diff --git a/Jenkinsfile b/Jenkinsfile
index 956a0695..873147cf 100644
--- a/Jenkinsfile
+++ b/Jenkinsfile
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ pipeline {
 				SONATYPE = credentials('oss-login')
 				KEYRING = credentials('spring-signing-secring.gpg')
 				PASSPHRASE = credentials('spring-gpg-passphrase')
+				STAGING_PROFILE_ID = credentials('spring-data-release-deployment-maven-central-staging-profile-id')
 			}
 
 			steps {
@@ -163,14 +164,37 @@ pipeline {
 					}
 
 					if (RELEASE_TYPE == 'release') {
-						sh "PROFILE=distribute,central USERNAME=${SONATYPE_USR} PASSWORD=${SONATYPE_PSW} ci/build-and-deploy-to-maven-central.sh ${PROJECT_VERSION}"
+
+						STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID = sh(
+							script: "ci/rc-open.sh",
+							returnStdout: true
+						).readLines()
+						  .findAll{ line -> line.contains("<repository>") && !line.contains("%s") }
+						  .collect{ s -> s.substring(s.indexOf("<repository>") + "<repository>".length(), s.indexOf("</repository>")) }
+						  .inject(0){ first, second -> second } // find the last entry, a.k.a. the most recent staging repository id
+
+						sh "ci/build-and-deploy-to-maven-central.sh ${PROJECT_VERSION} ${STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID}"
+						sh "ci/rc-close.sh ${STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID}"
+						sh "ci/smoke-test-against-maven-central.sh ${PROJECT_VERSION} ${STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID}"
+						sh "ci/rc-release.sh ${STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID}"
 
 						slackSend(
-                                color: (currentBuild.currentResult == 'SUCCESS') ? 'good' : 'danger',
-                                channel: '#spring-ws',
-                                message: "Spring WS ${PROJECT_VERSION} is staged on Sonatype awaiting closure and release.")
+								color: (currentBuild.currentResult == 'SUCCESS') ? 'good' : 'danger',
+								channel: '#spring-ws',
+								message: "Spring WS ${PROJECT_VERSION} is released to Maven Central!")
 					} else {
-						sh "PROFILE=distribute,${RELEASE_TYPE} ci/build-and-deploy-to-artifactory.sh"
+
+						sh "ci/build-and-deploy-to-artifactory.sh ${RELEASE_TYPE}"
+
+						// TODO: Resolve smoke testing against Artifactory
+						// sh "ci/smoke-test-against-artifactory.sh ${PROJECT_VERSION}"
+						
+						if (RELEASE_TYPE == 'milestone') {
+							slackSend(
+									color: (currentBuild.currentResult == 'SUCCESS') ? 'good' : 'danger',
+									channel: '#spring-ws',
+									message: "Spring WS ${PROJECT_VERSION} is released to Artifactory!")
+						}
 					}
 				}
 			}
diff --git a/ci/build-and-deploy-to-artifactory.sh b/ci/build-and-deploy-to-artifactory.sh
index c5fa6e8a..ae919d17 100755
--- a/ci/build-and-deploy-to-artifactory.sh
+++ b/ci/build-and-deploy-to-artifactory.sh
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
-#
-# Deploy the artifactory
-#
+RELEASE_TYPE=$1
+
 echo 'Deploying to Artifactory...'
 
-MAVEN_OPTS="-Duser.name=jenkins -Duser.home=/tmp/jenkins-home" \
-  ./mvnw -s settings.xml -P${PROFILE} -Dmaven.test.skip=true clean deploy -B
+MAVEN_OPTS="-Duser.name=jenkins -Duser.home=/tmp/jenkins-home" ./mvnw \
+  -s settings.xml \
+  -Pdistribute,${RELEASE_TYPE} \
+  -Dmaven.test.skip=true \
+  clean deploy -B
diff --git a/ci/build-and-deploy-to-maven-central.sh b/ci/build-and-deploy-to-maven-central.sh
index d4f8b48d..87793df8 100755
--- a/ci/build-and-deploy-to-maven-central.sh
+++ b/ci/build-and-deploy-to-maven-central.sh
@@ -3,10 +3,8 @@
 set -euo pipefail
 
 PROJECT_VERSION=$1
+STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID=$2
 
-#
-# Stage on Maven Central
-#
 echo 'Staging on Maven Central...'
 
