Founded in 1979, Shields is dedicated to becoming the leading (OEM independent) provider of services to telecom network operators. Shields’ mission is to bring structural change to the way telecom network operators source and maintain their networks by revolutionizing processes, resulting in substantial efficiencies and cost savings.
“This year marks our 40th year in business and with that, we’re focused on creating the future for our customers and achieving significant growth goals for the company,” said Daniel Jones, Shields CEO. “We’ll accomplish this by focusing on three pillars: equipment, services, and software, which will help us better serve the needs of our customers.”
What was once widely considered to be a “recycling” company for telecom equipment in its home country of England, Shields has already expanded outside of that box, providing asset management to the global market by embracing software as a service early on.
“Because of our legacy, we have historically been seen as a recycling company, especially in the U.K., but we’re so much more than that. We have been performing equipment sales, asset management and redeployment services for 20 years,” said Jones. “We are now pivoting the business towards a software-based model. We’ve truly become a tech business driven by software.”
Moving forward, Shields will continue to provide world class refurbishing, resale and recycling services, but will also forge ahead to expand on the following solutions provided to its customers:
- Spare Parts Management
- Asset Management
- On-Site Engineering
- Off-Site Engineering
- Forward & Reverse Logistics
Shields’ mission is to help customers gain visibility into their network and inventory to prevent unnecessary purchases. Through their robust MarketPlace software solution, Shields enables customers to optimize visibility into local and group assets, market availability, repair options, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) pricing. With this service, Shields can and has already, saved customers up to 75 percent in costs by redeploying their assets vs. buying new.
Saving customers money is high on the list of priorities for Shields. “The quality of our refurbished products is at least equal to new, with our failure rate being under half a percent,” said Jones. “That’s a number we’re proud of when considering most brand-new equipment has a failure rate of two to three percent,” he added. “Plus, our products are a third of the cost of OEM ‘off the shelf’ prices. If we can save our customers money on their assets by redeploying something they already own, we’ve done our job.” Plus, if a customer does have to purchase a product, Shields makes it easy by providing a hierarchy of supply options via its MarketPlace.
Shields is also focused on helping customers optimize their current infrastructure while preparing for the future. “We continuously ask ourselves how we can help operators manage the present while preparing for the next phase,” said Jones. “We’re focused on taking our customers through a cycle on the path to 5G. We know this can’t happen overnight, so we must first help them meet the needs of legacy to 4G network requirements, which we’ll accomplish via software solutions, then we’ll help them achieve their ambition of 5G.”
With that, Shields plans to position itself as the conduit between legacy networks and 5G, helping its customers to seamlessly achieve network upgrades. “We’re committed to rolling out a turnkey 5G solution in the U.S., building out capabilities, and then bringing our skills to Europe and nurturing the next generation of network installation here,” said Jones. “We also have plans to continue our expansion into new countries over the coming years.”
According to Jones, this can only be accomplished because of the dedicated staff at Shields. “Our amazing employees are ultimately what set us apart and our biggest asset by far. Everyone appears to be developing their skills daily and raising the bar to meet our goals.” For 40 years, this type of commitment to customers and quality has helped Shields stay relevant…and Jones is taking it to the next level.
“We’re positioning ourselves to be the go-to sourcing platform of the telecom infrastructure space, providing not just equipment but services as well,” said Jones. “We’re ready for 2019 and beyond.”
Shields is headquartered in both the U.K. and the Americas and is celebrating its 40th year in business. To learn more about Shields or to contact a representative, visit www.shields-e.com.
January 31, 2019
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