BACKGROUND
Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. was founded in 1983 when President Tim Leatherman developed the first pocket-sized multi-tool known as the Pocket Survival Tool™. The product is a compact toolchest with a dozen essential tools that can be held in one hand.

Since its inception, Leatherman’s idea for the compact multi-tool has soared, and Leatherman Tool Group is now the market leader. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Leatherman Tool Group employs 600 people.

THE CHALLENGE
As Leatherman Tool Group rapidly expanded to meet the growing demand for its product; it quickly outgrew its existing phone system, which offered simple voice mail capabilities. “We installed our old phone system in 1992 when we moved to our current facility,” says Norman Coder, Leatherman’s IS manager. “In 1994, we expanded our facilities to 60,000 square feet of space-and we weren’t supposed to do that until 1998. Then in 1997, we expanded to 90,000 square feet, which was not scheduled until 2010. As a result, our growth was completely off the charts and our phone system couldn’t handle it.”

In fact, in April of 1997, Coder discovered that the company’s phone system had only three extensions left. Since the system was based on older technology, it offered no possibility for expansion.

THE SOLUTION
Leatherman Tool Group consulted with American Telecom, a full-service cellular and paging business, based in San Jose, Calif., to find the right system that would address all of the company’s needs. “I had a lot of trust in American Telecom,” Coder said. “They suggested CallXpress®. Once I saw the technology, I knew it was the system for us—maximizing our existing Windows environment for the future.”

CallXpress is a complete computer telephony server designed to leverage the power of the Windows operating system. It is a multi-application computer telephony server that provides voice and call processing, unified messaging, fax processing, and call center and customer service applications-all seamlessly integrated within a secure Windows environment.

It was the perfect solution for Leatherman Tool Group, according to Coder. “Everything is possible with CallXpress,” Coder said. “You can manage all three message types, voice, fax and email from your desktop or telephone. Additionally, with CallXpress you are never too far from your important messages you can check them anywhere in the world.”

The mobility of CallXpress has resulted in improved productivity and cost savings for Leatherman Tools, says Coder. “The savings are great, although difficult to quantify precisely,” Coder said. “However, we do know that staying in touch while on the road has improved productivity by at least 40 percent for the employees who travel extensively. I use CallXpress whenever I’m out of town, as do all other employees—and that includes about 75 people who travel periodically.”

For Leatherman Tool Group, CallXpress represents the ideal messaging solution for today as well as tomorrow. “I wanted to make sure that our new system would bring the company as far into the future as possible, so that our investment would be sound,” Coder said. “I pushed the envelope as far as I could to get as much cutting-edge technology as I could. I stopped the search at CallXpress because that’s where I found what we needed.”

Now, Leatherman Tool Group has a flexible solution that enables employees to move between integrated messaging, fax services, interactive voice response, and customer service applications in a single phone call.

“It was a great day when we took the old system off the wall and replaced it with CallXpress,” Coder said. “Since then, we haven’t had a problem. In fact, we now just take for granted that from a single screen or phone call we can get all of our messages when ever we want, no matter where we are. That is the greatest compliment to the AVST system. Once you install it, you forget about it. It’s that reliable.”

And, if Coder needs to add another three or 300 users, he can. CallXpress is scalable to support a company’s growth, and features a graphical user interface for simplified administration. Making it what Coder describes as an “extremely effortless process” to manage the system and its user base. System administrators manage the system within the familiar Windows environment using standard Windows controls such as pull-down menus, radio buttons, and on-line help. In addition, CallXpress can be administered from any Windows client on the network.

“With CallXpress, I don’t worry about our communications system anymore,” Coder said.

For More Information
Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (“AVST”) is a leader in the unified communications (“UC”) marketplace uniquely combining the strengths of its world-class messaging platform, CallXpress®, with its speech-enabled call management module, Seneca™, to create a powerful, next-generation unified communications solution. The Company’s products are designed to scale and support organizations of all sizes. For more information please contact us at: www.avst.com or +1.949.699.2300.