- The Story
RSS – Retail Systems and Services partnered with ITBS to automate and standardize its help desk and maintenance operations, supporting Shell’s Greek retail network of more than 400 fuel stations nationwide.
RSS provides technical and operational support services for large-scale retail environments where uptime, fast response, and strict service-level control are critical. Managing thousands of maintenance requests, incidents, and service interventions across geographically distributed sites required a robust, scalable, and process-governed solution.
Business Context
Shell operated an extensive downstream retail network in Greece until July 2010, when it completed the sale of its downstream businesses to Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries A.E., a key energy market player in the region.
During this period of operational complexity and transition, maintaining consistent service quality across hundreds of retail stations was essential. RSS required a modern help desk and maintenance management platform capable of supporting both internal teams and external subcontractors, while ensuring transparency, accountability, and performance monitoring.
The Challenge: High-Volume, Distributed Support Operations
RSS faced a number of operational challenges typical of large retail support environments:
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High volumes of maintenance and support requests from geographically dispersed retail stations
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Manual or fragmented handling of incidents, tasks, and dispatching
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Limited visibility into response times, resolution status, and subcontractor performance
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Difficulty enforcing SLAs and monitoring operational KPIs
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Lack of a unified system for tracking assets, service history, and maintenance outcomes
The organization needed an end-to-end BPM-driven help desk solution that could scale easily, support multiple request channels, and adapt to evolving operational requirements.
The ITBS BPM Solution
ITBS implemented a workflow-based help desk and maintenance management platform, built on the biznez AWARE BPM suite, tailored to the needs of RSS and large retail support operations.
The solution was designed to be applicable to any size business environment, offering an intuitive and easy-to-use interface while providing deep process control and configurability.
Multi-Channel Request Capture
Maintenance and support requests could be submitted through:
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Web access, using standard or custom electronic forms
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Email, automatically converted into trackable tickets
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Telephone, with help desk operators registering requests directly in the system
All requests were immediately routed into governed BPM workflows.
End-to-End Ticket & Workflow Management
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Structured lifecycle management of incidents and service requests
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Role-based task assignment and dispatching
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Support for internal technicians and external subcontractors
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Automated notifications and status updates to all stakeholders
The BPM architecture enabled RSS to implement different support strategies and customize how issues progressed through their lifecycle.
Asset & Maintenance Operations Management
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Association of tickets with specific installations and assets
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Full service history and troubleshooting records per site
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Tracking of spare parts usage, warehouse notifications, and stock balances
Performance Monitoring & SLA Control
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Monitoring of response times, dispatching times, and resolution durations
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Alerts triggered when thresholds or SLAs were at risk
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Detailed audit trail of activities, time shots, and task execution
Advanced Reporting & Analytics
The platform provided highly flexible reporting capabilities, allowing users to combine dozens of parameters to produce operational reports such as:
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Troubleshooting per client or installation
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Subcontractor performance and response times
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Total dispatching and resolution times across lifecycle stages
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Spare parts usage and maintenance trends
Reports could be adapted easily as business needs evolved
Results and Business Impact
By implementing a BPM-driven help desk and maintenance management solution, RSS achieved:
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Centralized control of support and maintenance operations across 400+ retail stations
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Faster incident handling and more consistent response times
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Improved coordination between help desk operators, technicians, and subcontractors
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Greater transparency and accountability, supported by real-time monitoring and reporting
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Reduced operational and administrative costs, through automation and standardization
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Scalable operations, able to support organizational change and network expansion
The solution became a critical enabler for maintaining service quality in a demanding, high-availability retail fuel environment.
Conclusion
Supporting large-scale retail networks requires more than basic ticketing – it demands process orchestration, governance, and real-time operational insight. Through its BPM-based approach, ITBS enabled RSS to transform its help desk into a fully integrated maintenance and service management capability.
This case study demonstrates how Business Process Management can deliver measurable value in distributed retail environments, ensuring operational continuity, service excellence, and long-term scalability.
