Bristol, UK, 24th November 2011, UNIT4 Business Software Ltd, the UK division of UNIT4, the world’s leading provider of business software for Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC™), today announced that it has secured a new contract with the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL). NNL, which has been using UNIT4’s leading business management software Agresso Business World since 2006, has selected UNIT4’s HR portfolio as it seeks to integrate its core business solutions, further improve the quality of information about its performance both financially and operationally and reduce its reliance on paper-based systems.
NNL has undertaken a large restructuring recently and has streamlined its operations into three business areas. As part of this process the NNL team took the opportunity to further rationalise its business systems - its PeopleSoft HR solution being a key area for review. Reporting was proving a challenge with users finding it increasingly difficult to generate the data needed in a timely and consistent manner. In addition, NNL wanted to review its HR processes which were heavily paper-based and relied on a large amount of manual data manipulation which was both time consuming and error-prone.
Nigel Tinker, Implementation Project Manager at NNL, commented: “Our previous HR solution was proving cumbersome and difficult to use. Keeping personnel records up to date and accurate was often very complex and our people were spending lots of time chasing bits of paper and reconciling information held in different systems across the organisation. As a result it was not able to produce the quality or speed of reporting that we require as a business. So we recognised that we needed to make a change and embarked on an in-depth evaluation of the solutions available on the market. UNIT4’s HR portfolio came out on top.”
NNL already uses Agresso Business World as its core financial and business management solution. Nigel added: “We knew that with UNIT4 we would benefit from a fully integrated, reliable, functionally rich and change embracing ERP platform. In addition we had the confidence that in selecting UNIT4’s HR solution, the integration between HR and finance would be seamless and require minimal, if any, manual intervention. We knew we would have just one set of data which would really boost efficiency and accuracy and give us a sound platform on which to grow our organisation. So it really was a straightforward decision for us.”
The NNL team is currently implementing the solution and Nigel is confident of the benefits he expects to realise: “Among the key benefits are the workflow functionality and alerts, which are invaluable capabilities that we have not had before. Because of the nature of our work our personnel have to hold valid security clearance certificates and these certificates come with an expiry date. With our UNIT4 solution we can schedule alerts to notify us when the certificates are due for renewal so we can be sure that we reapply in a timely manner, that our paperwork is up to date and that we comply with the legislative requirements governing us.”
The ease of use and self service element of UNIT4 HR will also enable NNL staff to maintain their own records. This combined with the fact that data only needs to be entered once into the system, means that the HR team will spend less time completing simple administrative tasks and spend more time making strategic decisions that will develop and motivate the workforce and the organisation as a whole.
Nigel concluded: “The organisation can’t wait to use UNIT4 HR. It will increase the level of insight into our personnel data while also improving the quality and accuracy of HR information and reporting. Because we now have a single, unified system we can also improve controls, reduce the paper trail and spend more time analysing what our system tells us about our people and our performance. All in all we have solution that will help us to develop our organisation and our most important asset, our people today and in the future.”
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About UNIT4
UNIT4 is a global business software and services company aimed at helping dynamic public sector, and commercial services organisations to embrace change simply, quickly and cost effectively in a market sector it calls 'Businesses Living IN Change' (BLINC)™. The Group incorporates a number of the world’s leading change embracing software brands including Agresso Business World, our flagship ERP suite for mid-sized services intensive organisations and Coda, our best-of-class financial management software.
With operations in 17 European countries, as well as 7 countries across North America, Asia Pacific and Africa and sales activities in several other countries, its revenue was €421.7 million in 2010.
In the UK we focus strongly on the public sector, where we are the leading provider of ERP systems to local government and post 16 education organisations, as well as having a considerable presence in the emergency services and health sectors. We also focus strongly on professional services organisations and a range of commercial sectors including Financial Services, Retail and Media and Publishing. Overall we aim to be the UK’s foremost business software company, providing solutions that transform the delivery of public services and comprehensively support commercial organisations in their ability to adapt and prosper in rapidly changing environments.
UNIT4 is headquartered in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands and has over 4,000 employees. It is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and is included in the Amsterdam Midcap Index (AMX).
For more information on UNIT4 or any of its operating companies, please visit the website at www.unit4software.co.uk, or follow us on Twitter @UNIT4_UK
About National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL)
The UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory was formed in 2008 and is a leading nuclear technology services provider. NNL specialises in providing customers with tailored solutions by applying the right level of technical innovation and intellectual support.
Our key service areas include:
• Nuclear science
• Waste and residue management
• Plant process support
• Modelling and simulation
• Materials and corrosion
• Environmental management
• Homeland security and non-proliferation
• Specialist analytical services
• Knowledge, data and laboratory management
