Legacy Supply Chain Shares Three Key Pillars for an ITSM Tech Refresh Search
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
Like their colleagues at other organizations, the IT infrastructure team for Legacy Supply Chain Services must wear many hats. Responsible for supporting nearly 1,000 employees across 22 locations in North America with a staff of eleven people, the team is constantly on the go.
It’s a familiar scenario found in companies across industries. IT teams need to work efficiently to support their business. To do that, they need the right tools and processes in place.
Legacy Supply Chain Services, a third-party logistics provider that helps clients enhance the performance of their supply chains, recently switched to TeamDynamix for IT Service Management (ITSM). With TeamDynamix in place, the company will be able to follow ITIL best practices more effectively.
What to Think About When Embarking on an ITSM Tech Refresh
“Our previous tool worked great, but it was very limiting when it came to scaling our IT services and growing what we wanted to do,” Keyon Farrier, service desk manager, said. “We really needed an ITSM tool that was an extension of our current IT infrastructure team. We wanted a system that could be self-sufficient and really act like an added member of our team.”
Farrier said they began their search for a better, more structured tool using the services of Info-Tech, a technology consulting and research firm.
“We started our search with Info-Tech looking at just change management tool to add to our existing ITSM tool at the time, then realized we also wanted to find a tool that could help us automate processes,” he said. “Info-Tech provided us with some great options, so we started the vetting process and found that TeamDynamix really fit our needs – not just for change management and automation, but for everything.”
“We were blown away by all that TeamDynamix offers, and our renewal was up with our former ITSM tool so we decided to just replace it all,” Farrier said. “We were really excited about the out-of-the-box features from TeamDynamix and knew the tool would help not just with change management and automation, but with some of the other challenges we were facing as well.”
As a result of the switch to TeamDynamix “we’ve become a lot more efficient as a team because we’re getting the right tickets to the right people faster,” said Farrier. “We can now respond to service requests quicker as well. And we have a lot more visibility in terms of reporting.”
Based on the lessons that Farrier and his colleagues learned from their experience, here are three key strategies that can help organizations of all types improve how they deliver and manage IT services.
1. Understand your pain points.
The first step when embarking on an ITSM tech refresh is to truly understand what’s holding you back.
“Talk to your help desk employees,” Farrier advised—the people who are on the front lines of doing the IT work. “Get their input into the challenges they’re facing, and then come up with a plan that can help alleviate those challenges.”
In looking for an IT Service Management (ITSM) platform that would help the team accomplish their goals, Farrier engaged his support staff in the search process, as “they’re the ones who deal with the system daily,” he explained. “They might sometimes be the forgotten folks, the ones who stay behind their laptop handling tickets. Yet, they’re the ones who know what it will take to make the system better.”
2. Do your research.
As mentioned previously, Farrier and his team enlisted the help of industry partners such as Info-Tech Research Group to help narrow down their search and find the right ITSM tool for their business needs. While Info-Tech offered several vendors for evaluation, they ultimately chose TeamDynamix based on the guidance they received.
“We found TeamDynamix because it was listed as a Leader in Info-Tech’s quadrant for ITSM,” Farrier noted.
TeamDynamix has also been recognized as an ‘Honorable Mention’ in the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for ITSM.
3. Find a true partner to help you optimize processes.
Because IT staff often feel pulled in many directions and time is at a premium, “we try to lean on some of our vendors and partners for help” in implementing new software, Farrier said.
As part of their implementation process, Farrier and his team found they needed to reevaluate and revise key processes when configuring the platform – especially around creating a better self-service portal experience. Here is where the ITSM software provider can also differ. It was important for the team at Legacy to find a software partner that also offered process consulting and implementation services.
By spending a little more time on the planning, the company was better positioned for the actual migration. With the plan in place, the implementation itself can go faster. “It put us in a better position to succeed,” Farrier observed.
One of the main challenges facing Legacy’s IT staff was the lack of information they had about service requests. “There was constant back and forth to collect more information so that we could support people more effectively,” Farrier said.
With TeamDynamix, the Legacy Supply Chain Services implemented a self-service portal—and IT staff have taken the time to build out forms that gather as much information on the front end as they can. As a result, “We’re now able to provide support in a timelier fashion,” he said.
What’s more, by expanding the number of service categories they have, Legacy’s IT team has been able to create more accurate reporting.
“Having better reporting has allowed us to focus our attention on areas that are demanding change,” Farrier said. “We can engage the right individuals to bring forth the right type of change based on the data we’re seeing.”
With more accurate information, Farrier and his team can address the root cause of problems, instead of repeatedly addressing the same types of service issues. “This has been a tremendous help to our overall processes and reducing the drain on our IT resources,” he concluded.
About Legacy Supply Chain Services
Legacy Supply Chain is a high-growth North American 3PL serving as a distribution, fulfillment, and transportation partner that drives control over dynamic, omnichannel supply chains.
For over 40 years in nearly 40 locations throughout the US and Canada, Legacy's tailored warehousing & distribution solutions, e-commerce fulfillment, and international & domestic transportation services allow you to stay more connected to your customers.
B2B and B2C businesses of all kinds can leverage our broad supply chain network that enables smart, sustainable, and scalable growth, while our culture of servant-leadership drives deeper connections with our clients, our teammates, and the communities we operate in and serve. For more information, visit