Coles Group has engaged global leader in cloud-delivered LTE and 5G wireless network solutions, Cradlepoint to leverage its NetCloud with 5G wireless edge solutions to establish WAN services for all stores and new distribution centres, as well as out-of-band access to key store infrastructure.
With more than 1,700 retail outlets nationally, Coles processes more than 21 million customer transactions each week, providing customers with products from thousands of farmers and suppliers.
Coles is modernising its supply chain through the development of two automated distribution centres with global logistics automation leader, Witron. WAN outages at any Coles site can impact the ability to trade. As such, Coles needed a failover solution to mitigate network downtime.
In the event of losing wired WAN services to a Coles store, Cradlepoint is enabling reliable connectivity using 5G to run all store operations including point of sale systems, loyalty programs, stock control, and back of house activities.
Coles implemented the Cradlepoint W1850 and W2005 5G adapters in its supermarkets and distribution centres – choosing Cradlepoint for its high performance and simplified management via Cradlepoint NetCloud Management. Cradlepoint’s out-of-band management capabilities gives the IT team the ability to access and troubleshoot a problematic store router over the air without having to deploy IT personnel to the site.
Coles Group general manager of technology services and commercial, Chrissy Chu said, “The speed of connectivity, centralised management, agility, and out-of-band access that we’re able to achieve with Cradlepoint 5G solutions across our stores and new distribution centres, ensures constant service delivery to our customers. We also have round the clock visibility into the status of our back-up links, which optimises maintenance effort for our technical teams.”
Cradlepoint senior vice president of Asia Pacific, Nathan McGregor added, “Reliable and agile network connectivity is fundamental for every aspect of retail operations today. Cradlepoint’s NetCloud Service harnesses the power of 4G and 5G to not only connect everything inside stores, enhance customer experience, and maintain a competitive edge, but also provide a reliable safety net for retailers in the event of outage.”