Norway’s Coop TRONDOS Signs M3 Contract with Lawson Software
OSLO, Norway (August 21, 2006) – Norwegian retail chain Coop TRONDOS has chosen Lawson Software’s (Nasdaq:LWSN) M3 software to provide a complete business solution for its 30-plus chain of stores to help improve their processes throughout the value chain. The contract was signed in Lawson’s first quarter fiscal 2007.
TRONDOS runs two Coop OBS Hypermarkets and more than 30 other retail stores in Norway and has a total annual revenue of EUR 336 million. With the new retail solution from Lawson, TRONDOS is expanding its use of IT to include more efficient tools for planning functions in goods intake and stock control.
“With our choice of Lawson M3, we want to invest in an integrated retail solution that covers processes running throughout the whole value chain. This also includes a service desk solution based on Lawson’s Retail concept, which includes integration with the Lindbak POS solution,” says Ludvik Erlandsen, financial director for Coop TRONDOS.
After conducting a market evaluation involving four possible suppliers and solutions in the fall of 2005, TRONDOS evaluated Lawson M3 (previously Movex) and SAP, resulting in the choice of the Lawson Java-based ERP solution.
“For our business, efficiency in the point of sale is key. It was important and very positive that Lawson could demonstrate a good integration with the POS solution from Lindbak Retail. The key to profitability lies in integrated information flow between the point-of-sales application and our ERP applications. With the new solution, we will be able to provide better central support and give the individual shop the opportunity to concentrate its activities purely on running the store. The solution from Lawson covers this range of activity extremely well and we look forward to exploiting the opportunities provided by a holistic business solution,” Erlandsen says.
Over the last year Lawson made strong progress in the retail industry with several new contracts in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia, and a number of new projects with existing customers. Together, this has put Lawson in a strong position when companies in the retail sector evaluate new solutions.
“The contract with TRONDOS is a very pleasing confirmation of our investment in solutions for the retail industry. It’s a challenging industry with large volumes and a high tempo. Our experience in this market is therefore a necessary condition for success,” says Einar Broch, country manager for Lawson in Norway.
Through good use of available technology, TRONDOS has run its shops efficiently for many years. TRONDOS was an innovator in the standardization of solutions and good procedures for the running of individual shops. In recent years, TRONDOS has focused on how business systems can make the flow of goods more efficient.
“We found that we reached an efficiency limit within the framework of our existing solution. In order to improve further, we had to think holistically and we started a project that we called ‘IT in the supply chain.’ The aim was to ensure an efficient flow of goods in line with the best players on the Scandinavian market. We understood early that this would require further development of business solutions, and chose to go out into the market to find a solution that met our needs,” says Erlandsen.
Source: Lawson
