The new system will modernise the business, improve decision-making processes and reduce operational costs by 50%, according to Premier. The deal will give the firm’s staff access to a range of online communication and productivity tools, including Google Docs, Gmail, Calendar, Google Talk and Google Drive.
Mark Vickery, group information supply and change director, told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “Google Apps for Business will bring benefits for individual users within Premier, the overall business and operational savings of up to 50%”.
Many of Premier Foods’ staff work remotely from customer sites and travel between the company’s 40 different sites. This move will help them work more efficiently, by accessing company information from any location and working in virtual teams with colleagues, said Vickery.
Cloud-based system
“Moving to a cloud-based system means we can now focus on how IT can strategically support our core area of expertise. Google’s constant level of innovation really appeals to us and we’re confident the change will leave our staff better connected, resulting in a more efficient and competitive business,” he added. “Google is bringing a lot of innovation to the table.”
Premier expects to slash operational IT costs by 50% through savings on licensing, hardware maintenance and intrastructural support costs. Adopting the new platform will allow the IT team to focus on more strategic projects, said Vickery.
The first phase of the implementation will be installing the email system and other functionality. The second phase will be learining how best to exploit the system within Premier.
The decision to purchase the new platform was made after a three-month review of competitors’ products.
Ocado and Specsavers
Thomas Davies, head of Google Enterprise UK, said: “It is great to have Premier Foods signed up to Google Apps. With other big brands already on board in the retail sector, including Ocado and Specsavers, it’s clear that the range of collaborative online features we offer within the service can drive big changes in how these organisations work and innovate.”
Google Apps for Business is said to offer simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools for enterprises of any size, hosted by Google to streamline setup, minimise maintenance, and reduce IT costs.
Gmail, Google Calendar, and integrated IM, users can stay connected and work together with ease, even in private domains, said the IT giant.
Using Google Docs, which includes word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation tools, enables file sharing and collaboration in real-time. Google sites, Google groups, and Google video add further capabilities for web publishing, secure sharing, and video storage and access.