By Insight Editor / 21 Jun 2023 / Topics: Devices Modern workplace Mobility
Device as a Service (DaaS) is becoming more prevalent, optimizing the core technologies employees use and streamlining customer interactions. But in some cases, organizations don’t have the capabilities to deploy and manage their device strategies. Enter Samsung Mobility’s Connected Associate program. This program helps modern businesses integrate their hardware, software and related infrastructure to empower employees in delivering exceptional experiences for customers.
To experience this week’s episode, listen on the player above, watch the conversation below, or scroll down to read a complete transcript. You can also subscribe to Insight TechTalk on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
Audio transcript:
Z
Welcome to another episode of Insight TechTalk. I'm your host, Zi Tinoco, Manager of Diversity Leadership, and OD. Today we have Samsung in the house and we're welcomed by Kate Kelley.
Kate
Hello.
Z
Today we're going to talk about device-as-a-service. Now, device-as-a-service has been booming the past several years going from 4.2 billion in 2021 and we're seeing it projected to go up to 18 billion in 2029. Again, more and more clients are moving or transitioning to a DaaS service and we're going to talk about that topic in much more. So, Kate, welcome to Insight TechTalk.
Kate
Thank you for having me, this is amazing.
Z
I saw you looking at the studio here.
Kate
I am, I am, I'm impressed. You've impressed me.
Z
So you've been to the office before. This is an area of the office you haven't seen.
Kate
I haven't, this is the VIP secret area. This is the secret corner. If nobody's been here, come here because it's awesome. But yeah, no, this is, I've been here many times doing my job, I guess you call it, and I've never seen this, but it's very impressive.
Z
I mean, and part of your job is connecting with clients, with customers, with, I mean, the whole nine, right?
Kate
Right.
Z
And that is a big part of your role but also what we do here at Insight, we like to connect with clients and technology and resources. And there is a program I'd like to start off with. It's called The Connected, or the Connected Associate Program.
Kate
Correct.
Z
Can you tell us a bit more about that program?
Kate
Yes. So the Connected Associate program is actually derived from a very large enterprise win that we had two or three years ago, where we've shipped over 2 million devices. What we, it was a very convoluted program, it was a very convoluted sale, that had a lot of customization to it, that we wanted to be able to create a program that was easily digestible by not only the customer, but also the inside reps and Samsung reps as well, to be able to deliver it to their customers. But more importantly, it really was just the fact that we wanted to align with Joyce's vision, which was to have you guys be the number one solutions integrator. So this program incorporates hardware, software, the Insight services, and the support structure of it, which is just, it's melody right there.
Z
Melody right there. So it's an ultimate package, right? When we talk about a program it's not just one thing, it's multiple things at once, right? And that's kind of what this whole program's all about. You did mention though, this client as an example, how did that even get started? Well, how did we even engage with that?
Kate
Yeah, it was actually an HR initiative. And as opposed to most of the things that we work with on the site, it comes from the IT department, but this was actually a human resources initiative. The customer was Walmart, but you know, we've had other customers that are on the SMB side in the commercial space that have also taken interest in this. But basically what it was is they had an extremely high turnover rate. Now, when you have a turnover rate, there is cost associated with that to be able to hire people, onboard them, train them, as you know. And so when you see a high turnover rate, and one of the reasons why they're turning over is because we have not incorporated technology into their environment. They're still in an archaic land, right? Of paper, pencil, or having to walk back. I know it sounds silly, but having to walk back into the back of a store to find out inventory, all those different types of things. This helps their customer, it helps with the employee retention, but it also helps with customer satisfaction because they get instantaneous information. And then the employees feel, you know, they're not being yelled at, they're being able to resolve an issue or answer a question immediately for them.
Z
Wow, I see a lot of benefits there, right? It's not only saving time from either having to go to find the information or whatever's not available to you, but also at the same time, I love that customer experience. I mean, we see that everywhere nowadays, right? Where if you want an answer, you can instantly find out. Earlier before you showed up, we were talking about, you know, communication, connecting again. And when there's an argument or disagreement, how easily we can even easily look up the right information.
Kate
We don't argue anymore.
Z
No, we've stopped.
Kate
There's no argument because I'm just going to look it up and show you that you're wrong.
Z
It's like, "There it is."
Kate
It says it right there. It's the internet.
Z
And that is exactly what, what took place there, right? It really helped with that retention and the customer satisfaction.
Kate
Right.
Z
Now, when people hear Enterprise, they think right away, I mean, they have to be a certain amount. Does this, is this only for that type of customer or is it for any kind of customer?
