Progressive
UK
print media wholesaler brings in Sterling Selling and Fulfilment Suite to centralise warehouse and order management and improve supply chain efficiency and customer service
LONDON, May 14, 2008 – Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of AT&T (NYSE : T), today announced that Dawson News, one of the UK’s largest newspaper and magazine wholesalers, is optimising its national supply chain with Sterling Order Management and Sterling Warehouse Management System (Sterling WMS), part of the Sterling Selling and Fulfilment Suite.
The implementation is part of a major £9 million investment over 24 months in IT systems to support operational and customer services which Dawson News is making to build on its strong UK market share of 22 percent of the news distribution market. The Sterling Commerce solutions will form a significant element of the company’s strategic plan for the continuous improvement of its customer services, combined with measures to reduce operating costs.
Dawson News’ customers include all of the UK’s major publishers, delivering over one billion copy sales each year to 14,000 news outlets - from independents and multi-sites to supermarket chains. To co-ordinate this, its supply chain management has to be highly responsive and flexible to accommodate high volumes, multiple distribution centres and product lines that change quickly and frequently; within a market sector that is itself experiencing considerable and rapid change.
Dawson News selected the solution for its configurability and scalability to meet the news wholesaler’s unique requirements, delivering centralised customer order management, including sales and returns process and control with local execution. In planning the overhaul of its supply chain management system, Dawson News ruled out an ERP system. John Townley, MD, Dawson News, explains, “We chose Sterling Commerce because they offered a more simple and effective route to implementation, combined with a strong technology architecture which enables flexibility and adaptability in a complex supply chain. This will meet our needs now and as they change. ”
Sterling Order Management will enhance the ability of the company to apply centralised governance of both order planning and inventory control across all the company’s sites and replaces a legacy infrastructure of local applications with a single system. Sterling WMS will provide a transparent and centralised solution replacing multiple instances of a distributed legacy system. Not only does this significantly reduce total cost of ownership but a single WMS instance provides a global view of inventory across the supply network, common processes as well as tools to help rapidly onboard new distribution centres. As a result, Dawson News’ publisher and retailer customers will experience a more consistent service with high levels of compliance to critical key performance measures.
Dave Robinson, Senior VP International Field Operations, at Sterling Commerce, said: “Dawson News is a high-volume and high-velocity business. Increasing digital media consumption and a corresponding decline in print sales mean that media wholesalers are looking to create efficiencies and add new revenue streams. Our solutions will support both of these business requirements. Centralised order management and global inventory visibility and control will ensure a more efficient supply chain, whilst the solution will facilitate the addition of new services to the Dawson News portfolio.”
Sterling Selling and Fulfillment Suite is a unique set of applications for managing the entire process of inquiry to cash that removes the barriers to successful customer and supplier interactions by providing a single end-to-end view of multi-channel selling and fulfillment operations. The Suite allows companies to present a unique buying experience for their prospects, customers and partners in all the ways they sell — Web, call centre, store and field sales. In addition, it provides companies with control over the entire fulfillment lifecycle — from order management, to warehouse operations, to transportation and delivery, to supply management, to returns and settlement.
Roll out across all of Dawson’s news centres is expected to be completed by May 2010.
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About Sterling Commerce
Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), helps customers thrive in a global economy by connecting their business communities, processes, people and technology. More than 30,000 customers worldwide – including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 – use Sterling Commerce solutions for business process integration, multi-channel selling, and supply chain fulfillment to improve profitability inside and outside their company walls. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Sterling Commerce has offices in 19 countries and most major cities around the world. More information on the company can be found at www.sterlingcommerce.co.uk
For media enquiries please contact:
Willemijn Steegenga
Sterling Commerce
Tel: +31 (0) 20 560 5794
willemijn_steegenga@stercomm.com
Valerie Holloway
Nelson Bostock Communications
Tel. +44 (0) 20 7792 7420
valerie.holloway@nelsonbostock.com