Akron Hardware is an industry-leading architectural door hardware distributor with more than 80 employees and five distribution centers nationwide.
Akron Hardware is committed to providing quality products, industry leading service and unmatched speed to market. Goals included expanding their distribution model by adding additional sites around the country which would improve lead times and help maintain a competitive advantage for both Akron Hardware and its customers. Because the call center is at the heart of Akron Hardware’s commitment to superior service, their primary concern was maintaining 100% uptime.
Past experiences in dealing with alternative service providers had been poor and Akron Hardware had chosen to return to a traditional “big carrier” for voice and data services. While the actual telecommunications services proved reliable, customer service and billing were difficult to manage. While paying a premium for reliable service was acceptable, Akron Hardware was interested in leveraging the latest services and technologies to meet the ever increasing demands of its customers.
Preliminary discussions and a review of existing services determined that significant savings were available. While a bottom line reduction of over 40% was a motivator, it was not the primary driver of the decision. Reliability and responsiveness were key considerations, and DCT’s ability to provide true 24 hour a day customer service were critical factors in the decision. The ability to reach an actual DCT customer service representative at any time, as opposed to a carrier call center agent, was a determining factor in moving ahead with the project. Akron Hardware’s senior executives were actively involved in the decision making process and a roadmap was developed which would allow the customer to reinvest any potential cost savings into the most current technology.
Taking advantage of DCT’s multiple partnerships with industry-leading providers, Akron Hardware was able to implement a voice network solution which includes both access and carrier redundancy and guarantees uptime in the call center. Working in conjunction with a fully-meshed MPLS network utilizing QoS, Akron Hardware is able to manage call flow throughout the enterprise and provide customers with seamless service and support.
Over the last ten years DCT has continued to support new projects and initiatives, and has helped Akron Hardware bring on additional distribution sites as well as navigate the complexities of integrating new acquisitions into the network.
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