Automic assists Morrisons in delivery of unique vertical proposition
UC4 rebrands as Automic to meet customer demand
Austria, 1st July 2013 – Automic, the world’s most comprehensive platform in automating businesses, today announces that one of the UK’s largest supermarkets, Morrisons, has used automation capabilities to run and build its vertically-integrated operation, including manufacturing and retail.
Morrisons operates a different business model to other supermarkets, by manufacturing, sorting, grading and packing its own produce. Morrisons’ approach to its operations means that agile IT is a crucial requirement, with multiple systems being responsible for keeping distinct parts of the supply chain connected. Automic’s automation capabilities allow Morrisons to connect disparate systems from legacy mainframes to newly-implemented Oracle Retail systems – in a cost-effective way that brings coherence to otherwise disconnected processes.
Tony Stephenson, IT Operations Manager, Morrisons, commented: “Morrisons is in a unique position, in the way it serves its customers by handling all aspects of the supply chain. The amount of applications required to operate this successfully, coupled with the testing and rollout of processes, means that automation is a crucial cog in Morrisons’ success. Manual execution of these processes wouldn’t allow us to run, build and transform the businesses in the same way that automation does.”
With in-store sales data used for replenishment and manufacturing processes, Morrisons requires speed and close monitoring of its activity to ensure the smooth running of the business. Automic helps to ensure end-to-end visibility of workflows, allowing the IT department clear status of the supply chain.
“Automic enables us to scale-up and quickly implement processes that are essential to our business. The speed of deployment was very straightforward and effective, and was easily integrated into our Oracle Retail system with minimal maintenance,” concludes Stephenson.
Automic revealed as new brand
The agreement with Morrisons coincides with the news that Automic has been unveiled as the new brand identity for UC4 Software.
Today’s businesses are under pressure to perform tasks faster and more cost effectively than ever before. For organisations built on legacy systems, performing even simple tasks can be complex and reliant on multiple manual systems that make it hard to find the time to innovate.
“IDC’s research consistently identifies automation as a top priority for businesses that are trying to streamline complex business processes and make more efficient use of their IT staff and infrastructure,” states Mary Johnston Turner, IDC Research Vice President for Enterprise Systems Management Software. “Introduction of the Automic brand is a strategic move to better communicate the breadth and depth of the company’s evolved business automation strategy solution and its ability to address complex automation requirements across business process, applications, and infrastructure.”
Automic frees up business leaders to deliver the services and products of the future by automating day-to-day tasks and eliminating errors, ensuring compliance, reducing costs and maintaining services at all times. It enables companies to focus on innovation and customer service. Automic’s solutions have been implemented by more than 2,500 enterprises globally, including leading retail, telecoms and financial services firms.
Craig Beddis, Chief Marketing Officer, Automic, added: “Industry leaders are looking to take greater control of their businesses and bring to market leading propositions that keep their customers happy. It’s all about being agile and flexible in this changing digital world. However, most companies are still consumed by the day to day tasks of keeping the lights on to fully optimise the next generation of innovation.”
“We are proud to be assisting Morrisons in the delivery of its unique vertical proposition. Automic has been enabling companies to not sweat the small stuff for over 25 years and we are committed to bringing innovation back to the enterprise heartland – Automic makes this possible,” concludes Beddis.
About Automic
Automic is the most comprehensive platform for automating businesses globally. We help over 2,500 companies – from start-ups to global brands – grow their business by taking away the stress of the everyday so they can focus on innovating. We do this through automating every aspect of their business to eliminate errors, ensure compliance, reduce costs and maintain services while providing a full dashboard for business leaders.
Founded in 1985, in Austria, Automic is owned by EQT, the leading private equity group in Northern Europe following the acquisition from The Carlyle Group in 2012 for $270 Million.
About Morrisons
Morrisons is one of the UK’s biggest food retailers, with 490 stores, and we’re the only British supermarket to have our own food processing sites, abattoirs and even a farm. We employ expert livestock buyers to pick animals straight from the farmer and we are unique in making almost a quarter of the food we sell in store ourselves, giving us unrivalled control over our supply chain. We’re committed to supporting British farming, that’s why all Morrisons-branded fresh meat and everything on our butchers’ counters is 100% British. And we have more skilled specialists on hand to prepare more fresh food in store than any other retailer, with over 6,000 fully trained crafts people in our stores including butchers, bakers, fishmongers and cheesemongers. Every week, over 11 million customers pass through our doors and more than 129,000 colleagues across the business work hard each day to deliver great service to them. Our aim is to give our customers more of what matters to them, offering great quality food at low prices.
