Intellias x Rocket Software: Modernizing UniVerse Systems

Project snapshot

This idea is not new and is proven by the highly respected CHAOS Report, which, with 50,000 projects over four decades, shows that improving existing systems is significantly better than developing products from scratch or adopting packaged solutions. The same approach guided our collaboration with Rocket Software, a global leader in enterprise IT solutions.

The UniVerse platform by Rocket Software powers numerous business-critical operations in finance, healthcare, manufacturing, distribution, retail, and higher education. Although a heritage enterprise tool, its core capability, molded over time to the business’s culture, coupled with its ability to be integrated into any other system, makes it an excellent launchpad for the future.

Recognizing this potential, we partnered with Rocket Software to apply our joint expertise in modernization projects with two leading UK retailers who struggled to meet present-day demands solely using UniVerse.

Instead of total replacement, the products were enhanced and upgraded, allowing our clients to thrive in a competitive market while preserving business continuity and avoiding excessive expenses.

At the same time, we proved that it is possible to transform well-established systems into scalable, efficient, and future-proof solutions. By not needing to spend time and money on replacing UniVerse, Travis Perkins and City Plumbing could concentrate their resources on projects delivering the highest value to their organizations.

Point of sale modernization for City Plumbing

City Plumbing, the UK’s largest heating and plumbing merchants’ network, faced significant challenges with its UniVerse-based POS system. Its traditional console-based UI had several critical limitations:

• No customer history visibility, hindering personalized service
• Limited product information, making it difficult for staff to provide thorough product recommendations
• Absence of up-sale capabilities, reducing potential sales
• Absence of a proper search functionality, affecting routine activities

Solution delivered

To resolve these issues, Intellias implemented an API-first POS system that seamlessly integrates with UniVerse’s core ERP functionality and other systems, providing a comprehensive and user-friendly UI.

This offered such advantages as:

• Enabling staff to suggest related or premium products at checkout
• Providing access to customer histories and detailed product info
• Enabling bundled offers and targeted discounts
• Streamlining checkout and providing quicker access to product data
• Ensuring stability and continuity through smooth integration with UniVerse
• Maintaining existing order management and other core processes

This solution we designed was significantly cheaper and quicker than any CHOTS EPoS alternative, enabling City Plumbing to capitalize on the most needed features.

Tangible business outcomes

The modernization of the POS system yielded several quantifiable benefits for City Plumbing:

• Increase in sales directly boosted by cross- and up-sale capabilities
• More personalized service and higher satisfaction
• Implementation of innovative sales approaches, improving competitiveness
• Reduced staff training and onboarding time
• Faster transactions, which improved customer experience
• Minimized modernization risks while preserving core business logic
• Quicker return on investments thanks to enhanced sales, reduced training costs, and improved overall efficiency

Stock management system modernization for Travis Perkins

Similarly, Travis Perkins, the UK’s leading supplier of building materials, faced significant inefficiencies in the stock management capability available in UniVerse. Due to the outdated console-based interface with desktop-only access, the company’s inventory audit and location maintenance workflows were labor-intensive, error-prone, and time-consuming.

This led to such issues as:

• Poor accuracy of product inventory, which was managed using paper-based checklists, resulting in inaccuracies and lost stock
• Time-consuming processes, since the manual counting and entry processes required extensive time and physical effort from staff
• Inaccurate location management, as the lack of digitized location data made it difficult for staff to locate products within branches, leading to inefficiencies and poor customer experience

Two-component solution

Intellias developed a mobile application suite working as a facade for the existing backend system. This allowed Travis Perkins to digitize and streamline stock management processes while improving its accuracy and making it much more convenient for the employees.

The solution comprises two components:

1. The Product Inventory Management Application enables staff to monitor, input, and update stock within a single, centralized database. At the same time, the integration of mobile barcode scanners further optimized the inventory counting process.
2. The Location Maintenance Application allows the client to digitize the process of locating and managing product placements within the warehouse, reducing the time and effort required to find and relocate items.

Award-winning application

The implementation of these applications resulted in significant improvements across Travis Perkins’ operations, including:

47%

faster product inventory count

57%

time-saving on location maintenance

86%

branch stock accuracy, drastically reducing lost stock

Securing the “Best Digital Transformation” award by Contentsquare for its impact on operational efficiency 

Intellias x Rocket Software

The collaboration between Intellias and Rocket Software was the cornerstone of these modernization projects. As a result, Travis Perkins and City Plumbing embraced innovation, maximizing the value of existing systems while minimizing modernization risks and costs.

Reuse, don’t lose

Gartner’s 2023 CIO and Technology Executive Survey, 46% of organizations focus on increasing investments in application modernization.

Similarly, a key strategy throughout our projects with Travis Perkins and City Plumbing was the principle of “reuse as much as possible for as long as possible.”

This approach allowed the teams to:

• Leverage the UniVerse system capabilities to upgrade existing systems without the need for complete replacements
• Preserve core business logic, ensuring continuity and stability while introducing new capabilities
• Implement incremental modernization, adopting a phased approach rather than a disruptive overhaul
• Future-proof product designs, ensuring that systems are scalable and adaptable, evolving alongside business needs

Project impact

The collaborative approach not only resulted in successful project outcomes but also set the stage for future innovations. By focusing on strategic reuse and phased modernization, Intellias and Rocket Software demonstrated how heritage systems can be revitalized to meet modern demands, delivering tangible benefits such as cost savings, operational efficiency, and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Business outcomes

By successfully implementing a composite architecture, Intellias and Rocket Software modernized the client’s systems and enhanced their capabilities. This approach, which involved integrating over 150 systems for Travis Perkins and 80 for City Plumbing, demonstrated the effectiveness of strategic reuse and incremental modernization.

Leveraging data streaming, the teams achieved real-time processing, laying a strong foundation for future AI implementations. This project highlights the value of collaboration, innovation, and strategic planning in delivering successful outcomes in the retail and e-commerce sectors.