O’Neill switch to Lawson Software

Lawson Signs Contract with Leading Surf, Snow and Lifestyle Fashion Brand O’Neill. Lawson Fashion solution to help streamline business operations and support growth in Europe. Lawson Software has announced that O’Neill Europe, headquartered in Warmond, The Netherlands, has signed a contract to implement Lawson Fashion, which is part of the Lawson M3 Enterprise Management System. The company will use the Lawson solution to support its supply chain operations in Europe. Lawson Fashion helps companies synchronize demand and supply to help them respond faster to changing market conditions and improve profitability. The initial phase of the two-part contract was signed during Lawson’s first quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended Aug. 31, 2008, and the final phase of the contract was signed during Lawson’s second quarter, which ends Nov. 31, 2008.

The project will include a comprehensive implementation of the Lawson M3 system incorporating Lawson Fashion, and Lawson Smart Office. The solution will run on an IBM System i platform and will first be implemented in The Netherlands, followed by a further roll-out to O’Neill subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands and France. The system will initially support approximately 140 users. Lawson Fashion is designed to help improve customer service, shorten time-to-market and provide greater transparency and accuracy of key data.

“One of our objectives is to reduce the complexity of our current infrastructure, work toward a common, global and standardized platform which will help improve the collaboration with our subsidiaries and our distribution and retail channels,” said Arjan Kaaks, COO/CFO and project executive for O’Neill Europe. “Operating with an integrated and scalable ERP platform that is based on the latest technology will also help simplify our business processes and bring consistency and integrity to our company data.”

O’Neill’s decision to select Lawson came after the evaluation of competing offerings from other enterprise software providers. “Lawson’s company culture felt familiar to O’Neill. In addition, Lawson’s industry focus and expertise, reflected in their numerous references in the apparel business in general and sportswear industry in particular, that has been a key driver in our decision,” added Anton Langeler, global IT director for O’Neill Europe.

“This new relationship with O’Neill is more evidence that we are becoming the obvious choice for the apparel industry by bringing a solution that delivers a greater return on investment and good functional fit,” said Bob McKee, industry strategy director for fashion at Lawson. “We are building a track record in sportswear and now have three of the top surf brands as customers.”