OVERVIEW
Country or Region: UK
Specialty: Coffee company
Customer Profile:
James Gourmet Coffee (JGC), established in 1999, is a producer of speciality coffee. It is a small, family-run company based in the market town of Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire. The dedicated team produces high quality specialty coffee for cafés, trade customers, and those who want to enjoy good coffee at home.
Importing mainly from Brazil, JGC work directly with 4-5 selected farms and growers that practice sustainable agriculture. By doing so, they support fair trade practices and environmentally friendly cultivation methods. “Sustainability is paramount for us”, says Peter James, JGC owner, “ensuring we adopt practices that minimise environmental impact at every production stage”.
Unlocking Efficiency and Data Security: A Success Story from a Herefordshire Coffee Business
“Thanks to these upgrades, our business operations are now significantly smoother and more reliable”
Office Manager, JGC
Customer challenges
The business was using a local IT service provider which was taken over and subsequently became a lot more difficult and expensive to deal with. It became clear that that there was a management need to secure important data and centralise it, whilst tackling costs. To add to the chaos, the team was stuck with unprofessional email addresses and the outdated hardware was running multiple, conflicting antivirus software. Moreover, the absence of professional business emails led to various reputational issues resulting from the loss of customer orders, invoices, and enquiries.
These challenges were overwhelming and the need for a solution became imperative.
Solution
A well-timed leaflet drop introduced them to Farmplan’s Hardware and IT services. Following a rapid exchange, the Farmplan team came in, discussed requirements, and quickly developed a plan to achieve what the business needed. They upgraded the hardware, set up professional email accounts, along with enabling secure storage and seamless data sharing through Microsoft OneDrive.
“Thanks to these upgrades, our business operations are now significantly smoother and more reliable”, says the office manager at JGC. “The introduction of professional email addresses has enhanced our communications, making the business much more efficient and organised. With a shared calendar in place, our team is more collaborative and streamlined, ensuring we stay on top of our tasks and deadlines effectively.”
Furthermore, a local company was crucial for JGC, as the team wanted the reassurance that the support would always be there when it was needed.
“I had a small issue with my OneDrive which was quickly resolved over the phone. It’s really easy to get support when we need it and the Farmplan team is very responsive, plus being so local means they can pop in if we need them to”, says the office manager. “Having a professional email makes life so much easier. Customers are getting faster responses and things aren’t getting lost.”
Farmplan solutions
Alongside it’s Hardware and IT Services, Farmplan is widely known for its robust farm management software, catering primarily for growers and rural businesses, and helping them streamline their crop management and overall business operations.
“Our Hardware and IT Services go hand-in-hand with our software solutions, offering comprehensive IT support and tailored solutions for businesses of all sizes,” says Glenn Arnold, Farmplan’s System Engineer. “At Farmplan, we don’t just meet our customers’ software needs; we empower them across their entire business journey.”
