When the famous Jim’s conglomerate decided to set up a mobile phone business, it sought out Inabox as its wholesale partner, first to roll out the service to its own franchisees and then to resell the service itself. CRN’s Tony Yoo spoke to Inabox account manager Peter McCarthy and Jim’s Mobiles owner Neil Welsh to find out about a multi-layered partnership.
Neil, how did Jim’s Mobile Phones come about?
Neil Welsh: Prior to taking on Jim’s Mobile Phones, I was a partner and chief operating officer in the Jim’s Group. We had an internal mobile phone business, in that we’d sell mobile services to our franchisees. We’d go to the market, negotiate a deal with a carrier and then sell that to our franchisees.
Jim and I were partners. I needed to exit that business. Part of that exit strategy was to be able to take Jim’s Mobile Phones.
Now if I just leave with Jim’s Mobile Phones with the internal customer base that we have, I’m probably not going to be real happy. To maximise that brand, I have to take it to the external market. I need that Inabox expertise, the wholesale opportunities, the operational plan that was built; I need that.
The intent was to always maximise this brand. The way I look at it, and I don’t know if I want to say this, but the way I look at is this: Everybody needs telecommunications. It’s part of our world now. Everybody hates their current provider. I don’t know anyone who’s happy with their provider.
Jim’s brand is very well-respected in the marketplace, and we want to maximise that brand, but we also understand that if we want to maximise that brand, we need to deliver that [superior] customer experience.
So Inabox then came in to supply the carrier relationships to you?
Neil: In our business, we do things properly. We get the experts in. We’re not little boys playing in the big pool anymore. We’ve got the experts to sit at the table for us and bring the knowledge that you need to live in that world.
At Jim’s Mobiles, we have a team that runs the operational side of the business, so we also needed somebody to provide the billing systems and those other things that Inabox do. Inabox came highly recommended through our other partners. It’s been great.
Peter, could you please describe what you did for Jim’s Mobiles?
Peter McCarthy: Jim’s guys came to us saying “We want to get into the market”, and they wanted to do it at speed.
They wanted a turnkey solution: For us, it was to be able to provide them all the products and services that a normal telco would require. We have the speed-to-market by having all the existing relationships set up, and all the existing products and expertise for them, including market knowledge.
In regards to what we provided; it was streamlined processes through a single billing platform for the customers; and a lot less manual work in providing the customers what they needed.
Do you describe Jim’s Mobiles as a reseller of Inabox’s services, or do you not look at it that way?
Peter: The way we look at it is this: Jim’s Mobiles is a wholesale customer of ours. They are not a reseller; they own the customers. A reseller would sell our services and we would own the customer. In this case, they own the customers and their customers are their own responsibility.
How long ago did this engagement start between the two of you?
Neil: We started talking in October of last year.
Has the project finished, or is it all live now?
Peter: It’s ongoing. This is a never-ending project. Any [telco deals are] never-ending. We start them on a project and then we start on another one. It might an internal campaign for existing Jim’s franchisees, and then we might go to market with an external product for the public.
Who are the vendors you’re using?
Peter: For the communication side, we use all the carriers. I don’t know if I can mention them. We use all the traditional carriers that most telecommunications providers would use.
Next: from internal mobile rollout to public offering
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