Unified Western Grocers Completes Multi-Suite Lawson Software Implementation
Lawson applications and technology platform strengthen national grocery retailer’s compliance efforts, customer service
ST. PAUL, Minn. (January 15, 2007) – The latest Lawson Software (Nasdaq:LWSN) applications and technology platform are helping Unified Western Grocers, Inc. optimize business processes and enhance security. A Lawson customer since 1996, Unified completed its migration from Lawson 7.1 to Lawson System Foundation 9.0 in mid 2006. Since that time, the company has completed implementation of the Lawson Human Capital Management and Enterprise Financial Management suites to meet government compliance requirements and improve service for its growing base of independent retail grocery stores.
Based in Commerce, Calif., Unified is a retailer-owned wholesale grocery cooperative that supplies 2,500 independent retailer grocery stores throughout the Western United States. Unified and its subsidiaries offer independent retailers all the resources they need to compete in today’s supermarket industry. Unified has approximately 3,300 employees.
In November 2005, Unified realized it needed to update its existing business processes to comply with government regulations. After evaluating several options, Unified decided to upgrade its existing Lawson business system to accommodate the organization’s evolving business needs. Lawson’s flexible architecture enabled Unified to complete the entire upgrade process in nine months.
“The Lawson Professional Services team proved to be a dedicated partner throughout the entire process, enabling us to successfully complete the implementation with minimal downtime,” said Rick Lockwood, director, system support services, Unified Western Grocers. “And the new Lawson applications and technology platform are helping us streamline our administrative and compliance processes while retaining the simplicity of an integrated business system.”
The Unified project team established processes and procedures to guide the system implementation and end-user training. First, the Lawson Professional Services team met with the project team leaders to provide an initial system overview. The leaders of the Unified project team then met with key employees for a formal training session. In addition to coordinated communication between the Unified project team and the Lawson Professional Services team, Unified employed both a test and developer environment during the system rollout. This approach enabled power users to experiment with the system as it was being implemented, helping to improve end-user acceptance of the new functionality once the system was live.
The Lawson Enterprise Financial Management suite will help Unified streamline and track key financial data. In addition, this upgrade establishes the foundation for future implementations of Lawson Accounts Payable and Lawson Procurement, which are expected to generate significant process improvements and staff savings. And, the Lawson Human Capital Management suite has enabled the grocery chain to reinvent the way it administers core Human Resource functions. For example, Unified is in the process of integrating a third-party, Web-based, document management application, ImageNow, into its Lawson system. This system integration and consolidation was a key goal for Unified’s Human Resources team.
Lawson System Foundation 9.0 (LSF 9) features the latest technology from Lawson combined with other world-class technologies, for a high-performance, standards-based technology solution. The highly secure and solid foundation provides a platform for Lawson’s next-generation applications designed for use within a service-oriented architecture (SOA). In addition, by separating the technical foundation from the application layer, Lawson enables Unified to upgrade its enterprise applications and technology independently.
“Faced with increasingly thin margins, grocery retailers need comprehensive business solutions that help them reduce operational costs so they can focus on improving the customer shopping experience,” said Michelle Schooff, industry marketing director, Retail, Lawson Software. “Our simple, proven software and deep industry expertise help Unified and its member retailers enhance business performance and reduce costs faster and with less risk than other ERP vendors.”
Lawson’s industry-focused software solutions help retailers integrate the systems they use to run and grow their businesses. Lawson has more than 350 retail customers worldwide. Specifically, customers include 10 of the top 25 specialty retailers, seven of the top 25 grocery chains, eight of the top 25 global retailers, six of the top 25 food service chains and eight of the top 30 U.S. convenience store companies.
Source: Lawson
