WINCANTON SELECTS SERENA TO PROVIDE POWERFUL APPLICATION LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

European supply chain solutions company WINCANTON plc (LSE: WIN) has selected an application lifecycle management (ALM) solution from SERENA Software, Inc., (Nasdaq: SRNA), the largest company solely focused on managing change in the IT environment. Wincanton is implementing Serena ChangeMan to help the organisation manage multiple Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) across diverse languages and databases on the Unix platform.

Wincanton designs, implements and operates complete, bespoke supply chain solutions for customers across the UK, Ireland and continental Europe. One of the major components of each supply chain is the WMS, an application that integrates the management of all the major operational components of a modern warehouse, including cranes, conveyors and RFID systems. Each WMS is created to suit the specific needs of the individual customer and to integrate with their existing systems. As a result, Wincanton now manages 13 discrete systems, each with different specifications in terms of features, languages, and databases.

Two years ago Wincanton began a project to streamline the management of the code base for each WMS. Having undertaken a detailed review of the offerings from many of the leading vendors, Wincanton selected Serena ChangeMan because of its structured approach and the greater visibility and control that it provides.

"Serena's solution was clearly the best fit for our requirements," commented Nick Walker, IT Development Services Manager, Wincanton plc. "With clients in heavily regulated industries such as healthcare, we have to ensure that the systems we provide for them are absolutely robust. ChangeMan has reinforced our change management processes and made the rollout of new code more efficient, saving us time and reassuring our customers."

Wincanton has completed the first phase of its rollout of ChangeMan, with three of the 13 WMS now transferred. Implementation has involved a combination of Serena's professional services consultants and an in-house project team.

"Wincanton has demonstrated that implementing automated change control can provide greater alignment of business and IT processes, resulting in additional insights even when the existing structures are sound," commented Ian Forsythe, Director of Sales Northern Europe, Serena Software. "Like Wincanton, most organisations today operate heterogeneous IT environments. ChangeMan stands out from the competition because it provides control and insight across diverse systems, from a single application."