FreshDirect

"If our systems go down and we can’t get to this information, our whole business could be at risk.” 

– Myles Trachtenberg, Chief Technology Officer, FreshDirect

The Situation

FreshDirect’s IT group manages the website and hundreds of supporting systems and servers. They keep the ordering, fulfillment, supply, and other
systems interconnected for real-time availability and pricing for 8,000 products. Details of the company’s IT operations, including passwords to key systems,
equipment diagrams and operational procedures for shutting down and starting up servers and other hardware and software, were stored in locked filing cabinets in one location.

The Problem

FreshDirect needed a secure place to store critical documents that could be accessed by authorized parties outside the premises and the corporate firewall during an emergency.

The Implications

If the systems go offline, the company stands to lose up to $1 million dollars a day. Even worse, frustrated customers might abandon online ordering altogether in favor their local grocer.

The Solution

FreshDirect investigated several solutions. Intralinks Exchanges^TM proved to be the right solution, providing the combination of security, accessibility, reliability, and ability to deploy immediately.

The Result

Intralinks was put to the test following a total power outage at FreshDirect’s main facility. At 5:00 PM on a Friday, a roof top transformer failed and cut all power to the plant. Staff had only 30 minutes of back-up power to shut down key systems properly and in the correct order to minimize downtime and risk to system components. The IT staff immediately jumped into action. From their homes, off-duty system architects accessed the company’s disaster preparedness documents stored with Intralinks. They relayed the passwords and step-by- step procedures for 60 machines to the plant. After a gut-wrenching 28 hours, FreshDirect was back online. 

The Benefit

Without the immediate access to critical documents provided by Intralinks, it would have taken a week to get systems running again. What’s more, it could have cost the company $7 million, plus the cost of spoiled food and future revenue from dissatisfied customers.

FreshDirect is considering using Intralinks for all of its critical corporate documents. In particular, the legal and human resources departments have numerous contracts and other sensitive documents that need the same protection Intralinks has provided the IT department.