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evo Group powers agile
CX at scale

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<6

seconds for average call wait time

97%

SLA achieved

5

brands unified on one platform

Overview: At evo Group, delivering reliable, responsive support to customers—and to each of its five internal business units—is essential to keeping business supply logistics moving across the UK. When their aging phone system started slowing them down, evo partnered with 8x8 to build a CX platform that could scale with their operations, support hybrid work, and unify voice, chat, and Microsoft Teams. The result: smoother agent experiences, smarter insights, and faster, more connected service.

"8x8 continually develops its platform, introducing easier and more effective ways for us to serve our customers. On top of that, service from 8x8 is always quick and hassle free."
Lee Heppenstall
Lee Heppenstall
Network Services Manager, evo Group

Recognizing the disconnect between voice and digital

At evo Group, smooth communication isn’t just an internal convenience—it’s a critical part of delivering on customer expectations. With hundreds of vehicles on the road, multiple distribution centers, and a fast-moving supply chain, things only work when the right people can reach each other quickly.

So when evo Group’s legacy Avaya system approached the end of its lifecycle, Lee Heppenstall, Network Services Manager at evo, recognized an opportunity to do more than just replace an aging phone system. With five distinct business units operating under a single umbrella—each with its own structure and technology needs—Lee’s team needed a new approach. They needed something flexible enough to meet diverse requirements, easily scale across departments, and stay easy to manage, all without adding complexity or cost.

For more than two decades, the company had used an on-premises Avaya system alongside a private co-location setup for voice services. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams had become an everyday part of the organization’s internal collaboration. But the growing disconnect between voice and digital communications was starting to slow things down.

Recognizing the disconnect between voice and digital

At evo Group, smooth communication isn’t just an internal convenience—it’s a critical part of delivering on customer expectations. With hundreds of vehicles on the road, multiple distribution centers, and a fast-moving supply chain, things only work when the right people can reach each other quickly.

So when evo Group’s legacy Avaya system approached the end of its lifecycle, Lee Heppenstall, Network Services Manager at evo, recognized an opportunity to do more than just replace an aging phone system. With five distinct business units operating under a single umbrella—each with its own structure and technology needs—Lee’s team needed a new approach. They needed something flexible enough to meet diverse requirements, easily scale across departments, and stay easy to manage, all without adding complexity or cost.

For more than two decades, the company had used an on-premises Avaya system alongside a private co-location setup for voice services. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams had become an everyday part of the organization’s internal collaboration. But the growing disconnect between voice and digital communications was starting to slow things down.

Recognizing the disconnect between voice and digital

At evo Group, smooth communication isn’t just an internal convenience—it’s a critical part of delivering on customer expectations. With hundreds of vehicles on the road, multiple distribution centers, and a fast-moving supply chain, things only work when the right people can reach each other quickly.

So when evo Group’s legacy Avaya system approached the end of its lifecycle, Lee Heppenstall, Network Services Manager at evo, recognized an opportunity to do more than just replace an aging phone system. With five distinct business units operating under a single umbrella—each with its own structure and technology needs—Lee’s team needed a new approach. They needed something flexible enough to meet diverse requirements, easily scale across departments, and stay easy to manage, all without adding complexity or cost.

For more than two decades, the company had used an on-premises Avaya system alongside a private co-location setup for voice services. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams had become an everyday part of the organization’s internal collaboration. But the growing disconnect between voice and digital communications was starting to slow things down.

Recognizing the disconnect between voice and digital

At evo Group, smooth communication isn’t just an internal convenience—it’s a critical part of delivering on customer expectations. With hundreds of vehicles on the road, multiple distribution centers, and a fast-moving supply chain, things only work when the right people can reach each other quickly.

So when evo Group’s legacy Avaya system approached the end of its lifecycle, Lee Heppenstall, Network Services Manager at evo, recognized an opportunity to do more than just replace an aging phone system. With five distinct business units operating under a single umbrella—each with its own structure and technology needs—Lee’s team needed a new approach. They needed something flexible enough to meet diverse requirements, easily scale across departments, and stay easy to manage, all without adding complexity or cost.

