Case study - Debenhams
Transforming the department
store customer experience
The new BT network is much the same cost as our legacy infrastructure, yet it’s an infrastructure that
enables us to communicate faster and more efficiently. It will support the rollout of new applications, which
will make us more competitive and allow our stores to be more exciting and stimulating for shoppers.
Steve Kircher
Information Systems Director, Debenhams
Case Study - Debenhams
BT Ethernet WAN services are helping
Debenhams revitalise its stores into
more exciting and engaging retail
environments.
Challenge
Debenhams is a leading retailer with a total of 169 department
stores in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and Denmark, as
well as franchises in 24 countries. Employing 29,000 people
it offers a wide range of products including clothing and
accessories, health and beauty products, homeware, and gifts.
A BT wide area network (WAN) interconnects the stores with
distribution depots and data centres. It supports many retail
and general business applications and is vital to the real time
transmission of point-of-sale transaction data.
In recent years business growth and new applications have
driven network traffic relentlessly higher. Steve Kircher,
Information Systems Director at Debenhams, explains:
“Bandwidth bottlenecks were starting to cause inefficiencies,
particularly in our back office operations.”
Debenhams also has a fast growing online business. The
strategy is to integrate the instore and online business
experiences, giving customers maximum choice and
flexibility in the way they shop. “As we move to a multichannel environment we are anticipating innovative instore
applications. To support this we needed a new high capacity
network at reasonable cost.”
With its BT WAN contract coming to an end it was the ideal
time for Debenhams to consider a new solution; one that
would offer higher bandwidth, even greater resilience, and
meet Debenhams anticipated needs for the foreseeable future.
Solution
Debenhams opted for an all-new next generation MPLS WAN.
The five-year contract features high-speed Ethernet in the
First Mile (EFM) services interconnecting Debenhams stores in
the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It enables the transmission
of sales and stock data up to 16 times faster than the network
it replaced.
As we move to a multi-channel environment
we are anticipating innovative instore
applications. To support this we needed a new
high capacity network at reasonable cost.
Steve Kircher
Information Systems Director,
Debenhams
The solution principally features BT IP Connect services,
providing Gigabit access at data centres, typically 4Mbps
to each of the stores, and double the legacy bandwidth to
Debenhams’ three distribution centres.
Automated applications at the BT network management
centre poll the Debenhams network every four minutes
around‑the‑clock. They address poor Debenhamsnetwork
performance and detect errors before they become service
affecting. Configuration tools enable remote management
of routers and help control network inventory. Meanwhile,
Managed Security Services from BT Counterpane provide
advanced intrusion detection and prevention measures to
minimise the threat posed by cyber attacks.
BT Connect Optimisation provides visibility of application
performance over the network to help Debenhams determine
the best use of available bandwidth at all times. Based on
technology from Ipanema®, this uses a blend of physical and
virtual devices to monitor application response times and
allow non-business critical applications to be throttled back to
prevent congestion. It can speed up application response times
by at least one-third.
Backup circuits have been enhanced too, and now have up
to 96 times the legacy bandwidth. In the Republic of Ireland
ISDN2 connections have been replaced by always‑on ADSL.
The transition to the new network was scheduled over a
number of months on a site-by-site basis, with each switchover
largely executed overnight. “We are delighted with what BT
has done,” says Steve Kircher. “The project has been extremely
well run from both a timescale and budget perspective and the
impact on our stores has been very well controlled. In fact, for
the vast majority of stores there was no service impact at all –
they just opened the sites with a much faster network.”
The BT differentiators
BT and Debenhams have a long term business relationship built on mutual trust and respect
Nationally-available leading edge Ethernet in the First Mile technology with advanced management and support tools
Attractive commercial terms that have enabled the new network to be implemented at a comparable cost to the legacy
network
In-depth understanding of the retail sector and business needs and strategies specific to Debenhams
Case Study - Debenhams
We are delighted with what BT has done. The
project has been extremely well run from
both a timescale and budget perspective
and the impact on our stores has been very
well controlled. In fact, for the vast majority
of stores there was no service impact at all –
they just opened the sites with a much faster
network.
Value
The new EFM-based services from BT have transformed the
Debenhams network. With more bandwidth, greater resilience,
and granular class of service options, the network now enables
business growth. Critical business applications now respond
rapidly, improving business efficiency and customer service.
Yet despite the obvious performance benefits there’s no price
penalty. Steve Kircher says: “The new BT network is much the
same cost as our legacy infrastructure, yet it’s an infrastructure
that enables us to communicate faster and more efficiently. It
will support the rollout of new applications, which will make us
more competitive and allow our stores to be more exciting and
stimulating for shoppers.”
Steve Kircher
Information Systems Director,
Debenhams
Debenhams is also using technology to increase the choice
and availability of products for customers in its stores through
the use of self-service kiosks that give customers access to
www.debenhams.com. In a small store this can increase the
range of products a store sells by over three times. Trials are
also underway of an in store online shop which provides a
dedicated area within a store where customers can browse the
full online product range in a relaxed environment.
Steve Kircher sums up: “It’s a fundamental requirement
for retailers to have IT systems that are always available to
transmit vital sales and transaction data. We have confidence
in BT, its network provides the cornerstone of our ability to
trade.”
Core BT services
BT IP Connect
ADSL, EFM & Fibre access
BT Connect Optimisation
Assure Threat Monitoring
Offices worldwide
The services described in this publication are subject to availability and may be modified from time to time. Services and equipment are provided subject to the respective British Telecommunications plc standard conditions of
contract. Nothing in this publication forms any part of any contract. Nothing in this publication forms any part of any contract. © BT Communications Ireland Ltd.Registered office: Grand Canal Plaza, Upper Grand Canal Street,
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October 2015
Email: [email protected] www.btireland.com