Automotive Holdings Group “The Hub”
SharePoint - Case Study
Overview: Customer profile:
Automotive Holdings Group (AHG) is Australia’s largest automotive retailer with more than 140 dealership franchises across Australia and NZ. Its major operations are in Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria and include 12 of the top 13 car manufacturers in Australia. AHG also operates in Logistics since 1979, via its AMCAP, CovsParts and Rand Transport operations.
Business situation:
AHG was working with a simplistic and limited Intranet that could not meet the business requirements that were becoming increasingly sophisticated as the company expanded. Document management practices were not standardised and were left up to individuals. AHG needed a collaboration infrastructure to support interactivity and information between
departments of the several companies through storage of shared company documents, news and events.
Solution:
AHG chose Connected Systems for the implementation of SharePoint as their new intranet facility, called ‘The Hub’, which allowed users of different locations and departments to share relevant content to selected recipients.
Benefits:
• Modern, fast and easy to navigate Intranet • Enables to share documents and information instantly • Reaches all or selected recipients among users • Enables users to select favorite tabs individually • Fosters improved communications and interactions • Provides business units with ‘ownership’ of their own data. Automotive Holdings Group is Australia’s largest automotive retailer with over 140 dealership franchises across the country. AHG also operates logistics businesses throughout Australia through subsidiaries Rand Transport (transport and cold storage), AMCAP and CovsParts (motor parts and industrial supplies distribution), VSE, providing vehicle storage and engineering, Genuine Truck Bodies, which provides body building services to the truck industry,
“As AHG has matured on its journey from a private company in 2005 to a large publically listed Group, we became more conscious of the governance standards we had to adhere to and the need for more professionalism and accuracy in our document management practices. Connected Systems helped us to protect the continuity of our critical knowledge.”
- Eugene Kavanagh,
Chief Information Officer, AHG
and KTM Sport motorcycles (motorcycle importation and distribution in Australia and New Zealand). As the company expanded across the country and abroad, AHG felt the need to develop and implement a powerful, efficient and user friendly internal platform in order to increase and facilitate communication and collaboration for all AHG staff. AHG trusted Connected Systems to deliver a fit for purpose SharePoint solution that could help AHG face its new and growing challenges.
The situation: The growth of AHG:
Since its first Perth based car dealership opening in 1952, AHG has developed its network of car dealerships across Australia and NZ. AHG continued to grow into logistics and distribution while still acquiring new car dealerships in Australia and NZ. AHG’s growth through acquisition brought even more complexity and challenges relating to dissemination of information to staff. AHG had to deal with an increasing number of stakeholders, in diversified positions within their respective companies, located in different cities, operating with different systems, and having stakeholders of their own. AHG felt a growing need to centralize all this information, new procedures and company documents and updates, while being able to address the right content to the right people.
“We were not in control of our
important company documents – it wasn’t working.”
The rise of information technologies:
With the rise of Internet in the 90’s came the opportunity for AHG to build an Intranet, designed for collaborators to share internal, confidential information from different locations. Nearly 20 years later, the company had expanded to an extent that this intranet platform was no longer sufficient to meet the necessary requirements for an efficient internal communication. “The platform could not fulfill our requirements anymore as it got more and more sophisticated. We used to communicate via email, so we were not in control of our important documents, and revealing those to our users was patchy. We often forgot to release important information such as safety guidelines, or forgot some important recipients in our messages – it wasn’t working. Some people used our intranet, some didn’t, so it was impossible for us to keep clean records of our activities” says Eugene. In 2009, Eugene Kavanagh, AHG’s Chief Information Officer, engaged Connected Systems on the back of a recommendation from a previous colleague. Since then, Connected Systems has been AHG’s sole SharePoint service provider. Both organisations have built a business relationship based on straightforwardness, respect of deadlines and budgets, and the common goal of reaching AHG’s success.
The Solution: “The goal was to create a
professional, valuable tool that was flexible, easily used and attractive. We wanted a central place that people can look over to.”
The goal:
Connected Systems wanted to provide a smooth transition from the existing intranet into its new platform, called The Hub. We sought to make The Hub the primary and only access to important documents, news items and other corporate information, while also viewing it as a portal by which users can access essential applications and content, whether they are internally or externally hosted. It was important both to AHG and Connected Systems to provide a solution that was able to fulfill heavy user requirements; in this regard, Connected System went through a thorough analysis of each department and engaged with the users in a business language they could understand in order to comprehend the problem, define the requirements and provide the most effective and personalized solution. Together with an internal project manager, Connected Systems designed, developed and implemented a SharePoint based Intranet called The Hub.
The Concept:
The Hub is a portal allowing users to access thousands of documents, websites and applications.
The tabs provided access to the main features of the Hub including: • Company: users can access company news and updates, press releases, case studies and much more. • News and events: in this tab, AHG publishes news regarding the company and industry, and the events in which AHG is an actor or stakeholder.
• Marketing: this helps users across the company to access marketing material needed for campaigns or generic information. It may contain campaign tracking, brochures, designs, logos, etc.
With the growth of AHG, and as the amount of dealership and other acquisitions increased, many departments struggled to cope with the sheer volume of paperwork generated, much of which was essential ‘corporate knowledge’. The department of Property Management in particular was highly overloaded with procedures and paperwork. Managing property leases and drawings had become seriously problematic. “It meant a massive increase in creating, maintaining and updating their documents,” says Eugene, “It greatly increased the depth of their requirements”.
