Telcoinabox is investing $2m into its infrastructure as it opens an operations hq and appoints a head of franchising for the Australian marketplace.
The telecommunications wholesaler and franchisor has combined its New Zealand and Australian support operation in a new Australian and New Zealand operations centre in Sydney.
Founder and group managing director Damian Kay said “Our aim is to increase the number of service providers we support by 25 per cent with minimal increase in head-count. To support this growth while achieving greater scale and cost efficiencies we are investing $2 million in streamlining systems and processes over the next two years.”
Customer service, technical support, operations, billing, finance and training will be centralised in the one office for both Australian and New Zealand businesses. Business development, product and account management functions will continue to be run from the respective country offices, Wellington and Sydney.
“Making it easy for our service providers to do business is our number one focus,” said Kay. “They are the core of our business, so itÕs essential we ensure our infrastructure and business support systems evolve with them.”
The business structure will be duplicated in overseas operations. Already in the UK, Telcoinabox has plans to establish a European operations centre later this year.
“The opening of the new global operation brings the company one step closer towards achieving our long term vision to enable more than 10,000 entrepreneurs to start up a telco,” added Kay.
And to help drive the franchise expansion, former Mortgage Choice head of franchise distribution Debbie Ennis has been appointed head of franchising and business development for Australia. Ennis clocked up eight years with Mortgage Choice, including roles as State manager for Victoria and Tasmania, and business analyst.
“What attracted me to Telcoinabox is the mix within the business – part franchising, part wholesale combined with the global ambitions. The culture, enthusiasm among the staff and the opportunity to learn and grow professionally was incredibly appealing,” said Ennis.
Damian Kay said Ennis’ franchising experience is important for the business.
“Having come from a service based franchise the transition to another service business in a completely new sector is not an issue. She will get to know the industry on the job. It is her franchising savvy that will be a major driver for our growth.”
In addition, 10 new staff will be appointed to boost the centre staff in Sydney to 60.