Imperial Brands Case Study
IBM i / AS400 application support & development for Imperial Brands’ DADS System
How Proximity supports Imperial Brand’s mission-critical IBM i application and mitigates legacy risk.
About the Company
Imperial Brands’ 24-hour operations rely on an IBM i application developed in RPG & CL
Imperial Brands’ Nottingham Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) relies on the DADS System, a mission-critical application developed and refined over three decades. Any disruption could significantly impact operations and jeopardise order fulfilment, underscoring the importance of system reliability.
Reducing risk
Proximity’s support model has eliminated the single-point dependency on retiring staff and secured expert coverage across all operating hours.
Operational improvements
Application improvements have streamlined warehouse operations, including reducing manual handling and enabling pallet-based picking.
Service quality
Imperial Brands reported near-instant response times and consistent communication around the clock from the Proximity team.
"We’ve reduced our IT headcount and shifted some responsibility. It’s given us resilience and allowed us to focus elsewhere."
David O’Connell
Mitigating IBM i application risks
Shrinking IBM i developer resource pool exposes legacy risks
When their in-house IBM i development team was approaching retirement, Imperial Brands faced a key operational challenge: how to secure continuity, modernise legacy applications and maintain service for a system that controls the movement of critical stock every day. Developed over the course of three-decades, DADS was being supported by two application developers. However, as Head of IT David O’Connell explained, the system’s long service life created a pressing issue: “It’s ageing technology. Resources were approaching retirement, and we needed a solution. Finding suitable resources to support it was the biggest challenge.”
IBM i support partner
Choosing the right IBM i support supplier
Imperial Brands’ procurement team assessed multiple suppliers, including offshore and UK-based providers. From the very start, Imperial Brands wanted to appoint a partner that had proven experience with IBM i / AS400 systems coupled with a strong background in warehouse and logistics software. Due to the critical nature of the DADS System, 24/7 support capability, including weekend and bank holiday coverage was also key. Proximity ticked all the boxes. “From the first conversation, Proximity gave me the confidence I was looking for” commented David O’Connell.
Proven methodology
Application knowledge transfer for system continuity
A critical part of the transition was transferring knowledge of the DADS System from the Imperial Brands IT team to Proximity. By employing a long-established and robust process for onboarding client’s IBM i application support and maintenance Proximity was able to take on full responsibility of the application on the scheduled go live date. Commenting on the knowledge transfer process David says “it gave everyone confidence that there was always an expert available, and it allowed continuous knowledge transfer into the future.”
Continued improvements
Supported, maintained and delivering significant operational improvements
Proximity has assumed full support, maintenance, and development responsibility for DADS since 2023 covered by a service level agreement covering both in-hours and out-of-hours operations. Proximity has delivered ongoing enhancements, such as a manual silo picking project, which introduced automation and efficiency gains across warehouse operations. “You stand out among our vendors,” O’Connell concluded. “Keep those standards high — it’s what makes you different.”
"If we have an issue, you’re on it straight away. It feels like the Proximity team are Imperial people."
Tony Dennis