Marnier Lapostolle Selects Lawson M3 Suite
The French producer of Grand Marnier chooses Lawson M3 for its specific food and beverage industry functionalities
PARIS (November 28, 2006) – Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN) today announced that Marnier Lapostolle, producer of Grand Marnier®, the most widely exported liqueur in the world, has chosen the Lawson M3 enterprise resource planning suite, specifically for functionality designed for the food and beverage industry. The food and beverage industry is one of Lawson’s target sectors among industries that make, move and maintain products. The contract was signed in Lawson’s first quarter of fiscal 2007, which ended Aug. 31, 2006.
Marnier Lapostolle is replacing a legacy system that was developed in-house in the 1970s. The system has become difficult to service and maintain and no longer meets the company’s strategic business needs. The group recently decided to opt for an integrated ERP solution, which will allow the company to renew and consolidate all of its business processes into one system to support its international growth strategy.
Grand Marnier® liqueur is available in more than 150 countries, with more than 90 percent of its products being exported. A bottle of Grand Marnier® is sold every two seconds worldwide.
Marnier Lapostolle will adopt the Lawson M3 suite, including Manufacturing Operations, Procurement, and Customer Sales and Service. These applications will operate on an IBM System i platform and will be used by nearly 100 individuals at the Marnier Lapostolle sites in France.
In the final selection process, Lawson M3 was chosen over J.D. Edwards. SAP was rejected early in the selection process due to complexity of implementation.
“The Lawson M3 functionalities developed for the food and beverage industry fully met our management needs, said Arnaud Mabire, chief information officer,Grand Marnier. “Lawson’s references in the wine and spirits market and its related industry expertise affected our choice, as we aimed to have a software solution that would allow us to maintain the specific advantages that our in-house system had provided. Lawson M3 has the advantages of both a general ERP system and a food and beverage industry-specific solution.
“The food and beverage industry is one of the specific sectors that Lawson is focusing on as part of its overall growth strategy, while offering small and medium-sized businesses a compelling alternative to the two market giants, said Frédéric Champalbert, general manager of Lawson in France. “This new contract, awarded by a leader in the premium spirits market, strengthens our presence in this sector.
Source: Lawson
