BEC secures one of its most successful years to date

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: BEC secures one of its most successful years to date.

BEC (Systems Integration) Ltd. – a leading supplier of data capture and voice solutions for the supply chain, logistics and manufacturing industries – is currently enjoying one of its most successful years so far within its 24-year history.

Platinum Partner status

One particularly impressive triumph for the company was its recent securing of Honeywell’s Vocollect Platinum Total Solution Provider (TSP) Status. Philip Jarrett, director of sales & marketing, BEC (Systems Integration) Ltd., explained what this recognition means for the BEC. “We are very proud to see all the effort we have put into securing this status over the past four to five years come to fruition.

Only a select few companies have achieved this status, so we can hold our heads high. We have worked very hard to achieve it, and we believe the benefits for us will be considerable. As well as the general prestige surrounding the recognition, I believe it has also removed barriers to entry with regard to a number of large projects that we have recently secured and a number of new projects that we will secure going forward. All this shows we have been moving in the right direction.”

“Darrel Williams, EMEA sales director at Honeywell, added: “BEC continues to impress. Committed to delivering value and great service, the team continue to stay true to the principles that made a partnership between Honeywell and BEC such a natural fit. In the years since we started working together, BEC have continually provided our customers with outstanding operational excellence through their adoption and integration of Honeywell Vocollect voice solutions. The Vocollect product line, together with BEC’s logistics and systems expertise coupled with an unwavering commitment to delivering additional value, has resulted in delighted and successful customers and of course market growth.”

Project update

BEC has also continued to secure or further develop a number of major contracts in a number of key industry sectors. One particularly prestigious account that BEC has been developing over the past few years involves the supply of a substantial amount of Honeywell Vocollect’s voice-directed hardware and software to a leading luxury product supplier to the retail industry. The contract was initially worth several hundred thousand US dollars but will be ongoing with future solution roll-out.

BEC also recently secured a large project win with a leading supplier within the food & beverage sector. “This company initially planned to go down the wearable scanning device route,” explained Jarrett. “However, after several meetings we explained the added benefits that voice could offer. After signing the contract, we installed Voice with the option to scan as well in certain applications. Voice is currently being integrated across three of the company’s big distribution sites.” Geographically, BEC’s projects span a wide range of territories, including the voice implementation within Horseware’s US warehouse.

Personnel

BEC is also expanding its own internal technical and marketing personnel. As part of a co-funded project with Honeywell Vocollect, the company recently appointed a new business development manager with experience within the maintenance & inspection sector. “His background is in fleet management inspection and he has just the right skillsets to develop our presence further within the M&I space,” said Jarrett. “He will be liaising with a range of existing clients within sectors such as automotive.”

Jarrett added that BEC is a big supporter of apprenticeship schemes and runs its own scheme whereby it appoints postgraduates as a technical resource as well as developing the apprentices’ skillsets within the IT sector. “This is something that has worked very well in the past and definitely something we are keen to develop further going forward,” he said.

Solution development

Additionally, BEC continues to develop its own solutions suite. “We are currently migrating our solutions to the android platform to accommodate the latest types of mobile devices,” explained Jarrett. The solutions’ functionality is also constantly being enhanced. “Being largely bespoke, the functionality of our offerings is mainly driven by our customers and their specific requirements,” said Jarrett. “If someone wants something a little bit left-field we will develop it and add it to our portfolio. BEC takes pride in the fact that we are able to provide a wide variety of dashboards and reporting tools that can be modified to suit the exact requirements of clients. We currently have around 40 different flavours within our dashboards and reporting tools and we can add to those if something doesn't quite fit the requirements of a particular client.”

Jarrett concluded: “Having enjoyed one of our most successful years ever we have a real spring in our step and a commitment to further developing and expanding every aspect of our business. Watch this space for further updates.”