Source: Affiniti news release
http://www.affiniti.com/option,com_rssnews/id,DA_42130.html7 June 2005
SportsWorld awards £5m contract to Affiniti to build foundation for 'Store of the Future' with converged voice, video & data services * End-to-end converged solution enabled by Affiniti, the newly merged Kingston/Omnetica business
* First ever deployment of voice, video and data via DSL technology
Affiniti, the communications integrator created from the coming together of Kingston Communications Business Services, Omnetica and Technica, today announced a £5m, three-year contract with SportsWorld to conduct a technology refresh for its head office and 250 stores across the UK. SportsWorld, one of the fastest growing national retailers, is anticipating savings of £500k over the next three years with secure broadband connectivity and IP communications, including aggregated voice solutions and wireless technology, together with managed services.
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Source: Affiniti "Involved", Issue 7, Winter 2008
http://www.affiniti.com/images/stories/publicdocs/involved/involved_issue7_winte...SPORTS DIRECT GAINS ‘STORE OF THE FUTURE’Sports Direct is the UK’s leading sports retailer by revenue and operating profit and the owner of several internationally recognised sports and leisure brands. Its approach to business is aggressive with a strong focus on cost optimisation and a highly innovative approach to technology.
Affiniti has been working with Sports Direct for a number of years and acts as a trusted advisor to this major international sports retailer.
Initially we upgraded the existing WAN infrastructure to support the delivery of voice over IP to all 400-plus stores, with a state of the art wireless network across the whole business. This provided thousands of access points and wireless controllers to enable software upgrades at the flick of a switch.
The wireless infrastructure also supports handheld computers so that staff can respond to stock and pricing queries from customers without having to leave the shop floor. It also means that stock records can be maintained in real-time, enabling the business to become considerably more dynamic. The solution further provides the foundation to explore and support other new technologies such as RFID, used for tracking stock palettes in transit.
Other projects have included the supply of new storage infrastructure and migrating the business to new headquarters in Shirebrook, Nottinghamshire. Sports Direct is now able to respond quickly to changes in the competitive retail marketplace and support ambitious growth plans.
“State of the art WAN, wireless technology and storage improvements have enabled us to realise our vision for the ‘Store of the future’,” said John Ashley, IT Director at Sports Direct. “Improving customer care is a major benefit of Affiniti’s innovative solutions. For example, the ‘always on’ broadband connections enable Sports Direct to provide a much speedier service to customers. They no longer have to wait while the company dials up for credit card authorisations - the broadband connection means staff can just swipe the card and the transaction is completed within seconds. Customers enjoy a better service and reduced queuing times.”
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