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Sanmar Uses the Cireson Portal to Support Employees and Customers
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization
Applicable Industries
- Apparel
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Facility Management
Use Cases
- Remote Asset Management
- Predictive Maintenance
- Process Control & Optimization
Services
- System Integration
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- Training
The Challenge
The primary goal of SanMar’s IT team was to find a solution that could provide help desk capabilities their users could be comfortable with, and that could be deployed and managed on premises. They also wanted it to be budget-friendly. After considering a few offerings, they picked System Center Service Manager. It offered the help desk features they wanted, and it was affordable. However, before they deployed Service Manager, the IT team decided to also choose an add-on solution to simplify Service Manager’s daily management. “We knew about the difficulties of dealing with Service Manager,” said Al Kimbell, IT Operations Manager. “Microsoft recommended that we looked at their partners, including Cireson, and their offerings. We knew Cireson’s Self-Service Portal would fit our needs.“ “Another reason we chose Cireson was because we didn’t want to depend on Silverlight,” added Al Kimbell.
About The Customer
Founded in 1971, SanMar is a supplier of apparel and accessories to 21 retail, private label, and mill brands. SanMar employs 130 IT professionals. They support about 2,500 users in 9 locations (1 corporate office and 8 warehouses), and manage 1,900 devices. About 60% of the company’s IT infrastructure is Windows-based. The rest includes Linux, and other operating systems.
The Solution
The Cireson team deployed the solutions in about 3 months, as expected. The technical side of the project went well, and the system wasn’t difficult for users to figure out. While the system undergoes constant improvements, it has already made SanMar’s IT team more productive. One of the immediate benefits, in comparison with the old system, was the ability to consolidate databases. “In the past, we had separate databases that our teams had to access to work with the ticketing system,” said Al Kimbell. “With the Cireson Portal we are able to consolidate into a single database. It simplified our work, and streamlined the process.” SanMar uses the Self-Service Portal to offer support not only to their employees in eight warehouses and the corporate office, but also their customers. “We had positive feedback from our users,” said Al Kimbell. “The old system was for incidents only. The new system also allows them to submit hardware and software service requests.” Another key benefit of the portal for SanMar’s IT team is its comprehensive reporting capabilities. “It’s important for me personally, because I have to generate reports and report on the numbers,” said Al Kimbell. “I’m also excited about the new dashboard coming out in Version 5.” The support offered by Cireson is another reason SanMar’s team has a positive experience with the Portal. “We are also happy with the support we are getting from Cireson. We couldn’t get it with our previous solution, and it is very important to us.”
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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