Cahaba Cycles - Small Retail IP Voice Data Network

Objective:
Establish a voice and data strategy that can be rolled out to all stores, that is cost effective, customer centric, and gives the family owned business the tools to manage growth.

Situation:
Faris, the general manager and son of the owners Kal and Barbara, had a desire to keep growing their well- established bicycle business. After deciding to open up their fourth store in Trussville, Faris needed someone to help with his technology strategy. The stores phone systems operated independently and the data flow between the stores was antiquated. How could he begin inexpensively and roll out the technology to the other stores in a manageable fashion?

Resolution:
Blue Ocean suggested to simply start with the new store. The Blue Ocean team designed and installed a Virtual Private Network across established internet connections to allow the stores to share inventory, customer, and sales information back to the management team. Blue Ocean ordered and installed all the telephone lines at the new store along with cabling the building. The last piece was to provide a voice solution. Faris and Blue Ocean decided on the Samsung 7100 Hybrid IP solution. This model allowed for inexpensive digital endpoints at the stores and the ability to voice network the stores for no additional hardware or software costs. Now, any employee can pick up the phone and press 1 button to talk with another store. Customers can be transferred from store to store without having to hang up and redial. Faris also saw no need for all his stores to be open on Sundays. If someone calls a store, which is closed, the call will automatically be routed to the store that is open. Faris' customer centric approach to business has led to Cahaba Cycles to be known as the premiere bike shop in the Birmingham area.