Intranet Software Case Study – Sho-Link
Background
Founded in 1993, Sho-Link Incorporated is the only service cooperative in the trade show and event industry. With representation in more than sixty cities and warehousing/offices manned by dedicated staffs in eight of the top exhibition markets, Sho-Link is a formidable contender in the event logistics field.
With its Intranet program and an enhanced show floor customer care program, managing client’s needs is exciting. Sho-Link is the first and only Exhibitor Appointed Contractor to bring a live, interactive, Web-based management tool to the show floor.
The Challenges
As a provider of service (labor) and equipment for trade shows, the nature of Sho-Link’s business requires effective on-going communication with clients.
Sho-Link representation in more than sixty cities and warehousing/offices manned by dedicated staffs in eight of the top exhibition markets. Relying on paper communication, fax, phone, courier, and direct human contact quickly became insufficient for these offices in maintaining the level of service desired for clients.
Sho-Link needed a medium through which information and news could be centralized for easy access by eleven different managers in eleven cities. Additionally, Sho-Link was looking for something that would provide opportunities for enhanced customer service for their clientele.
Seeking a Solution
Hoping to cut down on communications expenses, Ray Verhelst, Director of Sales and Marketing for Sho-Link decided to implement an Intranet powered by Noodle:
“The deciding factor in getting an Intranet from Vialect was threefold: the ASP model (Web-hosted, Secure version), no IT skills required, and the ability to control user access down to a single Section or Subsection”.
Sho-Link’s Intranet was set-up within days, and the entire team was properly oriented and using it actively within a 30-day period.
Now an integral part of the way they do business at Sho-Link, the company Intranet is being used in two main ways: Within the company to communicate with city managers in different cities, and to provide clients with enhanced service on the trade show floor.
Managing Client Accounts
Sho-Link regional managers use Noodle to handle clients’ needs from start to finish. A customer who wants to have a booth set up at a convention center in Las Vegas, for example, can fill out an order form online that is automatically routed to a regional manager in Las Vegas.
When managers are not physically in the office in Las Vegas, they always login to the Intranet remotely to access information by using their laptops from the convention center floor or wherever they might be. As a result, despite the complexities of the work involved, Sho-Link is able to turn out an invoice within 7-10 days.
Additionally, if the same customer wants to have another booth in New York City later during the year, the customer’s job file is easily viewed by the regional office in New York City over the Intranet, resulting in a smooth transfer of knowledge from one office to the next, and a high level of customer service.
Enhanced Customer Service
As part of their outstanding customer service, Sho-Link has built a new service around the Noodle Intranet called E-Monitor.
In a nutshell, Sho-Link takes digital pictures of a client’s booth as it gets set-up at a trade show, which can be viewed by the client through the Intranet. The client can give specific orders regarding the set-up, which, in turn, reduces the time spent on supervising and results in an improvement of service by Sho-Link. The booth manager only needs to go in the last day to give final approval of the set-up. Ray Verhelst, says of E-Monitor, “this is essentially our edge against our competitors!”
The Bottom Line
Vialect’s Intranet solution has greatly eased Sho-Link’s collaboration difficulties and provided a great place to post important documents for multiple people to view and edit, and, in addition, has enabled Sho-Link to use Noodle as part of a value-added service for their clientele.
Visit Sho-Link at www.sho-link.com
About Vialect
Vialect’s mission is to help companies succeed by harnessing their individual knowledge and processes in order to create a valuable corporate asset. Headquartered in Ontario Canada.