Benoli Wholesale is a North East-based supplier of premium Italian wines and food products, serving over 300 venues across Tyne and Wear. The business is named after owner Steven Echanique’s sons, Ben and Oliver. It has built a strong reputation for quality, competitive pricing, and exceptional customer service, with the majority of new customers coming through referrals alone. Their product range includes an extensive selection of Italian wines and high-quality ingredients, many of which are exclusive to Benoli Wholesale and imported under their own label. You can see this is included on the wine bottle label pictured below:
Benoli Wholesale is also closely linked to Mark Toney, a North East institution with over 130 years of history. This iconic business is well known throughout the region and produce their own famous ice cream, making them a family favourite across generations. Benoli Wholesales’ own industry standing was recently recognised as a finalist in the UK Italian Awards 2026, Best Italian Drink Industry Supplier.
The Challenge
As Benoli Wholesale continued to grow, the demands on their IT infrastructure grew with it. Operating across two linked businesses and supporting teams that needed to reliable systems to keep in touch with each for critical business logistics and answering customer queries, the existing internet connection was falling short. Slower speeds were impacting the performance of day-to-day systems, making tasks like updating data and uploading invoice documentation more time-consuming than they needed to be. Offering a quick and responsive service to both colleagues and customers was an essential part of the wholesaler’s daily functionality as a key supplier for many popular businesses across the North East’s hospitality sector. Missed deliveries due to system delays or difficulty in communicating across the businesses was not an option and needed to be upgraded before outdated technology impacted the company any further.
Steven also works from home regularly, and a slow or unreliable VPN connection to the office was adding friction to his remote working setup. With efficiency and customer service at the centre of the wider business strategy, a more reliable, high-performance IT foundation was much needed at this point in their company journey.
The Solution
In January 2025, Benoli Wholesale partnered with Smart IT, taking on a full suite of services designed to support a growing SME. This included our SmartCare Small Business service, providing comprehensive IT support from our responsive, friendly team of expert engineers. Proactive monitoring and advanced cybersecurity tools provide reassurance to the business owner that their key systems are managed and supported by world-leading technology. A block hours package was also included for any additional bespoke projects as required by the company, moving forward to continue to upgrade their communications infrastructure. SmartFibreConnect Internet was also a key part of the services installed by Smart IT, a high-speed full-fibre broadband, exclusive to the Team Valley area.
A SmartConnect telephony system was also implemented across both Benoli Wholesale and Mark Toney, ensuring consistent and reliable phone services for both internal and external call handling. The flexibility to connect and redirect calls across both teams allows the management to continue providing good service while staff members are on leave or unavailable. Security for the wider business systems was also reviewed as part of our full business audit included as part of our customer onboarding service. This identified a requirement for both anti-virus and email security tools to help prevent phishing attacks and fraudulent access requests to critical infrastructure.
The switch to high-speed internet was a considerable improvement to all teams. With a significantly faster connection replacing the previous provider, the whole business felt the benefit almost immediately, with third-party software loading more quickly and file uploads being processed swiftly, helping improve productivity when handling accounting and invoice tasks.
The Results
The impact of the Smart IT partnership has been felt across the business. Their day-to-day systems run noticeably faster, allowing the team to update records and upload invoice documentation quickly and efficiently. Steven’s remote VPN connection to the office is now reliable and fast, making working from home far more productive and no longer the frustrating part of running the business in a flexible environment.
Improved phone systems through Smart Connect have allowed the teams across Benoli Wholesale and their sister company Mark Toney to work more cohesively, maintaining the seamless customer support they’re known for. Overall operational efficiency has improved, freeing up time to focus on growing the business and delivering the quality service that drives their referral-based reputation.
“We’re really happy with how much faster and better our internet has become since switching to SmartFibreConnect with Smart IT. Their team is always friendly and ready to help whenever we have any questions or issues.”
— Steven Echanique, Owner, Benoli Wholesale
