VisitBritain case study
THE COMPANY
VisitBritain's mission is to build the value of tourism to Britain by generating additional revenue and creating world-class destination brands and marketing campaigns. It was formed by the merger of the British Tourist Authority and England Tourism Council and has a goal to build the value of the tourism industry towards £100 billion by 2010. VisitBritain's 21 offices market Britain in 36 key markets around the world, including the emerging markets China, Poland, Russia and South Korea. Every year VisitBritain deals with almost 10 million enquiries, and contributed to the generation of £1,906m additional tourism expenditure for the UK. Within England, VisitBritain contributed to the generation of £243.2m additional tourism expenditure.
THE CUSTOMER'S CHALLENGE
VisitBritain has grown significantly in the last several years, both in terms of the breadth of services offered, the markets in which these services are offered and the complexity of the procurement services underlying these services. As a result, VisitBritain was increasingly interested to make sure that contracts for key telecommunications solutions, entered into some time ago, were still competitive with market rates. Also they were keen to identify ways in which those costs could be reduced over time without diminution of service to the organisation.
THE NETWORK COLLECTIVE APPROACH
Through consultation with VisitBritain, The Network Collective proposed to undertake a Baselining Analysis on VisitBritain's current solutions, to benchmark them against the market and also to complete a gap analysis on areas where the current solution can be optimised for the future.
To deliver this analysis in a timely and effective manner, The Network Collective began by conducting an in-depth data gathering process with VisitBritain to ensure we had a thorough understanding of the existing network and the role it plays in delivering the wider IT solution to the business. We followed on from this stage of the process by performing a detailed analysis of recent VisitBritain billing data from their existing suppliers to ensure we had a complete picture of both the technical and commercial solutions being utilised.
Using this analysis as a foundation, we then conducted a Baselining and Gap analysis to review how VisitBritain's network compared to the most recent market data on cost, service and technology. It was this analysis that then formed the basis of our reports and workshops undertaken with VisitBritain to communicate our findings and recommendations for the future.
Through this process, VisitBritain benefited from a detailed independent analysis of thier telecommunications solutions; greater transparency about how their solutions compare to the market; and knowledge of where improvements can be made for the future. By identifying areas of savings, and with the confidence of knowing the market to a great level of detail, VisitBritain are able to plan more effectively for the future and to target resources to achieve the best possible outcomes from future procurement activities.
THE CUSTOMER'S VIEW
"They delivered the project on time, on budget and to a very high quality standard. I found them easy to work with, very professional, and most importantly, extremely knowledgeable about the international telecommunications market. Best of all, they put that knowledge at my fingertips so we could benefit from it."
Tim Weston, Head of Procurement, VisitBritain
