Automotive Aftermarket Retailer

BACKGROUND
This leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, accessories, batteries and maintenance items operates 3,368 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

CHALLENGE
The automotive retailer made the decision to relocate their executive staff from geographically dispersed locations to a new office in Minneapolis, MN. The new location required a complete upgrade to the cabling infrastructure and a telephony platform that would provide the company with increased bandwidth and advanced management capabilities.

The company selected Comm-Works, with headquarters located in Minneapolis, as its partner for the installation. Not having seen the new location before, the automotive retailer’s engineers relied on Comm-Works to complete an extensive site survey.

SCOPE OF WORK
To provide the customer with detailed documentation, Comm-Works completed a thorough site survey and wireless assessment. Comm-Works also collaborated with the customer to analyze the documentation and design a solution that would meet their needs of increased bandwidth and advanced management capabilities.

To ensure a successful project, Comm-Works developed a streamlined installation process consisting of four project phases.

For the project’s first phase, Comm-Works procured, staged and configured the Cisco Unified Communications equipment (IP telephony, routing, switching and wireless) in its state-of-the-art Logistics Center. Upon testing completion, Comm-Works installed the Cisco equipment at the new customer location providing the retailer with a secure, reliable and scalable communications solution.

It was important to the customer that employees could begin working in this new space as soon as possible. To accommodate the customer’s needs, Comm-Works utilized the existing cabling and set-up the first floor and a portion of the second floor as a temporary work area for the company’s employees.

In Phase II, Comm-Works completed the existing cable demolition on the 3rd floor and proceeded to install the new Cat6 cabling. Comm-Works also installed the copper and fiber backbone between the first, second and third floor telecom closets. The Cat6 cabling solution offers the flexibility to accommodate the customer’s future technology needs and provides increased reliability for the customer’s existing VoIP technology.

As Phase II continued, Comm-Works reconfigured the network equipment room and installed a UPS system. Comm-Works also installed Cisco desk sets, three Cisco switches, paging and sound masking, and wireless sensors and access points throughout the third floor. In addition, Comm-Works installed audio visual solutions for the three third floor conference rooms.

The scope of work for Phase III was very similar to that of Phase II but was slightly larger in scale and was completed on the second floor. In addition to completing the infrastructure upgrade, Comm-Works also worked within tight time frames to move the customer’s staff from the temporary work areas established on the first and second floors to the newly completed third floor. To eliminate any interruption to the customer’s business, the relocation began after hours on Friday and continued through the weekend. This streamlined process ensured the customer’s business would continue to operate uninterrupted on Monday morning with the employees in their new location.

The final phase took place on the first floor and was very similar to the work completed in Phases II and III. In addition to the infrastructure work, Comm-Works designed and installed the audio visual solution in the first floor training room.

To complete the project, the Comm-Works engineer conducted a final on-site wireless survey and worked with the customer’s engineers to fine-tune the wireless outputs.

RESULTS AND VALUE
Comm-Works supplied the customer with a reliable and cost-effective solution that provides the automotive retailer with the advanced management capabilities and flexibility they required.

The Comm-Works project manager was actively engaged throughout the project. He participated in weekly on-site construction meetings and became an extension of the customer’s staff. This active involvement helped to ease the burden on the automotive retailer’s internal IT team and allowed them to focus on more important tasks.

According to the customer’s Vice President of IT for Technical Shared Services, “Comm-Works did a great job. They provided [our company] with ‘Secret Service’ speed of delivery!”

Comm-Works has created a lasting relationship with the automotive retailer and has since been selected to complete the cabling infrastructure for the company’s new corporate headquarters.