Viatel installs new washing lines for Acdoco

Competition hung out to dry

VPN links up soap manufacturer to UK retailers

Soap powder manufacturer Acdoco, owner of Stain Devils and Glo White brands, has signed up Viatel as the exclusive provider of network connectivity to its headquarters and manufacturing plants in Bolton. The deal prepares the company for the shift to new internet based supply chain technologies necessary to do business with major retailers such as Asda, as well as streamlining its internal voice and data communications.

Bolton based Acdoco has a history of innovation and this drive to succeed has enabled the family run company to carve a successful niche in the highly competitive in-wash products markets over the past 85 years. Whilst Acdoco markets its products internationally, the majority of its UK sales are achieved through large grocery retail chains such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's. To remain competitive Acdoco must continually innovate to reduce costs and improve performance.

The installation of a managed IP VPN from Viatel forms not only the basis of an electronic supply chain ordering system across the business but also supports a cost effective voice and video communications system. By routing calls over the IP network, Acdoco is able to realise significant cost savings on calls between the Bolton factories and with its manufacturing and distribution partners overseas.

For smaller manufacturers the capital expenditure for compliance with the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems, such as AS2 standard, employed by larger retailers such as ASDA is normally high. Standard practice is to run EDI systems over expensive leased lines to ensure a robust and reliable service. Viatel's innovative managed broadband service allows Acdoco to deploy an IP VPN with class of service over uncontended DSL lines. The service is backed by comprehensive service level agreements (SLAs), giving Acdoco a reliable and cost effective solution.

"Maintaining access to our retailers' supply chain networks is essential if we are to remain a trusted supplier." David Pilling, IT manager at Acdoco commented. "From the outset Viatel understood the challenges our business faced, and has worked with us to implement technologies that would be able to grow with us."

"Today's challenge is compliance with the new AS2 EDI standard," Pilling continued, "Tomorrow's challenge will be to establish closer links with our international manufacturing partners, both in data and voice. I'm confident that with Viatel's support we will meet these head on."

In addition to the DSL lines connecting its headquarters and manufacturing plants in Bolton, Acdoco has chosen to connect 4 broadband lines to the VPN to enable remote working.

The IP VPN maintains simple and secure communications between Acdoco's headquarters, manufacturing plant and its field staff, allowing sales orders to be processed and fulfilled quickly and effectively. The IP VPN is also used to remotely update the home computers of field staff, as well as to provide them with the latest training.

"Supporting the needs of UK businesses is our key driver," Lucy Woods, CEO of Viatel remarked. "Successful businesses such as Acdoco have a proven sales model. It is key that the systems we implement support and grow this, rather than imposing new methods upon them."

Viatel provide a two-hour fix or replace service on all of Acdoco's network equipment, 24 hours a day. This ensures that online ordering, the main customer contact mechanism, is protected by guaranteed levels of availability.

Acdoco has also subscribed to Viatel's MailControl service, which filters and cleans all email traffic at the network level, ensuring Acdoco's network connections are not clogged by spam or infected by viruses. As a managed service, MailControl frees Acdoco's IT department from the daily grind of installing the latest virus updates, ensuring protection 24 hours a day.

13/12/2004

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About Viatel

Viatel is a pan-European business communications company operating across 6 European markets, including the UK, France and Germany. It has more than 10,000 business customers, providing them a range of business communication services that help companies of all sizes to access the internet, connect their people and places, manage their web applications and increase the security of their data. Headed by Lucy Woods, formerly CEO of WorldCom EMEA and BT Northern Ireland, the company employs 200 people throughout Western Europe.

For further information on Viatel, please visit

www.viatel.com

For further information please call:

Rebecca Curtin on +44 (0)870 166 2270

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