Global Freight Solutions

Focusing on strategic activities

As an expanding organisation, GFS looked for a strategic partner to manage their internal IT Support Services. Louis Cole, IT Service Manager commented on the rationale behind the decision: “As a busy and growing company we were assisting and supporting our staff with everything IT related on a daily basis, but like many companies similar to ours, the volume of activity was becoming too large to allow the time to focus on other strategic activities that would add value to the business."

"With this mind, we decided to outsource our IT services and find a partner that could ideally manage the day to day activities, but also had the capabilities and infrastructure to evolve and expand into more advanced, high profile projects that we might have in the future. We were aware of Toshiba as a manufacturer, but not the additional range of services that they could offer as part of their portfolio. We liked the idea of a partner with the potential to be a “one-stop shop” and with Toshiba we had the added benefit of other solutions that we might be able to integrate into the business.”

Bespoke and tailored for flexibility

Toshiba offer a unique approach compared to other organisations offering similar services and take the time to understand how a business operates, tailoring the services to the way that works best for the customer; Abraham Baccas, Business Development Manager at Toshiba commented on this approach: “Each organisation we work with operates in a different way, companies do not want a rigid imposed structure. We always take the time to understand what the customer wants to achieve and tailor a bespoke service to a way that will work best for them. The key is to be flexible, adaptable and innovative.”

Following a tender process, Toshiba was awarded the contract and GFS has been using Toshiba IT Support for over a year; a full range of services including: delivering support for all user devices (laptops, desktops, mobiles, tablets and printers) and any related software issues, sourcing and provisioning of equipment, updating, securing and configuring these devices, detailed asset management, firmware and software updates, back-up services, and the essential security and controls.

Louis Cole remarked on the success of the first year’s contract: “When we embarked on this project, our main objective was to ensure a consistent level of IT support, for our staff members, moving from our in-house function to an outsourced service. Working with the Toshiba team has been a very positive experience and the transition has been smooth and pain-free. Whether it’s basic desktop support, staff onboarding or a leavers’ process, queries and problems are dealt with quickly and efficiently; with staff having multiple communication points to raise their request. In the current situation, Toshiba also provides flexible options for collection and delivery of kit, which is perfect for the hybrid working model we are currently operating. And with their experience in the IT sector, they have the essential buying power and knowledge to recommend the right hardware products.”

Scaled to meet the needs of the business

The success of the Desktop Support Services project has given GFS the confidence to migrate other advanced projects to the Toshiba team, including integrating their latest acquisition into the GFS system, multi-factor authentication and cyber essentials certification. It is an evolving partnership that can be scaled to meet the needs of the GFS business.

Louis concluded: “We needed to get hands on with a partner first, before we could consider working together on our more strategic projects, to have the reassurance of their capabilities as an IT Support Services provider. Toshiba have proved themselves to be more than capable and we are now building an extensive list of projects, providing infrastructure support, for the team to work through.”