The client is a national specialty retailer with 3,000 stores and locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Store personnel rely on handheld computers in their daily work, and those devices depend on cellular coverage to function. Before engaging Advantix, the retailer's wireless service for the handhelds came from two carriers, Verizon and AT&T. The case study does not name the company.

The retailer needed reliable coverage for the handheld computers its store personnel use, both inside and outside its 3,000 stores. Employees were experiencing recurring handheld device and connectivity issues, and the problems were affecting productivity and customer service at store level.

The company's wireless service came from two carriers, Verizon and AT&T. Stakeholders were disappointed with the support they received from those carriers, and internal technology teams were spending many hours troubleshooting mobile and hardware connectivity problems instead of working on other priorities.

With thousands of devices deployed across the United States, Canada and Mexico, the retailer was looking for persistent connectivity with carrier redundancy, simpler SIM management and better control of its mobile expenses across the whole store estate.

Advantix Solutions' engineering team designed a SmartSIM deployment for the handheld computers used by store employees across the retailer's 3,000 stores. SmartSIM gives each device multi-carrier connectivity rather than tying it to one carrier's network. Advantix rolled the solution out to thousands of devices in stores throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, giving the handhelds persistent connectivity and carrier redundancy both inside and outside the stores.

Alongside the connectivity work, Advantix specialists designed a managed services package around the deployment. It included ongoing telecom expense management (TEM), cost allocation back to individual stores, geolocation services to help the retailer track its devices, and real-time reporting on carrier switches and other network statistics.

The package simplified SIM management and enabled proactive data-plan management, and the TEM optimization continues on an ongoing basis after the initial deployment. The retailer now has a single managed program from Advantix that covers device connectivity, device visibility and mobile expense control across its stores.

• Saved $60,000 a month in mobile expenses, funding a technology and equipment refresh
• Thousands of handheld devices gained persistent connectivity and carrier redundancy inside and outside stores
• Simplified SIM management with proactive data-plan management and ongoing TEM optimization
• Tech teams saved many hours previously spent troubleshooting mobile and hardware connectivity problems
• Managed services added cost allocation to stores, device geolocation and real-time network reporting