In 2006, Lawson Software and Intentia International AB merged to form the new Lawson – a stronger, more stable company that offers greater international reach than ever before. The new Lawson is based in St. Paul, Minn., and delivers software and services to 4,000 customer sites in manufacturing, distribution and services industries across 40 countries.

The new Lawson has two distinct product lines: Lawson M3 and Lawson S3. While the Lawson S3 Enterprise Management System is specifically designed for services industries and their need to staff, source and serve, the Lawson M3 Enterprise Management System is specifically designed to support organizations that have make, move or maintain processes. For these companies, resources are constrained and processes are often complex, industry-specific and usually international in scope.

Lawson M3 can help any midmarket manufacturing or distribution company achieve comprehensive value chain collaboration. The solution consists of integrated suites of software applications that can be implemented individually or as a complete package. These include applications for:

• Enterprise performance management;
• Business process management;
• Supply chain management;
• Customer sales and service;
• Enterprise asset management;
• Manufacturing operations; and
• Financial management.

Lawson M3 features integrated industry- specific functionality and a commitment to open standards for greater flexibility and lower cost of ownership than competing systems. Lawson M3 applications are designed for the easiest possible implementation, usage and maintenance.

FIVE REASONS CUSTOMERS LIKE THE LAWSON APPROACH

Why is Lawson’s approach important for customers? Here are five reasons:

1. Lawson is focused on our customers’ industry-specific needs. Lawson targets two broad sectors: manufacturing/trade and service providers. Within the manufacturing/ trade sector, we focus on fashion, food and beverage, process manufacturing, discrete manufacturing, distribution and retail.

   Within the service sector, we focus on healthcare, financial services, public services, retail services, and asset-intensive and labor-intensive service organizations.

   Our customers have told us that they are unique and expect the software Lawson provides to support their unique qualities. After all, enterprise software for a healthcare provider is vastly different from what a fashion manufacturer needs. Supply chain management for a wholesale distributor is different from what a regional government needs. Lawson understands that one size does not fit all, which is the fundamental philosophy behind our two product lines.

2. Lawson meets customer needs with the simplest possible solution. The Achilles’ heel of the enterprise software industry is “complexity.” One cause of complexity is trying to do too much with a single solution. By offering two product lines, Lawson can deliver the functionality our customers need without burdening them with functionality needed by another type of organization. This simplicity has a bottom line benefit – low total cost of ownership (TCO). And both Lawson M3 and S3 have the lowest TCO in the industry for the customers we serve.
3. Lawson transforms business information into business “intelligence.” Information is simply a collection of data or facts. Intelligence is the ability to apply knowledge. Enterprise software customers do not lack information. If anything, we all suffer from too much information. The real challenge is putting the right information into action.

   Lawson Business Intelligence offers unlimited secure “drilling” into analytic data – directly connecting to actual transactional data and applications. As a result, users get answers, not just data. Imagine reviewing corporate operating expenses from a high-level dashboard, then drilling deeper until you see the specific line item expense that's causing an issue – along with the person who processed the expense! This root cause analysis capability is unmatched in the industry and can be provided only if the transactional application provider and business intelligence provider are the same. That’s the Lawson difference.

4. Lawson offers simplified, standardsbased technology. While industry-specific functionality is crucial in our applications, it is not required in our technology “stack.” For example, there is no need for industryspecific functionality in an application server found in our Lawson System Foundation technology suite. Likewise, there is no need for industry functionality in a work flow tool found in our Business Process Management suite. Rather, customers want simple, scalable, standards-based technology that will protect their investment into the future. Lawson is able to combine the forces of our S3 and M3 technology teams and IBM to produce a common technology stack that serves both Lawson product lines. As a result, our customers receive a stronger technical solution with a tremendous ability to support our customers’ businesses as they grow in the future.

5. Lawson provides customers with choice and interoperability. Customers can pick and choose from the Lawson M3 and S3 product lines because Lawson M3 and S3 are designed to coexist. For example, a retailer may want to run Lawson S3 Financials at the enterprise level and Lawson M3 Manufacturing at a divisional manufacturing site. Or a regional government may run the S3 product line, but use M3 Enterprise Asset Management to manage the ongoing maintenance of their assets. Lawson provides unprecedented interoperable simplicity through offering technology that supports a service-oriented architecture (SOA). This approach not only allows M3 and S3 to operate together, but also allows simple interoperability with external systems.

   Finally, in addition to providing choice in applications, Lawson also provides tremendous choice in technology middleware – supporting all of the leading hardware platforms, operating systems and databases.

LAWSON: A MIDMARKET VENDOR?

As it happens, the major attributes of our solutions appeal to many midsize companies. Therefore, many of our customers are midsize companies. But there are also many large companies that value the same attributes. We’re proud to say that some of the largest companies in the world are our customers.

The way we see it, we’ll serve any company that values the characteristics of our solution. We also see multiple segments in the market. Very large companies often want an enterprise solution that’s built to their specifications. Midsize companies are apt to want a solution that’s tailored to their industry. Small companies are more willing to accept a generic solution with no industry content. Low price is their primary motivator.

So if you value simplicity, want an industry-focused solution and are concerned about cost of ownership, we should talk – no matter what size your company is.