Woolworths, one of Australia and New Zealand's largest retailers needed guaranteed systems availability and near real-time data integration across its support offices, stores and distribution centres to enable 24 x 7 operations across its 3,000 retail outlets.
Woolworths also needed the ability to scale applications to meet spikes in demand capacity caused by unforeseen events like COVID-19.
"With a presence in more than 1,000 communities across Australia and New Zealand, we have a vital role to play in meeting the essential needs of tens of millions of customers every week," said Woolworths Group CIO John Hunt.
"To help us better manage this task, we're working with Dell Technologies to launch Woolworths Group Hosting Service, which marries our public and private clouds into one seamless system.”
Mission-critical processes become easier to run
Woolworths could now run many of its mission-critical processes and applications, from the distribution of goods via its Blue Yonder Warehouse and Transport Management applications, to HR and payroll management for 215,000 team members via the Kronos Workforce application.
The retailer was now able to get the benefits of public cloud to the data centre, and the power of the data centre to the public cloud. With a consistent operating environment across public and private clouds, Woolworths could also eliminate the silos and complexity that multiple clouds previously created.
At the same time, Woolworth was also able to shift technology use to an ‘as-a-service’ consumption model. With a better understanding of capital and operating expenses, the retailer could also better plan future budget requirements with more clarity.
"The retail industry is going through a seismic shift thanks to advanced technologies. Consumers expect their shopping experiences to be seamless and consistent, whether it's online or in the store," said Angela Fox, senior vice president and managing director, Dell Technologies in Australia and New Zealand.
"With Dell Technologies Cloud as the foundation of its hybrid cloud model, Woolworths has a reliable managed approach for their supply chain, logistics, warehouse management and other mission-critical applications."
