L’Occitane Group expands use of Spectralink wireless solution

By Lindsay James on 01 October 2018

L’Occitane Group expands use of Spectralink wireless solution

The L’Occitane Group is a global cosmetics and wellbeing products manufacturer and retailer with strong regional roots in Provence, France. The Group has four brands (L’Occitane en Provence, Melvita, Le Couvent des Minimes and Erborian) in its portfolio, all of which are committed to developing and retailing high quality products that are rich in natural and organic ingredients of traceable origins and that are respectful of the environment.

L’Occitane’s main production building is located in an industrial area of Saint-Maurice in Manosque. The Group added a new research centre, expanding the production site area by approximately 10,000 sqaure metres. The group also decided to build a 6,000 square metre building located in the border area of Technopark Grandes Terres in Manosque, following the merger of two production companies: L’Occitane en Provence and Melvita. Their goal was to develop a single entity known as Laboratoires M&L. This new facility would be dedicated to development, marketing and products, as well as logistics.

When the company began to deploy Microsoft Office Communication Server, which included a telephony system, it encountered an integration issue with regards to its DECT wireless solution. L’Occitane had already deployed the Spectralink DECT solution in its main building. The Group now sought to extend coverage to the new buildings as well, and needed it to be compatible with its unified communications platform, Skype for Business. They decided to work with Exaprobe, a Spectralink integrator and specialist in information systems and communications solutions.

In order to give 200 employees based in the new warehouse of Laboratoires M&L a mobile communications solution, and extend the system already deployed in their newly expanded main site, L’Occitane Group decided that the Spectralink solution was the best option for its needs. The system includes 114 Spectralink IP-DECT base stations, four Spectralink wireless servers, two media resource cards and several different Spectralink DECT handsets, such as the Spectralink Butterfly. This telephony equipment is dedicated to voice and completely secure. The DECT terminals deliver exceptional network coverage and voice quality, as well as quality of service. Compatible with Microsoft Skype for Business, the Spectralink solution was installed internally by L’Occitane’s own team.

Employees can now work easily with a broad mobile range as they move from one warehouse to another, or within the same warehouse and move from one stock point to another, without losing connectivity with colleagues and external calls. Both warehouses are very large – no matter where they are, employees now have access to calls and are connected without interruption. This advantage allows them to increase their productivity.

Stephen Roux, infrastructure manager at L’Occitane Group, said: “The Spectralink solution matched our needs perfectly, the terminals have a good range, it is a solution that is evolving and one that we intend to deploy soon to other sites, such as in Lagorce, in the Ardeche region.”

In addition, some DECT handset models are being reviewed for potential use by security guards. Spectralink offers handset models that include Spectralink SAFE, which are able to trigger an alert when an individual falls or needs immediate assistance. This is useful for security guards and other staff who work at night or are isolated.