Powerful mobile connectivity and plans help NHP Electrical Engineering Products improve the way they work, collaborate, and engage with customers.

Gone are the days of being tied to the office desk. The ability to work from anywhere is now key to business performance. Customers expect the better service that mobility brings, employees want the flexibility it offers, and businesses can seize the advantages of responding faster.

Yet all these benefits depend on the quality of the mobile network, as NHP understood only too well.

As a leading provider of electrical engineering products and services, their operations cover wide areas of metropolitan and regional Australia. Whether it’s for customer sales or service, employees need to access corporate systems at will.

As technology evolves, so do innovative businesses

NHP Electrical was forward-thinking in its adoption of technology, gradually moving away from on-premises systems to virtual platforms. They had replaced their on-premises contact centre with the Genesys PureCloud platform, and other critical applications like Microsoft 365, Teams, Microsoft Dynamics 365—as well as their ERP systems—were now all in the cloud.

However, these cloud applications were being run in tandem with ageing devices limiting employees from realising the full potential of on-demand access to cloud applications in real-time from more places. So, when it was time to refresh the mobile fleet, NHP was keen to explore new possibilities.

Adapting to the times

After discussions with their telecommunications partner, Schepisi Communications, NHP realised the value of using 5G devices to harness the power of Telstra’s 5G network. This would help them keep up in an increasingly fast-paced business world and support their increasingly disparate and hybrid workforce with fast connectivity

The Telstra 5G network offers increased capacity for faster data speeds, even in congested areas. In addition, low latency means applications respond with less lag. Telstra also offers the widest 5G footprint in Australia, reaching 80% of the Australian population .¹

NHP don’t just use mobile phones with 5G, they also tether their laptops to the phones. Staff can do more complicated tasks on the laptop, while enjoying full connectivity to their corporate systems.

As part of the solution, Schepisi Communications recommended Telstra’s Adaptive Mobility plans. Adaptive Mobility is simple and modular, with flexible month-to-month plans tiered by data and speed. Generous data allowances are included with no excess data usage fees .²

When it came to upgrading their teams to the latest 5G enabled devices, NHP worked with Moorup, Telstra's sustainability buy-back partner, to trade-in their old devices.

Moorup collected 483 devices of which 96.5% had their data securely erased and reused , and the rest recycled via Mobile Muster. Not only did this reduce the cost of their new devices but also achieved their sustainability goals, keeping old devices out of landfill.
With e-waste growing at three times faster than household waste in Australia, NHP was proud to not have contributed to the problem in FY22 .

The power of partnership

When the roll-out of the 5G devices occurred, the COVID-19 pandemic started to escalate. Not only did NHP now have an even greater need to support their teams remotely and enable Hybrid Working, but also the challenge of a virtual deployment of their new solution. Schepisi Communication’s thirty-year partnership with Telstra provided the expertise and for a successful deployment. Using the NHP distribution network, the project was completed in the space of approximately two months.

Responding in the moment

The adoption of 5G has made a significant improvement to the way NHP staff work in the field. Previously, many had difficulties connecting to their cloud applications and critical business information.

Today, that problem is no longer an issue. NHP Account Representatives can now easily access product specifications and pricing on the go, delivering quotes while they’re with customers. Before, they often had to return to the office to do so,

“People now have the speeds to use their devices effectively…to access the ERP system, Microsoft Dynamics 365 system and sales platform to quote pricing and specifications on the spot”, says Lachlan Spittle, Cloud and Infrastructure Manager at NHP.

On one hand, this immediacy is a great enabler of the sales process, and promotes greater customer satisfaction. On the other, sales staff can do more in the day and have a far better experience with the tools they use.

It’s a similar story for their technicians. They can now look up stock availability and do the necessary paperwork on site, all while providing more timely information to their customers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of video conferencing soared. NHP were ready to meet that challenge with the capacity and low latency of Telstra’s 5G network, to help ensure a better experience with online meetings when mobile.

In fact, just about every online business activity can be conducted with greater speed and efficiency. .

Data usage made simple

Previously, data usage was an issue as people increasingly worked with their mobile devices.

If data limits being reached too quickly was an issue, so was the complexity of the data plans. With so many different plans, it was hard to allocate the right ones to the people who needed it most. It was also hard to keep track of costs.

The Telstra Adaptive Mobility plans are far easier to manage. Better still, they provide all the data needed to work effectively says Lachlan Spittle: “The new plans certainly give us a bit more freedom. We don’t have to worry about data usage, we can just focus on the job.”

Ready now, and for the future

Overall, Telstra’s 5G Adaptive Mobility solution has delivered real benefits for productivity, efficiency and customer service, while improving user experience.

That wasn’t a surprise says Lachlan Spittle: “We’ve partnered with Telstra for a while, and we’ve had great success with them over the years. Essentially, we trusted Telstra and the Telstra partner that we worked with to deliver.”

Apart from supporting business performance today, 5G also positions NHP for tomorrow. Technology is constantly evolving, and smart players like NHP are making sure they have room to move in the future and an opportunity to transform and innovate their business by harnessing the future capabilities of 5G.

As Lachlan Spittle points out: “A lot of our competitors are getting onto 5G. It’s certainly something we need to do to keep up. But I also think it will be an enabler of business going forward, and we’ll have the platform ready when we do that.”

Things You Need to Know

[1] 5G use requires 5G-compatible device and 5G coverage. 5G is now rolling out in selected areas. In non-5G coverage areas, you'll automatically switch to our 4G or 3G. Check coverage map.

[2] When data allowance is exceeded, speed is capped at 1.5Mbps for remainder of bill cycle.