For more than two decades, the company had used an on-premises Avaya system alongside a private co-location setup for voice services. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams had become an everyday part of the organization’s internal collaboration. But the growing disconnect between voice and digital communications was starting to slow things down.

Modernizing CX to keep things moving

As their Avaya contract drew to a close, Lee’s team partnered with Darwin Technology Solutions, their long-standing telecom consultant, to explore alternatives. They needed a cloud-based solution that could meet the unique needs of each brand under the evo Group banner, without adding overhead. The new platform also needed to roll out quickly and be intuitive for teams to adopt with minimal disruption.

The team had already seen a demo of 8x8 at an industry event, so when Darwin recommended 8x8 as a CX partner, evo was open to a deeper conversation. The more they explored, the more confident they became. 8x8’s ability to unify voice, video, chat, and contact center functionality within a single platform—and offer direct routing for Microsoft Teams—was exactly what evo needed.

A platform built for flexibility and scale

evo rolled out 8x8 Work and 8x8 Contact Center across its business units. The deployment, while slightly longer than anticipated due to custom configurations for each brand, was still completed within a reasonable timeframe. “The team’s response to using 8x8 has been fantastic. Everybody loves it,” says Lee.

Staff onboarding went smoothly, thanks to a mix of one-on-one virtual training and self-serve resources. In fact, some features required no training at all—particularly 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams, which felt seamless for users already familiar with the Microsoft Teams environment. This integration gave evo staff the ability to make and receive external calls directly within Microsoft Teams, using the same interface they relied on for messaging and collaboration. Because 8x8’s direct routing uses Microsoft-certified infrastructure and global telephony coverage, call quality and reliability exceeded expectations—something the team had struggled with previously.

Greater visibility, stronger coaching

For Lee and his team, one of the most significant gains has come from 8x8’s data and analytics. Previously, visibility into calls was limited. Now, with real-time dashboards and historical reporting, evo’s contact center managers can track the entire call journey, from queue to resolution. With its previous system, evo Group had been losing visibility on calls, but 8x8’s analytics capabilities and functionality allows the company to track customer experiences.

Beyond just seeing the flow of interactions, managers are using Quality Management and Speech Analytics to coach agents more effectively. These tools help identify trends in customer interactions and surface moments that matter—whether it's an opportunity to provide feedback or a potential area for improvement. With sentiment analysis and keyword spotting, managers can dig deeper into calls without needing to manually review every interaction.

"The team’s response to using 8x8 has been fantastic. Everybody loves it."
Lee Heppenstall
Network Services Manager, evo Group

With digital engagement tools built into the platform, evo agents can respond to inquiries via web chat, social media, or SMS—all from the same interface they use to manage voice calls. This not only improves the customer experience, but also gives agents a more complete picture of each interaction. “Moving to 8x8 has given us the flexibility to offer more communication channels to our customers,” said Lee. “Its agility enables our management team to stay ahead of constantly changing customer needs.”

Empowering staff to deliver superior CX

What really stands out for Lee is how 8x8 has empowered both managers and agents to do their jobs better. The team has achieved a 97% SLA, with calls answered in less than six seconds and all queries responded to within 24 hours. “8x8 continually develops its platform, introducing easier and more effective ways for us to serve our customers,” said Lee. “On top of that, service from 8x8 is always quick and hassle free.”

With 8x8, evo Group now has a modern, flexible CX platform that’s easy to manage, scales with the business, and enables every team—regardless of their individual needs—to deliver excellent service. The transition has allowed the organization to streamline operations, eliminate silos between tools, and give both staff and customers a better experience.

Customer:
evo Group
Location:
Sheffield, UK
Industry:
Logistics
Size:
  • Enterprise
Challenges
  • Disparate, siloed systems.
  • Lack of visibility into the customer journey.
  • Other AI solutions were not the right fit.
  • Need to improve customer response time and experience.
Products
  • 8x8 Work®
    8x8® Contact Center™
    8x8® Voice for Microsoft Teams**
Partner
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