A household-name food manufacturer tapped Velaspan in 2021 for a simple coverage assessment. Trust was quickly established and before long, we’d designed and fully deployed wireless networks across their critical manufacturing facilities and office spaces.
Today, this client is engaged in conversations about Velaspan’s emerging services (private cellular and network security) and we work hand-in-hand with their outsourced managed services provider almost daily. Put simply, the relationship has grown exponentially since that first phone call – with positive impacts on their business, to boot.
The Challenge
In early 2021, the food manufacturing company wanted to bring world headquarters employees back onsite full-time post-pandemic but needed to first assess wireless network performance. Their wireless hardware vendor recommended Velaspan.
Velaspan’s return to office (RTO) services fit the bill. Our engineers performed a configuration review and wireless coverage assessment at headquarters’ offices. Findings revealed a number of weaknesses within the network, which was already dated when the pandemic began and had gone largely unused (and therefore under-maintained) since 2020. No longer consistent with current best practices and standards, it was beyond the reach of supplemental hardware and other work-arounds. A full redesign was needed to sufficiently accommodate the returning workforce.
As our Velaspan team began proposing network redesigns, the client asked us to perform similar coverage assessments at two additional office campuses. These revealed similar findings. By now, the client realized that their wireless LAN as a whole had been under-designed and/or inadequately deployed in years past. Major office assessments complete, they asked Velaspan to perform a network redesign for one of their critical manufacturing facilities, this time skipping the assessment phase altogether.
Time for Deployment
Once Velaspan’s comprehensive wireless designs were complete, it was time to make those designs a reality. At this point, Velaspan made a bold move: Suggesting that we – as opposed to our client’s established outsourced managed services provider – perform the deployment. Our reasoning was built on four points:
First and foremost, wireless network deployment (which consists of cable vendor oversight, change management, go-live, validation surveys, and other key steps) is one of Velaspan’s specialties. Our vast deployment experience has informed our uniquely methodical approach, consisting of processes specifically designed for enterprise wireless environments like our client’s.
Secondly, managed services are largely provided by remote resources. Velaspan, on the other hand, would put resources onsite. By physically overseeing network implementation, our specialists were more likely to offer seamless deployment on the first try.
Thirdly, our involvement at this stage offered the benefits of continuity. We’d designed the network and were also slated to validate it post-deployment. Stepping out at this critical “middle phase” tends to cause confusion and errors
Last but not least, if Velaspan handled deployment, the outsourced network operations team could focus on their specialty: Monitoring, troubleshooting, code updates, and other activities essential to keeping the network up and running. Velaspan would service introduce the system – that is, provide the operations team with critical as-built network documentation – once deployment was complete. From there, the operations team could commence its day-to-day management.
To our delight, the client agreed to let Velaspan deploy the new network design.
The Outcome
Deployment went off without a hitch. Velaspan’s proprietary process prevented pitfalls that can lead to flawed deployments like those the client had experienced in the past. The client commented specifically on our team’s efficiency and organization. Resulting wireless performance has been similarly problem-free.
Based on this deployment, the client asked us to write a playbook for future wireless LAN deployments. Its guidelines include revised wireless standards that set a new bar for future designs. We were also green-lit to engineer wireless refreshes and managed deployments across the campus’s remaining buildings. Last but not least, the client is looking to have us implement network access control (NAC) company-wide; we’re also discussing the possibility of private LTE and 5G adoption for their enterprise. In short, to date Velaspan has completed or is scheduled to work on every one of their manufacturing facilities and offices across all of their consumer brands.
The net result? Beyond the inherent benefits of high-performance wireless, our client’s company shares and revenue are up since the refresh. They went on the record recently stating their belief that improved business performance has been helped by “improved productivity and supply chain improvements” – both of which are intrinsically tied to reliable wireless.
Does your wireless network drive results? Schedule a call with a Velaspan representative for a consultation.
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