ASKO
NorgesGruppen, through ASKO, is one of Norway’s leading distributors of groceries, while also being a significant supplier to the foodservice market. With around 2,000 grocery customers across the country, including chain profiles like KIWI, MENY, Jacobs, SPAR, EUROSPAR, and Joker, they have a strong presence throughout Norway. ASKO Servering, on the other hand, provides goods, services, and consulting to customers in the foodservice market, including restaurants, hotels, cafeterias, gas stations, and other public entities.
NetNordic delivers access networks to all of NorgesGruppen’s warehouse and office locations.
NetNordic has been delivering networks and security to NorgesGruppen’s warehouse and office locations since 2018.
About the customer
The ASKO companies are located from Lillesand in the south to Tromsø in the north. They include 13 regional ASKO companies, nine Storcash stores for the professional market, central warehouses, and a consolidation terminal in Vestby, Akershus. Their ambitions include providing efficient logistics to satisfied customers and being able to manage the entire supply chain competitively (ASKO, 2023).
Significant upgrades needed
NorgesGruppen’s overarching goal is to be the customer’s first choice for consumer goods and services in the food market. They aim to have a value chain that is cost-leading and to excel in collaboration and innovation. To fulfill these ambitions, it is crucial to have a stable and modern network as a foundation. Based on this, the customer needed to support various user groups and a range of IoT devices.
NorgesGruppen’s network, like many other large Norwegian companies, was built piece by piece. The network had various infrastructure solutions and aging technology that was not equipped for today’s solutions and modern applications. The customer needed to make a significant upgrade and standardize their infrastructure in an innovative way, with scalable and reliable technology to meet both customer and market demands.
A clear understanding
In 2018, NetNordic was awarded the contract for the delivery of networks and security to NorgesGruppen’s industrial and administrative locations. During the project phase, NetNordic developed a complete solution design, radio planning for all locations, and implementation including installation, setup, configuration, and testing.
NorgesGruppen Data chose a platform based on Aruba Networks technology, where all devices are authenticated with Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager. The access network consists of LAN, WiFi, and SD-WAN for communication between various locations, along with access control for increased security and control over both workspaces and IoT.
NetNordic was selected after demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of NorgesGruppen, their needs, and their customers’ challenges. With a clear understanding of the “why,” it was a significant strength that NetNordic, with its expertise and holistic responsibility, could deliver a complete project from idea, concept, design, delivery, testing, training, and commissioning.
Closely integrated with NorgesGruppen’s own data
NetNordic, in collaboration with NorgesGruppen Data and Aruba, developed the design for the solution. We handled project management, logistics, and implementation of the solution. The project was led by one of NetNordic’s own project managers, who coordinated resources and logistics to ensure progress.
NetNordic operated the solution for a period after completion for verification and training of the customer’s operational personnel before final handover to NorgesGruppen. Both administration and monitoring of the solution are conducted from a cloud-based platform. The solution is closely integrated with NorgesGruppen’s own data center platform.
NorgesGruppen can now serve its own market, as well as its end customers and consumers. The conditions have been set to be the customer’s first choice for consumer goods and services in the food market. NorgesGruppen has a value chain that is cost-leading and excels in collaboration and innovation. This is realized through a stable and powerful network at its core, with innovative functionality that benefits both internal and external users.
We are extremely satisfied with the professional and efficient delivery that NetNordic has provided in our network modernization. The team has exceeded our expectations with an impressive combination of expertise, dedication, and seamless collaboration.<br />
NorgesGruppen can now serve its own market, as well as its end customers and consumers. The conditions have been set to be the customer’s first choice for consumer goods and services in the food market. NorgesGruppen has a value chain that is cost-leading and excels in collaboration and innovation. This is realized through a stable and powerful network at its core, with innovative functionality that benefits both internal and external users.
- Many locations and a challenging environment with various types of clients
- A complete solution from idea, concept, design, delivery, testing, training, and commissioning
- The solution has a high degree of complexity and demonstrates NetNordic’s ability to deliver according to customer requirements.