Kate
No, and so that's what I mentioned is that we had a great win with a company called Tile Shop. Ainsley actually introduced, we did a training on Connected Associate just of the Walmart win. We didn't have all the pieces of the puzzle completed in regards to just pricing and all the components to it, but now we do, which is really nice. But we got on a call with the CTO and the CIO, and they had, you know, their issue was that, at the Tile Shop, for example, customers would come in, and funny enough, my counterpart, Ty Hibbert, he was a a client or a customer of Tile Shop at that exact time. So, he could attest to the experience where he would go in and go into the Tile Shop and see that "I like that tile." Well, they would have to walk to the back, look it up, walk all the way back to the front, "Nope, we're out of stock of those, next choice." Go to the next one, walk into the back, come back up. That's, "We have 'em, we just don't have enough." Whereas now, they have the capability from their device, they can check their schedules, they can clock and clock out, they can check inventory, they're able to give them scheduling options. Everything is done instantaneous for the customer, so that's the solution from the Samsung perspective. But the other side of it is the part where we have the customer that says, "Well, I want to do this. I want to be able to incorporate this technology. But again, we still have high turnover rates and we are kind of short on, we're short staffed of people, so how do I manage this? How do I deploy this?" And that's where Insight comes in.
Z
Yeah, and that kind of, well, first of all, where was that technology when I tried to get some shoes the other day? It's like "Do you have this in this size shoe?" And they're like, "No, I got to go back and check again." I'm like.
Kate
Right?
Z
Man, this can take forever, right?
Kate
I know, back to Macy's, back in a mall, right?
Z
Yeah, what is a mall?
Kate
I don't have, I don't know, they just, yeah. (laughing)
Z
So, let's go into additional benefits. So, we already talked a little bit about some of those benefits. I'm thinking, like you said already there's already maybe a shortage of staff. How can somebody that is in that, in that scenario, how can this be a big benefit for them? Can we go and unpack that a little bit more?
Kate
Yeah, absolutely. And that's where Insight is a critical role for this because we have the story, right? We have the solution from a technology perspective but the piece of the puzzle that was missing was the delivery and the support and management of the device once it's been deployed. And so, because the reason why Insight won the Walmart business, is because of the services, right? They were able to show and prove out that they were able to do it and able to do the capacity of it. But basically what we've built into the program is the ability to have them do product lifecycle, right? So at Hanover Park, I've visited that so many times. Bryan Heraty, great guy, where we have looked at the lines, the ability to do the staging, the kiting, the retrieval of devices, right? So if an employee leaves, they're able to get those devices back. They can also do the repair facilitation for us, right? 'Cause part of that is a device exchange program that's built into there, as well. You have the service desk, right? So the customer is able to use ServiceNow to have any claims or have any type of issues. Insights tier one, tier two, with an escalation path up to Samsung's tier three, just in case there's a actual server issue that's happening on our side that needs to be escalated and a claim done. They've also incorporated spend management. So if these devices are activated, right? So if they do give a one-to-one, they want to activate it, Insight has the capability of negotiating the contracts with the carriers, looking at the data usage, making sure that they're on the right calling plan, all those different types of things. So we've really thought of every component to it to be able to say, "We can manage it for you and we can deliver it for you and we can prove this to you."
Z
Wow, so it sounds like, again, there's not, you know, no size too small or too big, right?
Kate
No.
Z
We can handle any kind of size business. And also the only thing I took away is that, over time, it kind of pays for itself because they save with the retention, the customer satisfaction, more and more clients or customers coming through the door. I mean, that just seems like it just, you know, it's just a win-win.
Kate
Well, and I, and I'll say this, years ago, I've been in this industry for 23 years, I know that's aging me right now, but it's true, it's 23 years. But I worked at Verizon, and 15 years ago is when I worked there, and back 15 years ago, it was, to hire a new employee, it was $10,000 because they would go through a five week program. So we actually have a calculator that we have created that can be filled out with the customer. What is your employee count? How many of them are full-time? How many are part-time? What is the cost to be able to hire somebody and onboard them? And we can put together an ROI of saying "This is how much you're going to save. So right now your turnover rate at 40%, what if we were able to get you down to 36%?" And we are able to calculate that and say, "This is how much it's going to cost you to implement it, but this is how much it's going to save you." And so it's right there in front of them, which is really nice.
Z
That is nice, that's really nice. So, as we're coming to a close, where can they find more information around this topic or this program?
Kate
So, we have an ebook created that is readily available. We also have information on our storefront, so please visit the storefront. We also, obviously you can contact me, myself, Kate Kelley. We have my counterpart, Ty Hibbert. He's also very knowledgeable about the program as well. Albert Pinon is our BDM very, very well versed on the program as well. We're more than happy to jump onto calls with customers and discuss it. We've created a deck that goes into very, very detail of it, but we've also given them, created decks that are kind of an overview, and then be able to take, allow the customer to kind of take it back, digest it a little bit further of the components to the program.
Z
Well, awesome, excellent. Well, good information. Again, we unpacked device-as-a-service today. If you want more information around this topic, visit our Samsung storefront. You'll also find the information on the ebook that was mentioned today. 'Till next time.
Diversity, Leadership & OD Manager, Insight
Z Tinoco is a diversity, leadership & organization development manager who believes in building teams, inspiring minds and creating authentic connections. He helps people reach their goals and find success through humor, leadership and a diverse mindset.
Sr. Manager, B2B Enterprise - Insight Account Management, Samsung Mobility
Kate has over 23 years of experience in the wireless telecommunications industry, including Verizon Wireless (9.5 years), Blackberry (5.5 years) and Samsung (7 years). Kate joined the channel team at Samsung three years ago, where she manages Samsung’s channel partner relationship with Insight.
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