NEWS 05
CO-OPERATIVE GETS GOOD WITH APPS U
K retail giant, the Co- operative Group, is using specialist third-party
application migration consulting and tools to defi ne a major desktop transformation project. The Group is now migrating its PC desktop estate to a Citrix Xen architecture-based ‘thin client’ virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) in conjunction with a phased move to new head offi ces in Manchester (interior design pictured). It is using AppTitude from specialist
provider App-DNA to determine application virtualisation suitability ahead of migration, and form part of the longer-term strategy for application lifecycle management. Ian Cawson, technical architect for the Co-operative Group, told Retail Technology: “The thin-client project is part of an initiative we started two years ago to address the energy impact of the ‘fat PC’. It is more fl exible for users, who can log on from anywhere, as well as more effi cient to support and secure from a central location.”
support and management going forward.”
The project forms part of a wider He continued: “But we knew this
would mean managing application sprawl. But AppTitude is giving us visibility of what applications we can package for the new environment so we can consolidate the application estate too.”
He said that the application audit and packaging exercise, which will continue in a phased approach through to 2012, saved time on the project and money from those applications that could be retired because they no longer needed support.
“It has also saved us time on
migrating from Windows XP to 7 and Windows Server 2002 to 2007 R2,” Cawson added. “AppTitude’s ‘traffi c light’ visibility is helping us quantify the costs of not only migration, but
business IT initiative to improve business agility, support new working practices, lower costs and meet carbon emission targets that has already seen it implement a ‘Wake on LAN’ (local area network) programme to run its tills instore more effi ciently. The overall project will lead to
signifi cant improvements in fl exibility, productivity and mobility, and savings of £2m per year are predicted along with a 35% reduction in carbon footprint by 2017.
WAITROSE
SIGNS LOGISTICS CONTRACT
Fresh food retailer Waitrose has awarded a contract to Gist to become a key logistics provider for components of its primary transport operations. Gist, which specialises in fresh
food supply chains, now collects 400 pallets per week from Scottish-based Waitrose suppliers for consolidation and onward movement from its Bellshill depot. The combination of Gist’s extensive network coverage, fl exibility and locally based solution were a good match with Waitrose‘s business requirements. Gist has also managed to incorporate some key contractors previously employed to enhance the service and value offer to Waitrose. Kit Woodward, supply chain
Lush, the fresh handmade cosmetic retailer, with 702 stores worldwide, has shut down its UK transactional website after it was hacked. While the company did not reveal any details of the source or extent of the
breach, except that customers credit card details had been compromised, it stated on the
Lush.co.uk site: “We refuse to put our customers at risk of another entry – so have decided to completely retire this version of our website.” Lush adopted Itim’s web-based multichannel Retail Suite solution in July last
year, which also integrated a point-to-point encrypted payment solution – but only in its stores.
development manager, Waitrose said: “Waitrose has a reputation for providing the highest quality fresh food and it’s essential that our suppliers are also committed to delivering the highest quality service. Gist has extensive experience in fresh food logistics and they offer the levels of quality, service and value that we require to meet our customers’ expectations.”
◆ High Street and home shopping retailer Next has appointed logistics integrator Savoye to install an automated storage and retrieval system for storing furniture products in an existing 80,000-square- metre warehouse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The new facility is being built to handle demand for large furniture items and is scheduled to open in Autumn 2011.
◆ High Street fashion retailer New Look is embarking on a roll out of in-queue merchandising systems supplied by queue management specialist Tensator in its new ‘Look and Feel’ stores across the UK and Europe, including France, Belgium and Poland, as well as the fl agship Oxford Circus branch in London.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 RETAIL TECHNOLOGY
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