Finding a partner who can help them reduce their IT expenditure and, at the same time, harness their IT infrastructure in order to raise service levels and meet diverse data protection and environmental obligations, is high on the boardroom agenda, especially when there are dramatic cost savings to be made.

Through an innovative partnership with Bradford & Bingley and their incumbent IT service providers, Leeds based DTP Group has been able to help the financial services group reap major strategic and operational benefits and significantly reduce its IT spend.

About Bradford & Bingley Bradford & Bingley Group plc is one of the UK’s major providers of financial services. With over 200 retail outlets in the UK, the group has a broad portfolio of innovative savings products and provides advice on a wide range of mortgages, investment and insurance products.

Complex partnership In addition to the full range of branded business IT equipment such as printers, PCs, servers and laptops, DTP provides both a bonded warehouse facility and a secure recycling and disposal management solution.

DTP supplies IT procurement and logistics services across Bradford & Bingley’s four operational centres and 200+ retail branches in collaboration with the group’s outsourcing partners. The added complexity of this tripartite arrangement demonstrates DTP’s ability to manage a complicated supply chain and continuously perform on price while delivering first class levels of service.

This integrated approach calls for a high degree of understanding, trust and transparency from each partner in order to understand the nature and demands of each other’s business.

DTP National Sales Manager, Stuart Broadbent, confesses this has been a major challenge. “We’ve had to balance maintaining our position of trust with our client and, at the same time, retain the support and confidence of their outsourcing partners.”

Key benefits

Reduced IT spend Through highly competitive sourcing of new hardware and adept recycling of existing equipment, DTP has enabled Bradford & Bingley to significantly reduce its IT spend on capital equipment.

Secure recycling & disposal Additionally, the secure recycling and disposal services provided by DTP have helped the group manage its IT assets in line with increasingly onerous data protection, environmental and other legislation.

Flexible planning In contrast to rigid contractual relationships which can often bind clients in for lengthy periods of time, DTP’s flexible, vendor-agnostic approach allows Bradford & Bingley the freedom to flex its IT strategy as market conditions change.

Fast, precise delivery scheduling To ensure it can meet exacting Service Level Agreements, DTP also operates a secure bonded warehousing facility for the group. This relieves Bradford & Bingley of many financial and logistical headaches without compromising speed of delivery. New orders are quickly turned round and delivered according to the group’s precise schedules.

Management reporting DTP's management information system allows detailed management reporting on logistics, spend and consumption, in addition to a number of other valuable reporting tools including:

Key Performance Indicator (KPI) analysis: By monitoring vendor performance, potential supply problems can be identified and pre-empted.

Product recall and fault identification: In the unlikely event of product or component failure, equipment can be quickly identified and appropriate remedial action taken.

Integration with asset register: Regular reports, at component level, can be provided in hard copy or electronic format to aid asset management.

Providing a key differentiator Steve Partington, Head of IT at Bradford & Bingley believes the term ‘Value Added Reseller’ is used very loosely in the industry. "I can honestly say DTP are one of the few resellers who have actually added value for Bradford & Bingley. They have worked seamlessly with our outsourcing partners providing additional expertise and genuine value for money. Compared with some of their reseller peers, they will always go that little bit further."

Stuart Broadbent echoes this view: "There are lots of companies doing what we do, but where we believe we make a difference is in the consistently high levels of service we provide. Yes, we deliver on time and to budget, but we also believe you should have access to information and technical support whenever you need it, as well as a very personal level of customer care." Stuart adds: "We're committed to providing solutions which take a long-term view of a client’s business rather than a short-term focus on our bottom line."

For more information contact:
Tel: 0113 276 0210
e-mail: ips@dtpgroup.co.uk

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