Who are we today?

Estimate: 2 Minutes read

I’m Hannibal, and my team? We’re the A Team.

If there’s no humour, life can be very dull. That’s simply not how we do things. Despite coming from different backgrounds, we’re a crack team made up of English, Austrian, Australian, Polish, Turkish and a few others. But one thing we all agree on?

Humour is part of the job description.

When disaster strikes, it’s a very English trait to make light of the situation. It’s what gets you through the stressful moments. And in networking, where things can occasionally go pear shaped, that mindset helps. I always tell my team:

“If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.”

And most importantly:

“Do the job right the first time because no one enjoys an ‘uh oh’ moment later.”

The Power of a Team That Knows Each Other Inside Out

My team has been together for 18 years. In tech years, that’s practically an eternity. The left hand always knows what the right hand is doing, making it easier for customers to benefit. Information flows instantly between us, ensuring clients always stay in the loop.

Compared to simply selling used equipment, aiming for refurbished perfection comes with its own challenges. I always remind my team:

“I’d rather it be late and right than early and wrong.”

That’s the only caveat to what we do. We always advise customers to allow time, just as they would when ordering brand new equipment. Trust me, rushing things never ends well. Just ask anyone who’s tried assembling IKEA furniture without reading the manual.

Refurbishing: An Art Form, Not Just a Process

It involves:

• Grading (not the kind teachers give, but just as important)
• Testing (because "it should work" isn’t the same as "it does work")
• Repainting (a little makeover never hurts)
• Cleaning (dust bunnies are not included)
• Replacing missing parts (because ‘some assembly required’ isn’t a good look for networking gear)
• Packaging (a customised box is our best friend)

Each step adds to the cost but also to the quality.

Our refurbishing team consists of:

• Two sprayers (they call it painting, I call it wizardry)
• Three engineers (basically magicians with screwdrivers)
• Two packers (Tetris champions in disguise)
• One repair specialist (the fixer of things that really shouldn’t be broken)

I call them artists because they take pride in their work. And let’s be honest, getting networks wrong can be shockingly expensive. We’d rather do things properly the first time.

A Culture of Knowledge

Even our back office team, whether in export, logistics, finance or sales, has a deep understanding of networking equipment.

How did that happen?

In the early days, we pooled together all our knowledge into an in house application that allows anyone in the company to access and become a network expert. And, let’s be honest, I didn’t want to keep answering the same questions over and over again.

Every caveat, trick and past issue has been recorded. Now, everyone in the company knows network part numbers inside out.

Funny thing is, when you create something to save yourself time, it ends up saving the whole team’s time. More importantly, it saves the customer’s time. And time, as we all know, is the one thing you can’t get back once it’s lost. Unless, of course, you have a time machine. In which case, call me.

Everyone Owns Their Corner of the Business

Every team member treats this company as their own because they care deeply about their part of the business. And that’s a great thing, right?