Central Grocers, Inc. inked a deal with Lawson Software to license the latter's M3 Enterprise finance management, supply chain management, customer sales and service, and enterprise performance management suites software.

The grocery wholesaler and distributor will use the enterprise software applications to help consolidate its financial, supply chain and distribution systems, enhance visibility and reporting, and create a strong technology platform for growth.

Central Grocers previously relied on several legacy business systems that lacked the reporting tools necessary to track and analyze data from its expanding operations.

"As our business expands, we need a strong technology base that can help us capitalize on new growth opportunities," said Tim Kubis, Central Grocers' c.f.o. "The Lawson system offers the functionality we need to help us improve the efficiency and accuracy of our business processes, which can ultimately help us make better, margin-impacting decisions."

Once implemented, the new Lawson system, which will run on an IBM platform, will help Central Grocers' employees' access and share financial and supply chain data from a single user interface, which will in turn give managers greater visibility into the company's supplier network and merchandise lines.

Central Grocers will partner with Lawson Professional Services and The Revere Group to implement and maintain the new Lawson system.

The Franklin Park, Ill.-based Central Grocers is a member-owned grocery cooperative that supplies more than 200 independent grocery retailers in the Chicago metro area and Northwest Indiana. It distributes products under national brand names as well as its own Centrella brand.