• Customer service: this tab enables users to track and store exchanges with their clients. Whether it is positive or negative feedback, specific requests or simply maintenance and follow up, users have a clear view on AHG’s past, current and planned activities with their accounts.
The Hub gives them access to a tailor made app specifically designed for them by Connected Systems that enables property managers to store, track, share and update their information online, and also provides reminders for follow ups, procedures and deadlines.
• HR: this tab comprises employee benefits, employee details, year objectives, job postings, payrolls, and basically everything needed for the Human Resources department to run efficiently and for users to get access to their personal files.
“Connected Systems developed a SharePoint based platform called the Hub, that enables our 5000+ staff to access, create and share content online, 24/7, remotely and instantly.” The homepage was designed for it to reveal quick links, important news and announcements, news regarding the industry, stock exchange rates, weather forecasts, and a bit of entertainment. These features have been custom developed for AHG, and can be modified and implemented to fit any industry or company.
The platform enables users to share private or public content in order for the information relevant to a particular user to be displayed on their team only. Users do not get flooded with superfluous information for their activities, which enables them to keep clean records of their essential data only.
• Resources: contains all the necessary forms, templates, procedures and policies needed for a functioning business unit. • My team: enables each user to gain access to the collaboration areas within AHG; these areas contain essential links, lists, tasks, applications, documents and contacts.
“They grabbed the concept and
pushed it, SharePoint quickly became an absolute must-have.”
Benefits: Since The Hub was implemented in 2009, AHG’s information management system has improved considerably; AHG acknowledges The Hub brought more efficiency to the organisation’s overall business. The Hub allows users to share and access company documents instantly, 24/7 and from any location. It enables AHG to control the information that is passed among users, and keep stakeholders updated. SharePoint also enables users to manage their own accounts, emails, documents and calendars; it assists users following up their day to day business activities. “We needed a corporate document management set up, especially for our ‘paper-heavy’ users such as our company secretary and the property managers who deal with massive amounts of documents, policies and procedures. It really facilitates the process that was awkward, tricky, and painful. Now, all you need to do is click, and off you go; The Hub hit the mark for us, it has become essential to our key business units.” Aside from document management, The Hub also helped AHG communicate more efficiently with staff, through one-click tabs leading to essential information such as safety policies, employee benefits or heavily used templates and forms.
As all the needed information lies in a single website, most of the users departments are now saving themselves hours of analyzing, explaining, sending and following up each single case. “For instance, The Hub considerably reduced the amount of calls to HR and IT helpdesks, they can now focus on their core tasks’, says Eugene. Since the implementation of The Hub, AHG has acquired multiple car dealerships and distribution businesses, such as Harris Refrigerated Transport. Thanks to the flexibility of the platform, AHG was able to transfer the tool to its new activities; it allowed the new comers to immediately acquire AHG’s culture. “As the business matures, The Hub is able to mature with it; we’re able to implement, modify and improve the platform following the company’s new requirements,” says Eugene.
Partnering with Connected Systems: “I would definitely recommend Connected
Systems; they came with the ability to engage with our users in a business language they could understand, which led the users to open up and truly collaborate in shaping The Hub. Connected Systems’ team executed the project by the book, in respect of deadlines and budget. Their passion for achievement and perfect execution led them to genuinely connect with our team in order to identify the needs and requirements they were facing, which played a crucial role in the successful development of the Hub. I truly appreciate the personalized approach and relationship I have with Connected Systems, I don’t feel like I am another number among their database. Connected Systems has been our only partner for 3 years, and we have the confidence to pursue our journey with them.”
- Eugene Kavanagh,
Chief Information Officer, AHG
Connected Systems
We pride ourselves on developing solutions that assist our customers with obtaining rapid return on investment. Founded in 2006, Connected Systems is an Australian company. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we’re focused on building our solutions on the Microsoft platform, which is the common architectural foundation that allows customers to integrate and share all IT assets and resources. This means customers can not only react to events, but they can also proactively manage their IT environments to pursue new business opportunities quickly and respond to market dynamics more effectively and competitively. We pride ourselves on delivering solutions on current technology and endeavour to stay at the forefront of the Microsoft technology curve. We are committed to providing our clients with the competitive edge they need to “make the difference” to their business.
We work smart and leverage our depth of expertise in strategic planning, application development and systems integration to ensure the best possible solution outcomes for our customers. We work collaboratively with our clients to either take on the responsibility of the project (through fixed price engagements), and we also work well where there is a sharing of responsibility for the decisions and direction a project may take (time and materials). As well as our specialist areas of development regarding Microsoft technologies, Connected Systems has extensive experience in many nondevelopments, consultative based service offerings – for example, ICT Strategic Planning. We offer and have performed strategy consulting, analysis and governance consulting for some of Australia’s largest private and public sector organisations.
For more information, contact us today!
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Our aim is to provide our customers with fitfor-purpose solutions that clearly add value to their organisation. Connected Systems is dedicated to providing value added technology consulting and development expertise; this ranges from strategic planning, design, development and testing and commissioning of the system. We also offer support services.
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Connected Systems is a technologyconsulting organisation who specialises in providing innovative technological solutions to meet the needs of customers both today and into the future. Specialising in Branding, Application Development, .NET bespoke development, SharePoint technologies and BizTalk solutions, we offer our customers tailor made, easy to use solutions to help increase productivity using the latest Microsoft technology.
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