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2003 with Hurtigruten's existing server, and mobile devices were set up to run Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Smart Phone Technology. Sales staff were then able to synchronise with Hurtigruten's main email server wherever they were.
As a result, Hurtigruten's sales team is now far more accessible and responsive. They can also make much more effective use of the downtime they spend travelling as well as the limited time they spend in the office.
Overall, Smith feels that the decision to invest in a mobile email solution has proved wise: "I would say that our field sales teams are 15% more efficient now, which has to be good news for the ongoing development of the business. Travel agents can always be sure of a rapid response to emails and today 45% of our bookings arrive via this route."
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