La Sirena

The implementation of SAIWALL Secure SD-WAN enabled the company to modernize its communications, centralize management, and strengthen operational continuity across all its points of sale.

At the same time, SAIMAPAY resolved the stability issues with its previous payment gateway by automatically integrating with the terminals and eliminating the operational glitches that had been affecting daily operations until 2023.

La Sirena is a Spanish chain specializing in frozen foods, founded in Terrassa in 1983. With more than 40 years of experience, it has established itself as one of the industry’s leading players thanks to an extensive network of stores, a wide variety of products, and a business model based on quality, innovation, and customer focus.

The company operates 275 stores across various regions of Spain and Andorra, and maintains an extensive operational network that requires stable connectivity at every point of sale, supported by a team of more than 1,300 professionals.

Its product catalog features more than 800 items, ranging from fish, seafood, vegetables, and meats to prepared meals, pizzas, desserts, and ice cream. La Sirena combines its network of physical stores with e-commerce and delivery and pickup services, adapting to new shopping habits without losing its specialization in frozen products.

The relationship with SAIMA SYSTEMS dates back practically to the company’s early years. This trust and the accumulated knowledge of its operations were decisive factors in addressing new challenges related to connectivity and payments.

La Sirena needed to modernize the connectivity of its extensive and distributed retail network by replacing its MPLS infrastructure with a more flexible, scalable, and easier-to-manage solution.

The project was designed to centralize the management of all stores, strengthen service continuity, and improve Wi-Fi connectivity and access management. It was also necessary to maintain stable operations at the points of sale and minimize the impact of any technical interventions.

Added to this challenge was the need to upgrade the payment infrastructure. La Sirena experienced frequent outages and glitches with its previous payment gateway provider, as well as inadequate technical support. Configuring card routes, banking campaigns, and other operational changes could take weeks and depend on third parties.

The company's existing trust in SAIMA SYSTEMS allowed it to roll out the gateway project gradually, minimizing the impact on point-of-sale locations and quickly validating the complete solution.

We approached the project from two complementary angles: modernizing connectivity and, later, automating in-store payment operations.

Connectivity and Network Management

The implementation of SAIWALL Secure SD-WAN, centrally managed through SAIMA CPC 3.5, enabled La Sirena to transform its communications infrastructure.

• Migration from an MPLS network to an SD-WAN architecture, with FTTH connections ranging from 300 to 600 Mb.
• Centralized management of all stores from a single platform.
• Automatic 4G/5G backup in case of issues with the primary connection.
• Integrated Wi-Fi with a captive portal for customers.
• High availability (HA) at headquarters and the logistics platform.
• Integration with Microsoft Active Directory for access management.
• Plug-and-play deployment with SAIMA CPC and training for the technical team.
• Encryption of traffic between sites to protect communications.
• Greater visibility into the status of the network and connections.

This architecture provides a more flexible network to support La Sirena's expansion, with simpler management and a faster response to any incidents.

In-Store payment operations

The integration of SAIMAPAY expanded the project’s scope to include in-person payments, connecting the payment gateway with La Sirena’s point-of-sale systems and financial processes.

The solution enabled:

• Integrated management of 577 terminals.
• Management of multi-currency transactions.
• Faster activation of campaigns and banking terms.
• Configure card routing in real time.
• Reduce reliance on third parties and increase customer autonomy.
• Improve coordination among technical and financial teams and banking institutions.
• Simplify configuration and reduce human error.
• Integrate payments with the point-of-sale system.
• Automate accounting closings.
• Eliminate frequent outages and failures from the previous system.

The configuration was completed in record time via the existing SD-WAN, SAIWALL, enabling a rapid rollout with minimal impact on store operations.

The upgrade of terminals to PUP 2.0.2 certification was coordinated through a batch rotation plan, ensuring regulatory compliance without disrupting daily operations.

The project enabled La Sirena to evolve from a traditional infrastructure to a more flexible, centralized environment equipped to meet the needs of a distributed retail network.

With SAIWALL Secure SD-WAN, the company gained visibility into its stores, enhanced remote management capabilities, and strengthened operational continuity through redundant connections and high availability at its main locations.

Replacing the MPLS network with FTTH connections also improved point-of-sale performance and reduced data communication costs by more than 40%. The Plug&Play model and training for the technical team also provided greater autonomy to manage the network, resolve incidents, and support the expansion of new locations.

The integration of SAIMAPAY extended this evolution to the realm of payments. Since August 2023, La Sirena has been managing its terminals reliably and without the glitches it previously experienced while automating point-of-sale integration, multi-currency and multi-bank management, and accounting closings.

The finance team can directly manage card routes and banking campaigns in real time, without relying on intermediaries or enduring the delays of the previous model.

Overall, La Sirena now has a more robust technological foundation to connect its locations, maintain daily operations, and continue growing with greater control, agility, and autonomy.