Karndean Designflooring decision based upon TouchStar's superb post-sale support

The company  

Karndean Designflooring is a global leader in flooring design with operations in the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand.   Karndean started as a small family business in 1973, and has since grown into one of the world’s most renowned and respected luxury flooring companies. The business remains family owned, allowing it to stay true to its roots and focused on its customers.   By offering a wide range of colours, textures and finishes, Karden products allows its customers to create looks that are unique to their home or business and are guaranteed to last.

Challenges  

Karndean had been using RF units in its warehouse to carry out general tasks such as order picking and pallet tracking. But eight years after launch the businesses decided they had been used for as long as they could be and were coming towards the end of their lifecycle.   The main driver for change was that Karndean had come to the end of its support contract. Spare parts for existing units were becoming harder to source and repairs were unavailable, so the decision was made to upgrade.    

Solutions  

After contacting a few suppliers and reviewing various options, Karndean decided that the products presented by TouchStar offered the best value for money and also came with the best support package – including a minimum of ten years of support for repairs.  

Touchstar offered a selection of devices that were robust enough to fit into Karndean’s fast-paced warehouse environment.   

Karndean narrowed the choice between a couple of products and to help them decide, TouchStar loaned out units to test in the warehouse so Karndean could get a feel for the products.  

Karndean then decided to invest in rugged TouchStar TS8000 handheld devices based on the feedback from its warehouse team.  

The TS800 is packed with features, including a 3.5” colour touchscreen, 3M camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and several different scanning options.   

Touchstar assisted with configuring the devices and provided the additional support required to get up and running.      

Results and benefits  

The new devices have been a great success and have delivered the reliability, accuracy and efficiency improvements that Karndean required.  

Since the devices have been deployed, Karndean has had one instance of accidental damage. After it was reported to TouchStar, the issue was dealt with it in a timely manner and the device was back up and running in the warehouse within a week.  

Richard Crook, operations director of Karndean, commented: “These devices and the support we’ve received, from the initial meeting to installation and live running, has met all our expectations. With our old devices becoming redundant, this was a necessary investment which has enabled the continued smooth running of our fast-paced warehouse. These new devices are more efficient and will support our growth and allow for future development.”