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by Real Business - Friday, 31st August 2007

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Overview

⢠Improved productivity and efficiency
⢠Flexible working
⢠Cost savings
⢠Excellent technical support and customer service from T-Mobile
⢠Improved customer relationships

Industry: Utility management
Number of employees: 5
Number of locations/offices: 2

Key quotes:

“Implementing mobile technology from T-Mobile has allowed our staff to work more flexibly, resulting in improved client relationships and increased productivity.”
Steve Bellerby, Director, Smith Bellerby

Company background

Smith Bellerby is a utility management consultancy delivering cost reductions on energy, water and telecommunications for a number of public and private sector clients.

Smith Bellerby chose T-Mobile to provide its business with a range of mobile communications to help its employees work effectively, regardless of location.

Founded in 1999, Smith Bellerby aims to reduce the direct and indirect costs associated with the procurement, management and ongoing usage of utilities. Its clients include easyJet, Redditch Borough Council and Newcastle Borough Council. Employing five staff, Smith Bellerby has two offices in Redditch and Newport.

The challenge
With customers located across the UK, Smith Bellerby’s employees spend a large proportion of their time out of the office. It needed a reliable voice and data mobile solution to ensure effective communication.

“One of the differentiators for our firm is our commitment to customer service, which we believe is unrivalled in our market. We must be able to respond instantly to any client queries. Therefore, access to the right mobile technology for our firm is critical to our future success,” says Steve Bellerby, co-founder and director of Smith Bellerby.

The solution
Smith Bellerby purchased BlackBerry voice handsets and "web’n’walk" laptop cards from T-Mobile to address all of the company’s working requirements.

“Access to customer information at all times is crucial for us, whether it’s checking emails whilst travelling between meetings or using the T-Mobile high-speed mobile broadband network (HSDPA) to download large files to our laptops.

"We chose T-Mobile not only because we wanted to cut the costs of our bills but also because of its unrivalled international network coverage. We conduct some business in Europe and, based on my own recent experience, it was as easy to work from an airport in Amsterdam as if I was working from home.”

The benefits
One of the main advantages is smarter working relationships. Through its use of a range of mobile technology from T-Mobile, Smith Bellerby can now offer its staff the opportunity to work flexibly. For those who have young children, such as Donna Joyce, analyst at Smith Bellerby, this is a major advantage.

“I have a child who is under the age of three. During the day I can look after him, and at night I can work by picking up my emails and responding to any queries. I really appreciate this level of flexibility that mobile technology has given me as it has made a massive difference to my ability to do my job as a working mum.”

Steve Bellerby believes that staff satisfaction and retention rates have increased as a direct result of implementing a flexible working policy: “The ability to work flexibly is of enormous benefit to our company. Feedback to our flexible working policy has been incredibly positive, and as a small business we believe that it is actively helping us to both recruit and retain key skills.”

Reduced dead time
Bellerby has also noted an increase in productivity since he and his team have started to use their BlackBerry devices and T-Mobile web’n’walk laptop cards.

“One of the reasons I wanted to work for myself was to get away from the inflexible working practises of larger organisations that I had previously worked for. I use to spend hours travelling to and from work, all of which was wasted ‘dead time’.

"With our flexible approach to working, my team and I can work from home or in transit. As a result, our working day isn’t as long as it used to be, and as a business I think we are much more productive and efficient.”

Excellent customer and technical support
Since choosing T-Mobile, Bellerby has been delighted with the service he has received to date: “As a utilities management consultancy, we recommend telecommunications providers to our clients and we would have no hesitation in recommending T-Mobile, based on our own experience.

"We’ve been impressed with both the customer service and technical support we have received. We’ve also found T-Mobile to be extremely competitive on price, which is very important for a small firm where operating margins can be tight.”

The future

As Smith Bellerby continues to grow, it plans to work closely with T-Mobile to receive advice on which mobile technology will best fit future needs.

“Some businesses our size may question the need to invest in advanced mobile technology such as laptop cards, but the benefits are clear.

"Communication is the key to our business, and our ability to respond within minutes to clients has strengthened our working relationships. It's also given our staff the flexibility they need to work as efficiently as possible.

"Such are the benefits that we’ve already received, and we are very keen to further investigate what mobile technology can deliver to us,” concluded Bellerby.

Tags: smith bellerby, steve bellerby, mobile working, blackberry, easyjet, success stories, mobile technology, working on the move,