Lawson Software was awarded a $2-million contract with Trinity Mirror, one of the United Kingdom’s largest newspaper publishers, with 176 titles, including the Mirror, which is read by more than 5.7 million people daily.

Trinity Mirror will use Lawson’s e-business solutions for financials, procurement, analytics and e-commerce to streamline processes for more efficient operations, and to enhance the quality of financial information within the group.

(l-r) Derek Morren, group financial controller, Trinity Mirror; Bryan Snowden, sales manager, Lawson Software; Margaret Ewing, group finance director, Trinity Mirror; Chris Hodge, managing director of international operations, Lawson Software; Ian Randall, group systems accountant, Trinity Mirror.
Photo courtesy of Lawson

Trinity Mirror chose Lawson over Oracle, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards, based on the strength of Lawson’s Web-based architecture, flexible core reporting, personalized Web-entry screens and lower total cost of ownership over the other enterprise application vendors, said Lawson.

The Trinity Mirror contract is a major addition to Lawson’s client base in the publishing sector, which includes Gannett, and demonstrates Lawson’s expertise in meeting the dynamic and rapidly changing e-business needs of today’s media organizations.

“The team’s decision to choose Lawson was unanimous,” said Andy McGreevy, financial controller of Trinity Mirror Shared Services, who led the selection team. “Lawson’s technological strength, including its flexibility and scalability, was very impressive. Lawson has proven professionalism and expertise in the publishing sector and clearly understands the needs of this industry.”

Trinity Mirror employs some 12,000 staff and operates a variety of digital media, including a national Internet Service Provider and more than 60 Web sites.

Lawson’s e-business solutions will be installed in the new Trinity Mirror Group Shared Services Organization, based in Chester, U.K., and accessed via the Web by all of Trinity Mirror’s businesses. The first phase of the implementation will concentrate primarily on finance and procurement functionality, as these are the operations used on a day-to-day basis. Phase two of the project will include Web self-service, analytics and e-commerce modules.

“As over 2,000 group employees will be using Lawson software every day, we wanted a system that was Web-enabled, could be personalized and was easy to use with minimal training,” McGreevy said.

Trinity Mirror will leverage its Lawson e-business solutions to replace its legacy system infrastructure and achieve new business efficiencies throughout the extended organization by consolidating, streamlining and improving financial and procurement processes. Lawson’s Web self-service solutions will empower employees with real-time access and control of the information they need to make strategic decisions.

“Lawson’s vertical market strategy of delivering e-business and e-commerce functionality to specific business sectors has allowed it to become a key solutions provider in the publishing and media industry,” said Chris Hodge, managing director of international operations for Lawson. “The contract win with Trinity Mirror extends Lawson’s lead among global media organizations, which are leveraging Lawson’s flexible, multi-tier architecture and front-to-back office integration features to quickly expand operations and develop e-commerce solutions in a highly competitive market.”