Poundland Astech’s vital support for Poundland’s supply chain system

JDA supply chain software may be superb but at some stage companies using it are going to require support, particularly in times of growth.

Such was the situation for Poundland, one of the few retailers to buck the trend during the credit crunch, downturn, recession or whatever it is fashionable to call these difficult economic times.

We discovered the solution in Astech and their extensive JDA IBM i experience and support, a rare offering.

Mike Gray, Director of IT at Poundland

Poundland’s 20% year-on-year growth brings with it certain problems as well as the fruits of success. The requirement to deliver over 3000 lines at a single price, whilst keeping costs down, presents a challenge. Who to turn to in such circumstances when support skills for JDA and its host system, IBM i, are in short supply?

The options are usually either recruitment, assuming it’s possible to find someone with JDA experience, or JDA themselves.

Mike Gray, Director of IT at Poundland explains how they found a third way: “Fortunately for us we discovered the solution in Astech and their extensive JDA IBM i experience and support, a rare offering.”

Astech’s team of IBM i / iSeries / AS400 and JDA specialists has been supporting several high street retailers for many years and the match with Poundland was soon obvious to both companies. 

Starting initially with a 9 to 5 support contract in October 2009, the relationship between Astech and Poundland soon grew to include out of hours support, plus a number of individual projects that have been built around the existing JDA functionality.

Poundland also asked Astech to undertake bespoke IT projects including multi-platform integration and the development of software to improve the use of space in-store.

Astech Managing Director Danny Turner commented: “Along with many of our client relationships, we started on one level with Poundland and then, as their confidence in us grew, we moved on to help with other aspects of their operation.”