Vista Retail and ByBox thrive together with new contract win

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Vista Retail and ByBox thrive together with new contract win.

ByBox, provider of locker based solutions for the field services market, has won a new contract with Vista Retail, the UK IT service and support organisation dedicated to the retail market. Vista Retail's fleet of engineers use ByBox' extensive electronic locker (iBox) network to receive and return parts. This alternative delivery method is widely used in the field services sector and is a convenient and cost-effective way of distributing parts and equipment.

With 1,500 lockers across the UK, located at convenient sites such as petrol stations, supermarkets, sports grounds and retail parks, the service is used by 25,000 engineers daily and ByBox makes over 20 million deliveries a year. Working through the night, ByBox delivers parts pre 8am so that engineers can collect from lockers before the start of their working day.

Vista Retail, who maintain the in-store technology of some of the UK's leading retailers, understands the pitfalls of traditional delivery methods. Having engineers wait at home for parts to arrive or having to travel to depots to collect them is inefficient and a misuse of engineer's time. With the ByBox service, there are no such constraints and there is the added benefit of the easy-to-use returns process. Engineers simply deposit faulty/used parts into any one of ByBox' lockers with a bespoke label and ByBox ensures they are routed to the correct return destination.

When a piece of equipment, such as an Electronic Point of Sale terminal, a till or a monitor breaks down, it is important it is repaired or replaced quickly to ensure minimum downtime for the customer. Lengthy delays can lead to customer dissatisfaction and lost revenue; the ByBox service ensures engineers can react fast and improve their daily productivity.

All stages of return and delivery are tracked via ByBox' unique software system Thinventory™ which ensures there is complete visibility in the supply chain. Customers can trace the movement of parts in real-time over the web and so as a result, end up spending less money on sameday transport and unnecessary stock holding.

The ByBox service works 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This flexibility is extremely useful for Vista Retail as it enables them to carry out vital emergency repairs and get customers equipment back up and running during peak times. Working with major high street chains, Vista Retail recognises that a broken down pin pad or cash register can have huge ramifications for a retailer and so it is pivotal that faulty machinery is replaced quickly.

Without the seven day ByBox service, Vista Retail would not be able to respond to breakdowns at critical times such as Boxing Day or Bank Holidays, when retailers are at their busiest. As ByBox continues to operate as normal during these times, Vista Retail has the assurance that their engineers can receive parts in case emergency repairs are needed. Vista Retail trialled the ByBox service over Christmas last year and the feedback from their engineers was extremely positive. Aspects of the service such as text alerts when an item is in a locker, the tracking system and the pre 8am SLA were useful in helping them work more efficiently.

Ian Smith, Warehouse and Logistics Manager at Vista Retail commented, "We have had a great transition from our previous service provider and ByBox has put together a bespoke solution for us which is perfect. The ability to send and receive parts 7 days a week is extremely valuable for the sector we work in and allows us to provide greater support to our customers. ByBox send out over 100 parts for us a week and we are extremely happy with the service they are providing."

ByBox provides bespoke solutions and as well as its locker network, and can also manage the repair of any faulty items. It operates an in house repair centre, where a fully trained workforce of repair technicians provides full repair, refurbishment and screening services. Alongside this, it has a Technical Services division which provides outsourced low-level engineering through to high end technical repairs.

ByBox can also manage the route back to the repairer or repair the item itself in its own repair centres and then put the fixed item back into good stock. The Thinventory™ platform ensures equipment manufacturers can keep track of where and what stage of repair items are at.

James Pepper, Vista Technical Services Director commented: "Logistics is a key component of Vista's highly successful and reliable service solution, therefore when a decision was made to move to ByBox to provide overnight in box and NDC delivery solutions it was reassuring to see a detailed transition plan and the high level of understanding and commitment from the ByBox team. The transition was seamless and post transition support continues to be highly professional."