A specialist in retail software which touches the daily lives of all of us has expanded its footprint at a serviced business centre in Portsmouth.
Transalis, which helps companies trade electronically without the need for costly paper documentation, underpins billions of pounds of stock orders every year, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat.
With growing demand for its services, the privately-owned firm has signed up to further space at five-storey Portsmouth Technopole, a landmark building opposite the city’s port.
It is the latest on-site expansion for the digital ordering leader, which has 27 staff on site and relocated to the 20,000 sq ft premises from London three years ago as it grows customers internationally and in Great Britain.
There are more than 10,000 users of Transalis’ global digital platform, including in retail, manufacturing, distribution, logistics, fast-moving consumer goods and health and beauty.
Adam Swanson, Sales Director at Transalis, said: “Our innovative, proprietary software enables millions of orders to be processed seamlessly for our customers, from the food on supermarket shelves to newly-made beds being stored in warehouses.
“Our customers are ahead of the game, given that a recent survey indicated that nearly half of large global companies are still ordering stock from suppliers through paper-based communications, which can lead to all sorts of confusion and delays, including with incompatible message formats between countries.
“With the growth of the business, it was necessary to increase our footprint at Portsmouth Technopole, with the finance and marketing sections now in separate offices following reconfiguration carried out by Portsmouth Technopole’s operator, Oxford Innovation.
“From an operational point of view, we are pleased to be at Portsmouth Technopole because the friendly team at Oxford Innovation take care of all our office-related needs, such as reception, mail, security and cleaning, allowing us to focus on what we do best.”
Peter Outen, the centre manager at Portsmouth Technopole, said: “This is the third space requirement by Transalis within three years, reflecting the firm’s excellent growth, and we like accommodating scale-up requests. Transalis now occupies nearly 2,000 sq ft in total.
“It is always satisfying to see our technology occupiers do so well. Transalis is becoming a tour de force through connecting supply chains digitally, with Transalis’ cloud-based managed services meaning that on-the-go customers can access order information via multiple devices.”
He added: “There is a wider industry picture here to consider – Transalis is showing how outsourced business process providers can partner with their customers to create greater efficiencies and drive profitable and sustainable growth through smart technology and innovation.
“It is humbling to think that billions of pounds of stock are ordered around the world through a technology platform here in Portsmouth.”
Clients of Transalis include AS Watson, which is the largest international health and beauty retailer in Asia and Europe with more than 12,800 stores in 25 markets, international cafe chain Pret a Manger, The Hut Group, a global online retailer in health and beauty, and Microsoft.
Transalis provides business-to-business cloud-managed solutions and developed its award-winning supply chain solution, OpenEDI™ as the ‘glue’ to enable companies of all sizes, regardless of IT deployed, to communicate electronically and seamlessly anywhere in the world.
The firm was founded by joint managing directors Aniello Sabatino and Paul Simpson.
Portsmouth Technopole, which is owned by the University of Portsmouth, has 37 businesses on site, with 32 virtual customers. There are 250 people working from the premises at Kingston Crescent, just off the south-bound M275 city gateway.
The building is operated by Oxford Innovation, which runs 22 business and innovation centres across the country on behalf of freeholders and investors, with the emphasis on supporting start-ups and early-stage firms.
Services vary from centre to centre – generally an office package includes telephone answering and message services, reception services, mail handling, use of meeting and conference rooms and access to networking events, workshops and business support.
