Batteries Plus supports franchise growth with store network visibility
Batteries Plus is preparing for continued expansion of its store footprint with a new network health monitoring portal.
Undergoing significant franchise growth beyond its existing footprint, the specialty retailer found its existing provider of managed store network services could not adequately support a larger store fleet.
[READ MORE: Batteries Plus adds more stores to pipeline in Q1]
As its store footprint grew and the technology stack became more complex, Batteries Plus found its lack of a portal or dashboard to monitor network health or performance across locations resulted in a variety of negative impacts. These included franchise owners not receiving alerts when store networks failed over to more expensive backup circuits, as well as lack of corporate insight into service performance or ROI.
To solve its store network issues, Batteries Plus has deployed the HughesON portal from Hughes across more than 700 franchise stores with more than 400 different owners. The retailer now has visibility into store network performance through the HughesON portal, which provides real-time network health monitoring at all locations.
As a result, help desk staff can view live network status, diagnose and troubleshoot issues in real time, and reboot devices remotely, all without store-level intervention. And remote power monitoring further reduces mean time to resolution with automated power cycling.
In addition, franchisees now receive notification when local store networks failover to backup circuits, enabling in-store personnel to take action directly to avoid overage costs.
Issues are also now typically addressed within a few business days, and when more urgent or widespread problems arise, emergency meetings can be established within 30 minutes to develop action plans. Customized reporting delivered within 72 hours of request offers insights into performance and costs that Batteries Plus couldn’t easily obtain previously.
Beyond the HughesON portal, technology and services Hughes deployed for Batteries Plus include custom-developed hardware solutions designed to work universally across diverse store environments; active power edge managed power distribution units that automatically power-cycle devices when connectivity issues are detected; and managed services including networking and installation, proactive monitoring, and fast remediation, as well as onsite and field technical support personnel. Hughes provides round-the-clock 24/7 support and a nationwide team of field technicians.
Headquartered in Hartland, Wis., Batteries Plus offers batteries, specialty light bulbs and phone repair services for the direct-to-consumer and commercial channels. It also offers key programming, replacement and cutting services.
