GC International Centralizes IT support with Single Global  ITSM Tool

Freshservice supports GC employees, customers and the US HR department

 

About GC International

GC was established in 1921 in Japan. Over the past 100 years, the company has dedicated itself to the needs of dentists and their patients. It aims “To become the leading dental company committed to realizing a healthy and long-living society”. With over 3000 associates today, GC manufactures and distributes around 600 different products in over 100 countries worldwide through its European, American, and Asian operations. 

 

A smart ITSM solution as a prerequisite for excellent IT support

In 2018, GC International started its collaboration with Freshworks. Not long after, Eric Luijer joined GC International as Manager of IT Collaboration Solutions. He says: “Freshservice captures data from the moment a ticket is created until the point where the problem is solved. It provides companies like ours with a good view  of  the types of problems users report, which is vital for processes management and data retention. If you don’t know the cause, the symptoms will keep coming back.”

 

Better support for global SAP rollout

Currently, GC International is rolling out SAP globally. This creates additional demands for IT support. “With Freshservice, we see the questions users are asking and link them to the existing backlog,” says Luijer. 
 

Central control of IT support

Using the same ITSM tool worldwide enables the  IT team to get a holistic view of the situation across multiple locations. There is no synergy between the regions without centralized backing, so GC is now moving toward a single global IT support system. The regions will still exist in virtual terms but will be working according to uniform processes. Some global challenges, such as different time zones, complicate matters. The solution for GC is to offer first-line support from a European IT service centre. A team will start working there at 4 a.m., which is 9 a.m. in Singapore and noon in Sydney. By offering support from an existing centre, GC will implement the changes in a time and cost-effective way. Without Freshservice, this would not have been easy.

 

Three instances for three target groups

GC International uses three different Freshservice instances. The first is IT support to employees; the second – support to digital customers (CAD-CAM) who can contact our support by creating a ticket in Freshservice. Afterwards, a dedicated technical team member will provide support.
 
The HR department in the US uses the third instance. This department received many questions during the corona pandemic and wanted to analyse them and develop an employee FAQ. GC’s IT department saw an opportunity to use software they know well, and Freshworks lent itself very well to the task.

Intuitive product

The collaboration between Freshworks and GC International is going well. Online sessions are organized every two months to familiarize GC’s IT team with functionalities in the software they’re not yet using. The user-friendliness of the system is also appreciated. “The product is highly intuitive,” Luijer says. “If you’ve seen an ITSM system before, you can use this system as well. We are also pleased with the advanced functionalities and the support from Freshworks,” he concludes.