As Swindon-based Excalibur Communications puts the final polish on big preparations for growth it raises questions over the fortitude of business leaders who face similar challenges but fail to act, according to CEO James Phipps.
The time for blanket go-to-market strategies is over - it's not sensible to rack-up supplier numbers and stick to a policy of broad strokes and pointless product expansion, according to Phipps. "Resellers will have to reduce their product portfolio to enable them to be more focused," he stated. "Trying to manage umpteen partnerships in what can be a nightmare of a supply chain is not sustainable. We believe in our key partners, Vodafone and Microsoft, and we concentrate on them."
Phipps' sentiment is reflected in his strategic plan for significantly growing the Excalibur business, and his warning about partner rationalisation and streamlining product portfolios is not needless scaremongering. "Our biggest challenge is to try and keep a complex world of solutions simple for our customers," he commented. "Although we stick to the simplistic message of mobile, landline and IT, we have 10 products in total. This year was an important milestone because a customer adopted all of our services. It showed that we have become a true, trusted partner, and demonstrates that we can advise and support."
Excalibur now services over 5,500 businesses across the UK, generating £8 million turnover and £1.6 million profit. The company aims to be a £25 million business within five years, and bringing in new board members while changing the culture of the firm is an important part of the growth strategy. "We all sit together in an open plan environment," said Phipps. "The management are no longer tucked away in offices. We also have a 'How Am I Doing' note at the end of every email, giving customers the opportunity to provide feedback on everyone at the company. It's not just management that monitors the performance of staff. Time off for illness has all but vanished and punctuality is at an all time high. We have created an open and flexible environment where people feel part of the company, they want to come to work and are truly conscientious about our customers."
The input of employees is most telling in a recent company survey that showed 92 per cent of staff are very happy working at Excalibur. Based on 17,000 customer surveys from support cases, the company also achieved a 4.8/5.0 average score rating for customer service in the first nine months of 2014. "Our focus is on service and the customer journey," added Phipps. "We do everything we can to look through the eyes of our customers. When I became CEO we didn't put sales targets in place. We thought about being the best service provider we could be, and out of that our sales grew. With 5,500 customers it can be a little complicated, but we've made a six figure investment in our IT systems to bring demonstrable benefits to clients, not just 'good' customer service. This includes a new training school so that we can deliver our next set of team leaders inside the business."
With a plan for staff education in place, now is an apt time to spotlight an important lesson Phipps learnt during his early career. "I began working as a sales assistant for a mobile phone retail outlet," he recalled. "It was no more than a box with zero in the way of facilities. I worked seven days a week for a very hard to please individual. He was extremely unfair, taking full advantage of calling some very unreasonable shots. It taught me very early on how not to be a boss."
Excalibur started in 1993 as a retail store in Basingstoke under The Mobile Phone Centre (MPC) brand. Seven years later two successful franchises merged under MPC to form Excalibur Communications. By 2005 the company was operating 21 retail outlets that served over 25 per cent B2B customers. In 2006 Phipps was working as Area Manager of the Swindon office and he was the first to leave the MPC branding and move under the Excalibur banner to focus on B2B. Excalibur started offering IT services in 2007 and the customer base had by then grown to around 70 per cent B2B with approximately 1,500 business customers.
In the year that followed Excalibur acquired First Call, Vodafone's second largest partner based in Bristol. A move into fixed line provision came soon after and Phipps' appointment as Managing Director and Excalibur shareholder coincided with the firm's move to pure B2B, supporting around 3,500 customers. Excalibur's IT and UC capability was boosted by the acquisition of Emnico and Bridge solutions in 2011 and the enlarged organisation became a sole Vodafone mobile network partner, a link-up that continues to flourish with Excalibur becoming a Vodafone Platinum partner (as well as securing Microsoft Gold partner status). In 2012 the firm was named as the first Vodafone One Net Accredited partner.
Phipps became CEO last year, and as the company enters its 21st year of trading with Vodafone a trio of additional appointments are certain to bolster Excalibur's credentials. Chairman Nicky Alberry has 12 years experience at HSBC and was previously Chief Executive of GWE Business West, and is now Vice Chairman of the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Non-Executive Director Peter Boucher was formerly the Commercial Marketing Director at Vodafone. And incoming Chief Commercial Officer Andy Tow was Managing Director of Chess Partner Services and has almost 30-years industry experience including a stint as Head of Indirect Sales at Vodafone. "In 2010 when I became CEO I'd only just turned 30," said Phipps. "In hindsight I should perhaps have put the Board of Directors together earlier, but having said that the people I wanted weren't available at the time."
As the market veers towards consultancy and an era of one-stop-shops, resellers must look towards a more certain future based on root and branch reviews of their business and strategic roadmaps, believes Phipps. "We see some companies attempting to be a true service provider," he said. "However, they don't seem to appreciate the amount of investment required for that considerable customer journey. Solutions are becoming increasingly varied and complex, and improved connectivity alters what customers can do and how they run their business. In the ever changing landscape, tablets with SIM cards are making IT companies fidgety because it's now a communication device. Comms organisations are equally nervous because a mobile is now more of an IT device. We've removed ourselves from that uncertainty."
Only the wisely ambitious merit their position in a world of future certainty, but flux also has its place. "The excitement of working in this industry is the very fact that it's hard to predict what's around the corner," noted Phipps. "Who'd have thought three years ago that tablets would now be outselling PCs? In Excalibur's evolution we saw how landline, mobile and IT would come together under one roof. We have to keep a close eye on the developing market so that we can fulfil relevant technology. We strive to keep things simple and stick to tried and tested solutions. We use what we sell."