IPS Packaging & Automation is a national leader in packaging supply and equipment distribution, and you’ve almost certainly encountered their work. When manufacturers and brands need to package their products cost-effectively, safely, and beautifully, they turn to IPS Packaging & Automation.
The nationwide distributor of packaging supplies and equipment has been a preferred, trusted partner of top product manufacturers and retailers for decades—not only for its innovative packaging solutions but also for the company’s unparalleled customer service. To cite just one example, Honda recognized IPS Packaging & Automation with its “Excellence in Delivery” award in 2018.
And when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to temporarily close its offices and transition to a remote workforce, IPS had the cloud communications solution it needed to continue offering world-class customer service even with the majority of its support staff working from home.
Upgrading its phone system in response to a different disaster
IPS Packaging & Automation had already switched to RingCentral’s all-in-one cloud communications solution a couple of years before the pandemic. The catalyst for that technology migration had been a disaster of a different type: its existing on-prem system was gradually falling out-of-date, and then the system’s manufacturer permanently closed its doors.
Josh Palmer, the company’s IT Support Specialist, recalls that “When the manufacturer went out of business, we had trouble getting phone support, finding new hardware for the system, and adding phone licenses.”
Josh adds that the increasing amounts of trouble the phone system was causing also provided the company a great opportunity to solve several other IT communications challenges. For example, the staff was eager to get rid of the company’s desktop fax machines and switch to a better video conferencing service than the single-license account that the entire company was sharing.
“RingCentral allowed us to put all of these communications services on one cloud app that our employees could use anywhere,” says Josh.
Prepared even for the unforeseeable
Because the company already had a cloud app that enabled its staff to take and make business calls, send and receive digital faxes, and host and schedule video conferences from anywhere, IPS was able to transition very smoothly to remote work during the quarantine period.
In fact, as Josh points out, the company and its employees actually thrived during shelter in place orders, thanks in large part to RingCentral. One example he cites is the fact that being at home encouraged our sales reps to take advantage of tools like RingCentral Video, which let them have face-to-face calls with customers even though they couldn’t visit their offices. “That definitely helped improve our communications and deepen relationships with our customers,” Josh says.
“I can’t imagine the nightmare of trying to adjust everyone during the lockdowns if we didn’t have RingCentral,” he adds. “But all we had to do was make sure everyone had the app on their computer or on their mobile phone. That was it. Everyone was up and running at home… taking customer calls, faxing online, hosting video calls… with no trouble.”
Read the IPS Packaging & Automation success story
Originally published Oct 14, 2020, updated Jul 24, 2024
