Sara Lee

Videoconferencing improves business communications and relationship management for Sara Lee.

Challenge

Videoconferencing, the technology allowing the simultaneous broadcast of pictures and sound, is starting to become increasingly popular in European-wide businesses as more companies are recognising the huge cost savings and communications benefits.

Sara Lee, the household and body care products group with offices all over Europe, installed videoconferencing facilities at its offices in the UK so that it could link up with other group manufacturing sites in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Far East. Following research into the technology and the marketplace Sara Lee decided to use Camberley based Videocall to arrange installation and training.

Solution

Martin Mathieson, business systems manager at Sara Lee in Slough, said: “We had been looking into videoconferencing because, as a European-wide company, we identified the potential benefits of the new technology. We had the videoconferencing equipment installed last summer and it has been in regular use ever since. Apart from travel cost savings, we are also finding that videoconferencing helps develop and maintain relationships with customers and suppliers.”

Sara Lee initially had videoconferencing installed to ease communications with its European offices and the company has now started to use the equipment to speak to suppliers as well, both in the UK and Europe.

Results

Rob Portwood, managing director of Videocall, added: “Videoconferencing has really taken off in the UK, especially with companies who have overseas operations and would have sent executives to meetings abroad on a regular basis. The costs for these companies have been greatly reduced and, at the same time, the communications have improved because people are in contact with each other much more often.

“Once people try the equipment and realise how quick and clear the communications are they immediately start to explore the potential. Although business meetings will never be fully replaced by videoconferencing, there are so many times that the halfway option between travelling to meetings and the telephone will prove to be the best option.

" Apart from travel cost savings, we are also finding that videoconferencing helps develop and maintain relationships with customers and suppliers."

Martin Mathieson, Business Systems Manager at Sara Lee