Beeline Group: Reliable and Cost-Effective Mobile Connectivity

A Successful Global Business Model

Beeline Group was founded in 1990 by Ulrich Beckmann in Cologne, Germany. Now a global company with 5,000 employees across Europe, the United States, and Canada, Beeline Group produces beautiful, unique pieces of high-range costume jewelry – including earrings, necklaces, bracelets, sunglasses, and scarves.

Beeline Group operates under a concessions model, in which it offers an integrated service to retailers in primarily the clothing and food & drug industries (Old Navy, CVS, etc) – enabling them to sell Beeline Group products from their physical storefronts. This business model is fueled by Beeline Group’s global team of Mobile Merchandisers (MMs), self-managed company representatives who carry out local merchandising services in each retail partner’s space. MMs are responsible for maintaining the structure and upkeep of displays, ordering and stocking, and serving as the retailer’s point of contact with Beeline Group.

Data Costs for On-the-Go Employees

While MMs are critical to the success of Beeline Group’s concessions model, each relies on a mobile device that they use to scan inventory, track orders and shipments, etc – requiring cellular data and reliable wireless coverage across all diverse retail sites. With 650 active MMs in the U.S. and still more in Canada, Beeline Group’s North American carrier-direct bill began to spike.

Michael Carter, Senior IT Operations Specialist at Beeline Group, reports that this cost had become a concern with executives, which the pandemic in early 2020 – and resulting drop in retail sales – only served to heighten.

Seeking alternate solutions, Carter reached out directly to the company’s carrier supplier about their concerns. The carrier, a Kajeet partner, connected Beeline Group to the Kajeet team.

Carter recalls that it quickly became clear that the Kajeet offering was unrivaled in the cost savings – as well as the flexibility and ease of management – that it could provide to Beeline Group.

“We looked at other providers, but no one could price match with Kajeet.”

“We looked at other providers, but no one could price match with Kajeet.”

Beeline Group signed onto a Kajeet partnership in May 2020.

Onboarding with Kajeet & Clear Results

Beeline Group experienced a seamless rollout of the Kajeet solution to the company’s existing IT infrastructure.

“It was a very easy, smooth transition,” Carter reports.

Since onboarding with Kajeet, Beeline Group has been able to slash their data costs by two-thirds of what they had been paying when working directly with the wireless carrier. These costs savings have had an impact across the company, allowing them to keep prices competitive and focus spending on other essential components of the business.

In addition, Kajeet’s multi-carrier connectivity offering proved to be invaluable to Beeline Group’s Canadian arm. As a partner with Rogers Wireless, a leading Canadian mobile network, Kajeet enabled Carter to seamlessly transfer MM devices in Canada to the Rogers network.

From an IT administration perspective, Carter shares that the Kajeet Sentinel platform makes his life easier. He uses Sentinel on a daily basis to manage Beeline Group employee devices – including activating and suspending devices when needed – as well as to allocate data, create customized device groups, and track usage analytics.

“I like that the Sentinel portal aggregates my data, allowing me to see how much we have been using across all our devices. When we were direct with the carrier, I would have to look up each individual line to get any insights on data usage,” says Carter.

Related: 4 Ways the Kajeet Sentinel® Platform Makes Your Life Easier

Dedicated Account Support

Likewise, the support that Carter has received from Kajeet has been a gamechanger. Unlike other IoT vendors, Kajeet takes a consultative approach with clients – creating space for flexibility, timely responses, and consistent technical support.

“I really appreciate the help I get from Shawn, our Kajeet Account Manager, and Wayne in Customer Support – they are fantastic.”

Looking Ahead

Beeline Group’s rapid growth shows no signs of slowing. As the company expands its offerings into new regions and industries – including supermarkets, drugstores, small business enterprises across the western U.S., southern U.S., and Canada – it foresees Kajeet continuing to be an essential wireless connectivity partner to Beeline Group.

“Kajeet is a great partner for us.”

“Now that our MMs’ devices are on Sentinel, I hope to move our district-level managers to it too,” shares Carter.

“Kajeet is a great partner for us.”