Case Study - Fast Growing Trees [Published February 2024]

Fast Growing Trees sees business blossom by embracing enhanced connectivity

“When you are fulfilling thousands of orders a day during our peak season, and you’ve got greenhouses and warehouses producing some 10,000s plants for shipment, having the right connectivity service is a must.” 

Scott Taylor, Senior Network Engineer, Fast Growing Trees

At a farm in Fort Mill, South Carolina, acres of trees stand ready for shipment to homeowners across the United States. It is part of a vast assortment of plant life which has made Fast Growing Trees the world’s largest online nursery, with over 1.8 million customers who value the quality and variety of its products.

Maintaining such a unique, flourishing enterprise requires a commitment not only to ecology and the natural sciences, but to technological innovation. This commitment is seen in the partnership Fast Growing Trees enjoys with Spectrum Enterprise.

Fiber Internet Access supported by Ethernet circuits and backed up by Wireless Internet Access gives Fast Growing Trees better control both at Fort Mill and their Charlotte, North Carolina headquarters. To help Fast Growing Trees better monitor onsite operations and ensure employee safety protocols are always strictly observed, over 60 cameras were set up in various parts of the Fort Mill property.

“It’s really hard to have eyes on everything as far as addressing the need for employee safety, the well-being of our products and equipment, and just making sure we are following day-to-day protocols,” says Scott Taylor, Senior Network Engineer, Fast Growing Trees.

Spectrum Enterprise’s variety of camera types offer exceptional clarity, 180-degree views, continuous fields of vision across different distances and the ability to zoom in on details like faces and license plates. Some are even set up with night vision abilities.

Reliable connectivity matters a great deal to Fast Growing Trees. Thousands of online orders get processed each day at the Fort Mill farm during peak growing season. This can put a strain on even the most efficient operations. Having Spectrum Enterprise fiber circuits backed by a deep commitment to service means a lot to Taylor.

“The main thing is ensuring our staff is able to work at full capacity with the internet service we need, to get those plants out and our orders fulfilled,” he notes. “Having that backbone of fiber and Ethernet always working for us has been essential to our growth.”

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