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Casella Wines Selects Lawson to Improve Sales Force Mobility and Reporting

Announcement posted by Lawson Software 24 Aug 2007

 

Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN), a global provider of enterprise software applications, today announced it has signed a contract with Casella Wines to help the company automate its sales order process and improve information reporting. The contract was signed in Lawson’s fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, which ended 31 May 2007.

Under the deal, Casella Wines will deploy Lawson’s M3 Enterprise Mobility solution. This solution is designed to provide Casella Wines’ field sales staff with immediate access to information to help measure activities and events, as well as information on sales forms, processes and inventory.

Casella Wines will also become the first Lawson customer in Australia to deploy Lawson M3 Sales Automation solution. Lawson M3 Sales Automation is a management dashboard and reporting solution that will help Casella improve sales efficiency and implement sales strategies. It also provides managers with the ability to quickly and easily access and track information on sales activities.

The Casella family has been making wine in Australia for three generations and today it is still very much a family business. Casella Wines entered the export arena in mid 2000 with the launch of its brand [yellow tail]. It sells more than 10 million cases per year to international markets including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Canada. In 2003, Casella began selling the [yellow tail] brand domestically.

Both Lawson M3 Enterprise Mobility and Sales Automation will help Casella Wines maintain sales orders and deliveries in key markets and help to develop growing markets.

 “A key reason behind our decision to choose Lawson was the M3 Enterprise Mobility solution,” said David Alpen, business service manager for Casella Wines. “From the outset, we were very impressed with its high level of usability, as well as the interface benefits. When we saw a demonstration of the new Sales Automation reporting solution, this further cemented our opinion that Lawson had the complete package to suit our needs. It offers the kind of dashboard functionality our managers need to know what’s going on in the field.”

Up until now, Casella has relied on telephone and fax to process sales orders from wholesale customers and direct sales representatives. This has meant that sales managers and staff have often lacked the detailed breakdown of information they have needed. The new Lawson solution will help provide an accurate and historical view of sales activities and trends in customer demand.

“Our investment in Lawson M3 Enterprise Mobility and Sales Automation will allow us to make our business processes more efficient,” said Alpen. “These tools will help us take better control of our sales processing, reporting and information management functions. As a result, we will be able to streamline our order placement and delivery process. Our field staff will have greater access to real time information about their customers’ sales history, which will allow them to be more proactive. We’ll no longer be reliant on phones to get updates on sales activities, and we won’t have to worry about faxes going missing, or people left wondering if an order’s been placed. Orders will no longer have to be double-keyed as what’s entered into the system by the sales rep in the field, goes all the way through the system. This will reduce the chance of error with the order process.”

“We’re delighted to have entered into a partnership with Casella Wines, one of Australia’s most successful wine makers and exporters,” said Stephen Moore, managing director for Lawson.  “We look forward to building a strong relationship with the company as it continues to grow internationally.”

 

About Casella Wines

Filippo and Maria Casella emigrated to Australia from Italy in the 1950’s bringing with them their hopes and dreams and the know-how acquired through three generations of grape-growing and winemaking in Italy. Recognising the potential of the region, Filippo purchased a farm in the town of Yenda, New South Wales, in 1965. After selling the grapes from his farm to local wineries, he decided in 1969 that it was time for a new generation to put its winemaking skills to use, and the winery was born.

 

John Casella, one of Filippo and Maria’s three sons returned to the family business in 1994 and embarked on an ambitious expansion to build a new winery with the mission to blend old world heritage and new world technology.

 

Today, the day to day operations of the winery are run by the three Casella sons – John, Managing Director and Winemaker; Joe, Australian Sales Director; and Marcello, Director and Vineyard Manager. Filippo’s grandson, Phillip is the sixth generation Casella to join the business as assistant winemaker and public relations executive. In 2002, Casella brought in Alan Kennett as Chief Winemaker. Alan previously worked with a number of other successful Australian wineries.

 

In terms of volume, export sales have exceeded 12 million cases since 1998, and since June 2001 have seen considerable growth with the introduction of the export specific brand [yellow tail]. For more information about Casella Wines, visit: www.casellawine.com.au.

 

About Lawson Software

Lawson Software provides software and service solutions to 4,000 customers in manufacturing, distribution, maintenance and service sector industries across 40 countries. Lawson’s solutions include Enterprise Performance Management, Supply Chain Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management, Manufacturing Resource Planning, Enterprise Asset Management and industry-tailored applications. Lawson solutions assist customers in simplifying their businesses or organizations by helping them streamline processes, reduce costs and enhance business or operational performance. Lawson is headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., and has offices around the world. Visit Lawson online at www.lawson.com.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that contain risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements contain statements of intent, belief or current expectations of Lawson Software and its management. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The company is not obligated to update forward-looking statements based on circumstances or events that occur in the future. Risks and uncertainties that may cause such differences include but are not limited to: uncertainties in Lawson's ability to realize synergies and revenue opportunities anticipated from the Intentia International acquisition; uncertainties in the software industry; uncertainties as to when and whether the conditions for the recognition of deferred revenue will be satisfied; increased competition; uncertainty regarding potential future deterioration in the market for auction rate securities which could result in additional permanent impairment charges, global military conflicts; terrorist attacks; pandemics, and any future events in response to these developments; changes in conditions in the company's targeted industries and other risk factors listed in the company's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lawson assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release.

 

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