Gist Selects Stellent Universal Content Management Platform to Align Content Throughout the Enterpri

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Stellent, Ltd., the London-based subsidiary of Stellent, Inc., a global provider of content management solutions, announced that Gist, the supply chain specialist, has successfully deployed the Stellent(R) Universal Content Management(TM) platform to manage content on its Internet and intranet sites. The move is set to provide Gist, part of The BOC Group, with significant cost savings by reducing the sites' overhead costs as well as improving end-user experience. Staff time spent administering the sites, as well as searching and accessing information, has been slashed. The cost for the Web agencies maintaining the sites has now become redundant, and data storage costs have been reduced by more than 20 percent.

Before Stellent Universal Content Management, Gist maintained multiple channels of electronic communication that lacked one central repository from which end users could source information - a situation which caused confusion and created volumes of duplicate data. Inaccurate data was housed in shared drives and email in-boxes, as well as in ad-hoc Web site silos. To resolve this issue, Gist adopted a new, improved and simple approach to managing corporate content - the Stellent Universal Content Management platform saves and stores information in just one repository. All of Gist's communication interfaces, including the external Internet site as well as its internal intranet, now source their data from one place. This new approach has resulted in more than a 20 percent reduction in data storage space, saved time spent searching for information and avoidance of the cost implications of inaccurate data.

To manage the company's internal and external sites, Gist previously employed an array of Web agencies that charged for each alteration. Updates frequently required two days to become active, making it difficult for the business to react to change. With Stellent Universal Content Management technology, internal content owners can now upload information onto the live sites in as little as two minutes. Once a change is made or new material is added, all sites can be updated automatically - preventing any duplication.

Additionally, all of Gist's stakeholders now have a consistent experience when accessing information since Stellent's Universal Content Management provides the same look-and-feel on all forms of electronic communication. Additionally, users have an increased awareness of available resources, enabling them to work more efficiently. This benefit has had a particular impact on how workers in different geographies work together because information can be more easily shared, and employees, suppliers and customers can more easily collaborate with one another.

Andrew Caramba-Coker, solutions architect at Gist, commented: "When we started the project at the beginning of 2004, it was clear we were not handling the escalating level of content efficiently. Analyst house Gartner helped us identify Stellent's approach to enterprise content management as the only feasible solution that could achieve our end goals of reducing data duplication, streamlining processes and providing a consistent look-and-feel to all our electronic communication fronts. Having one central location for all information has simplified the process of creating and updating material, has made us more agile, and has provided us with the flexibility to accommodate any future technology purchases. In fact, we are currently working with Stellent to integrate content into a central enterprise portal that will provide users with a personalised experience."

David Macey, executive vice president of international sales at Stellent, said: "Consistency was a key issue for Gist in gathering, storing and making available corporate information. The Gist implementation is another example of how Stellent's approach to content management provides enterprise-wide cost savings - in both the short and long term. The technology is really easy to use; content owners at Gist needed only a couple of hours training to learn how to upload content, and their colleagues in IT support needed only a couple of days. Users need none as content is delivered in the format that best suits their needs."

About Gist Ltd.

Gist combines leading-edge experience and expertise to transform supply chains. With industry-specific understanding, know-how and excellence, Gist's solutions bring end-to-end visibility and implementation, from concept to delivery.

Gist, based in the United Kingdom, has its head office in Basingstoke in Hampshire. However, Gist's 5,500 employees operate out of 30 locations, providing a full range of intellectual and asset-based business offerings in the U.K., continental Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America.

Gist's customers (including Woolworths, Marks & Spencer, Carlsberg UK, Ocado, British Airways and Budgens) operate in a wide range of commercial and industrial sectors, including grocery, electronics, apparel and gas.

As part of The BOC Group, which serves two million customers in more than 50 countries, Gist also benefits from BOC's global capability, synergy and scale.

19.08.2005, Stellent, Inc.