SMART PURCHASING ALLOWS AVIS TO SAVE US$2.1 MILLION A YEAR ON GLOBAL WAN

The leading car rental company contracts Vanco for packaged network solutions to link thousands of sites across 14 countries in Europe and Asia Pacific

SMART PURCHASING ALLOWS AVIS TO SAVE US$2.1 MILLION A YEAR ON GLOBAL WAN

The leading car rental company contracts Vanco for packaged network solutions to link thousands of sites across 14 countries in Europe and Asia Pacific

Singapore (PRWEB) June 26, 2003 -- Vanco, the global virtual network operator (GVNO) employs Smart Purchasing to enable its customers to take advantage of all the options in the marketplace to ensure a lowest technology cost solution at any point in time, through building a portfolio of service options and adapting to changing priorities in any given geography to meet the specific customer requirements.

Avis Europe plc, the leading car rental company, has contracted Vanco to design, implement and manage its global wide area network (WAN), using the latest IP-based technologies to initially link over 1,000 sites across 14 countries in Europe and Asia Pacific, as well as data centres and disaster recovery sites in the US.

Through Smart Purchasing, the completed network will help Avis to achieve lowest cost of ownership and technology leadership at the same time by saving US$2.1 million per annum, or approximately 10 per cent of the total annual data communications spending, and through deploying IP-VPN and MPLS, respectively.

Under the terms of the five-year contract, the existing technologies are to be upgraded to take advantage of cutting-edge IP networks and to generate economies of scale through a single global network. The new network will also enable the Group to significantly improve the efficiency of the 'Wizard, its fully integrated online and real-time reservation system to all of its locations, which is key to its competitive advantage while setting the foundation for future services.

Avis evaluated services from 13 companies including global carriers, virtual network operators and managed services providers before it awarded the contract to Vanco.

Bearing testimony to the benefits of Smart Purchasing, Mittu Sridhara, Vice President of IT, Avis Europe said," The contract is a good example of delivering significant cost savings while still being able to make leaps in service levels. We expect to increase our network capacity by a factor of ten across our network."

Vancos Smart Purchasing approach, which is delivered via its packaged network solutions (PNS), centres around the combined knowledge and experience of Vanco worldwide when designing a network or reviewing an existing network design. Significant proportion of cost savings created for Avis is derived partly from the aggregate purchasing power that Vanco has with telecom carriers. The network is also reviewed annually at a strategic level to ensure value is being fully delivered, matching the needs of the business and maintaining best value. This involves removing cost without affecting service levels or increasing service levels or network scale without increasing cost.

In addition, Smart Purchasing is employed to determine whether a given change requirement could be effected at a lower cost or stronger service level using an alternative option from the technology portfolio. This empowers Avis with the added flexibility of integrating a different technology platform for different sites on the same network cost effectively should such a need surfaces.

Avis appreciates the strategic value that our Smart Purchasing approach brings to its global business. Many international businesses are struggling under the weight of their infrastructure in difficult market conditions and the result is less flexibility and a lower quality of service. Our asset light and infrastructure independent model means we have the flexibility to meet the complex networking needs of the largest multinational organisations," said Lee Hong Meng, General Manager, Vanco (Asia Pacific).

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About Avis Europe plc
Avis Europe is the leading car rental company in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It is part of the global Avis network in 160 countries and almost 5,000 locations providing predominantly car rental to business and leisure travellers.

About Vanco
Established in 1988, Vanco plc (FTSE: VAN) is one of the leading global network service providers. With solutions available in 230 countries and territories, Vanco is selected by the worlds largest organisations to provide strategic network solutions. Its customers include Avis, FT Interactive Data, Virgin Retail, Ford Motor Company, Pilkington, Tibbett & Britten and Smith & Nephew.

Through the Vanco network solution customers get access to the greatest in-depth geographic coverage available through a single provider. Vanco offers incomparable flexibility to customise and adapt the solution in line with market changes and business priorities.

Vanco is recognised by the industry for its financial success and world-class customer service delivery. 100 per cent of its investment capital goes into customer care which is reflected by the awards won, independent market research and customer retention.

Vanco (Asia Pacific) is wholly owned by Vanco plc. For more information, please visit http://www.vanco-asia.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For further information about Vanco (Asia Pacific) or interviews with Lee Hong Meng, General Manager of Vanco (Asia Pacific), please contact Tony Tan, McCorkell & Associates. Tel: +65 6323 0287/+65 9048 6981 or via e-mail: tony@mccorkell.com.au.