What should you do if the Internet connection in a store suddenly goes down? Without a connection, the operation of a sales outlet is only possible to a very limited extent. This is why Germany's second largest drugstore chain, ROSSMANN, has opted for SIM cards from wherever SIM as a backup solution in LTE routers in its more than 2,230 German sales outlets.
No access to the merchandise management system and many other online services - without an internet connection, a lot would come to a standstill in a ROSSMANN store. If the main connection fails, M2M SIM cards therefore re-establish the connection via mobile communications and maintain it as a cost-effective backup until the main connection is restored. SIM cards of this type are also used when opening new stores so that they can still open for business regardless of internet providers and connection deadlines that are often missed.
"Our ROSSMANN stores are located throughout Germany—in pedestrian zones in the heart of major cities, as well as in rural areas and smaller towns. These varying location conditions presented us with challenges when searching for a backup solution for our Internet connection," explains Julian Witschi, the buyer responsible GmbH the project at Dirk Rossmann GmbH . He continues:
"We knew that we could use SIM cards in our routers to establish a connection in the event of a main line failure. But we also saw the problem that not every location has the same network operator offering the best reception. If our branches have network coverage in the event of an emergency, but the connection is too poor to transmit the data adequately, that doesn't solve the problem."
The solution was found in the M2M SIM cards from wherever SIM. "The multi-network SIMs enable our routers to connect to the strongest network at each location. That's perfect for us. We had one contractual partner, but we were able to use all networks. That made things much easier for us."
"In our case, the M2M SIM is not only a fallback for data transmission, it also helps us to identify the issue with DSL," Witschi continued.
Each of our sales outlets has a router equipped with both a DSL and an LTE modem. The DSL modem is usually used to maintain the Internet connection, while the LTE modem is used to establish an alternative connection for data transmission in the event of a DSL malfunction. If DSL fails, this should of course be rectified as quickly as possible. To do this, it helps the technician if they can connect directly to the router remotely, even without a working DSL connection, in order to read the error code or restart the router if necessary."
For this remote access, wherever SIM provided wherever SIM private IP addresses that could be accessed securely via a VPN tunnel. ROSSMANN was able to control a router from its headquarters via this IP address without having to be on site at the branch. Since these are private IP addresses, only ROSSMANN had access to the routers via its own VPN tunnel; private IP addresses remain inaccessible to other Internet users.
"This approach not only significantly accelerated troubleshooting and repair, but also simplified the procedure for our technicians," says Witschi.
