Growth powered by Pink Elephant’s SIAM IT Service Desk

Corplex (formerly DS Smith Plastics, Extruded Products) is a leading manufacturer of innovative reusable packaging. With a history spanning 50 years, Corplex rebranded in 2020 after being acquired by Olympus Partners. The company is dedicated to sustainability and excellence, establishing itself as a trusted name in the Reusable Transport Packaging sector. Corplex employs over 700 staff across multiple offices in the UK, France, Slovakia, Spain, and the USA.

What Needed to Change?

Corplex operates in the fast-evolving world of reusable packaging manufacturing, where innovation and sustainability are key. Following its acquisition by Olympus Partners, Corplex identified a strategic need to transform its legacy IT operations inherited from DS Smith Plastics. The company required a scalable, vendor-integrated, and outsourced managed IT support service to meet its growing demands.

The three key areas of Corplex’s IT requirements were:

• Networking.
• Workplace Services.
• IT Support Services.

Additionally, Corplex needed an independent, robust ITSM platform managed by a team offering 24/7/365 IT support, aligned with ITIL processes, including Change and Problem management. Simon Clarke, Chief Information Officer at Corplex, emphasized the need for a “light touch” approach, avoiding the necessity to recruit large internal teams.

Why Choose Pink Elephant for SIAM Service Desk?

Pink Elephant boasts over 40 years of experience in IT support, consultancy, training, and technology solutions. Their expertise and adaptability make their IT Support team uniquely equipped to meet the specific needs of any company.

Corplex initially engaged with several vendors, but Pink Elephant quickly became the frontrunner due to their extensive credentials and partner-like communication approach. Simon Clarke noted: “Pink always approached the requirements with an open dialogue, a willingness to engage, and a flexibility that no one else could match.”

The SIAM Service Desk Solution

Pink Elephant proposed a streamlined SIAM (Service Integration & Management) operating model, positioning their IT Support team as the lead service provider. This solution enabled Corplex to interface with a single partner for all its IT support needs, freeing up internal management resources. Corplex also leveraged Pink Elephant’s industry expertise, best practices, and innovation, which would have required significant investment if developed in-house.

Sam Smith, Pink Elephant’s Head of IT Support, commented: “The overall solution provided to Corplex keyed perfectly into Pink Elephant’s strengths – People, Process, and Technology.”

Pink Elephant ensured that their IT Service Desk was accessible to Corplex’s multinational staff, offering a multilingual, 24/7/365 service that was essential for success.

Implementation of the SIAM Model with Pink Elephant

Cherwell ITSM

During the tooling selection process, Pink Elephant recommended a hosted instance of Cherwell ITSM as the ideal, cost-effective solution for Corplex. This approach was central to the Corplex IT operating model, minimising dependence on onsite services and leveraging the scalability and reliability of a fully managed toolset.

The collaboration was structured around a 12-week work program, employing agile methodologies to realize key components such as Incident and Request processes, SSO, Knowledge articles, and self-help options within a user-friendly interface. In response to Corplex’s needs, the portal interface was adapted for both English and French.

Multilingual 24/7/365 IT Support Service Desk

Operating across multiple regions and languages, Corplex required a centralised IT team with shared IT support services, escalation routes, and governance across all IT functions and vendors. This led to the adoption of a SIAM Service model, embodied by the IT Service Desk at Pink Elephant’s Managed Service Excellence Centre (MSEC). The service included French-speaking IT agents and dedicated staff, ensuring seamless operation.

The implementation of the SIAM model, including cross-vendor and business-user acceptance testing, took approximately six months, demonstrating Pink Elephant’s commitment to thoroughness and quality.

Outcomes and Successes of the SIAM Service Desk

Pink Elephant successfully delivered a multi-channel, dual-language outsourced IT support service within a SIAM framework. This centralized service provides 24/7/365 support for Corplex’s IT operations.

Simon Clarke highlighted the importance of quality and employee satisfaction:

“I am far more focused on quality and the reaction of the Corplex staff. I received a good number of positive feedback emails and messages, and for anyone who has ever worked in these kinds of environments, that’s a major win in itself.”

Simon also praised Pink Elephant’s self-management: “My effort is fairly low in order to maintain the relationship, which is exactly what was requested during the first quotation phase of the project.”

Reflecting on the partnership, Simon expressed his satisfaction:

“I am happy to call them our support partner. They are always ready and willing to help no matter how small, large, or bizarre a request might be. We never need to spend time reviewing contracts or getting into the finer text – if they can help then they do. It’s a simple yet refreshing approach.”

Conclusion

This case study demonstrates how Pink Elephant’s unrivalled People, Process, Technology strategy, coupled with four decades of thought leadership and expertise, facilitated the seamless implementation of an outsourced SIAM Service Desk. Beyond resolving IT issues, Pink Elephant’s Service Desk acts as an extension of Corplex, serving as a ‘one-stop shop’ for the company’s current and future IT operational service needs. Corplex’s legacy IT model has been successfully upgraded to a fully managed IT support service operation, achieving their strategic vision.

Why Choose Pink Elephant?

• 24/7/365 Coverage – Our Managed Service Centre is open 24/7/365.
• Multilingual Support – English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and more.
• Lower Operational Costs – Our fully managed service is accompanied by considerable cost savings and more.
• ITSM Thought Leadership – Globally recognised ITSM Thought Leader for over 40 years.
• Performance Driven – KPI-driven with a significant focus on first-time fix and response.
• Innovation – Leading-edge technology and future-equipped service capabilities.