 GNUPGHOME=/tmp/gpghome
@@ -17,9 +15,11 @@ cp $KEYRING $GNUPGHOME
 
 MAVEN_OPTS="-Duser.name=jenkins -Duser.home=/tmp/jenkins-home" ./mvnw \
     -s settings.xml \
-    -P${PROFILE} \
+    -Pdistribute,central  \
     -Dmaven.test.skip=true \
     -Dgpg.passphrase=${PASSPHRASE} \
     -Dgpg.secretKeyring=${GNUPGHOME}/secring.gpg \
     -DstagingDescription="Releasing ${PROJECT_VERSION}" \
-    clean deploy -B
\ No newline at end of file
+    -DstagingRepositoryId="${STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID}" \
+    clean deploy -B
+
diff --git a/ci/rc-close.sh b/ci/rc-close.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..fbe1323e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/rc-close.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#!/bin/bash -x
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+STAGING_PROFILE_ID=$1
+
+echo 'Closing remote repository on Maven Central...'
+
+MAVEN_OPTS="-Duser.name=jenkins -Duser.home=/tmp/jenkins-home" ./mvnw \
+    -s settings.xml \
+    -Pcentral \
+    -DstagingRepositoryId=${STAGING_PROFILE_ID} \
+    nexus-staging:rc-close
+
diff --git a/ci/rc-open.sh b/ci/rc-open.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..7d718da0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/rc-open.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#!/bin/bash -x
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+echo "Opening a remote repository for this release..."
+
+MAVEN_OPTS="-Duser.name=jenkins -Duser.home=/tmp/jenkins-home" ./mvnw \
+    -s settings.xml \
+    -Pcentral \
+    -DstagingProfileId=${STAGING_PROFILE_ID} \
+    -DopenedRepositoryMessageFormat="<repository>%s</repository>" \
+    nexus-staging:rc-open
+
diff --git a/ci/rc-release.sh b/ci/rc-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..b5835325
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/rc-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#!/bin/bash -x
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID=$1
+
+echo 'Release to Maven central...'
+
+MAVEN_OPTS="-Duser.name=jenkins -Duser.home=/tmp/jenkins-home" ./mvnw \
+    -s settings.xml \
+    -Pcentral  \
+    -DstagingRepositoryId="${STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID}" \
+    nexus-staging:rc-release
+
diff --git a/ci/smoke-test-against-artifactory.sh b/ci/smoke-test-against-artifactory.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..3ecd27a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/smoke-test-against-artifactory.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/bin/bash -x
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+PROJECT_VERSION=$1
+
+echo 'Smoke test against Artifactory...'
+
+cd smoke-tests
+
+MAVEN_OPTS="-Duser.name=jenkins -Duser.home=/tmp/jenkins-home" ./mvnw \
+    -Partifactory  \
+    -Dspring-ws.version="${PROJECT_VERSION}" \
+    clean dependency:purge-local-repository verify -B -U
+
diff --git a/ci/smoke-test-against-maven-central.sh b/ci/smoke-test-against-maven-central.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..1994c86e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/smoke-test-against-maven-central.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/bash -x
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+PROJECT_VERSION=$1
+STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID=$2
+
+echo 'Smoke test against Maven Central...'
+
+cd smoke-tests
+
+MAVEN_OPTS="-Duser.name=jenkins -Duser.home=/tmp/jenkins-home" ./mvnw \
+    -Pmaven-central  \
+    -DstagingRepositoryId="${STAGING_REPOSITORY_ID}" \
+    -Dspring-ws.version="${PROJECT_VERSION}" \
+    clean dependency:purge-local-repository verify -B -U
+
+echo "Smoke tests passed. Don't smoke!"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/settings.xml b/settings.xml
index d312f72a..ab948e9f 100644
--- a/settings.xml
+++ b/settings.xml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 	<servers>
 		<server>
 			<id>sonatype</id>
-			<username>${env.USERNAME}</username>
-			<password>${env.PASSWORD}</password>
+			<username>${env.SONATYPE_USR}</username>
+			<password>${env.SONATYPE_PSW}</password>
 		</server>
 		<server>
 			<id>spring-plugins-release</id>
diff --git a/smoke-tests/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar b/smoke-tests/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c1dd12f1
Binary files /dev/null and b/smoke-tests/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/smoke-tests/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.properties b/smoke-tests/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.properties
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e08792fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/smoke-tests/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+distributionUrl=https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/org/apache/maven/apache-maven/3.9.1/apache-maven-3.9.1-bin.zip
+wrapperUrl=https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/org/apache/maven/wrapper/maven-wrapper/3.1.0/maven-wrapper-3.1.0.jar
diff --git a/smoke-tests/mvnw b/smoke-tests/mvnw
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..8a8fb228
--- /dev/null
+++ b/smoke-tests/mvnw
@@ -0,0 +1,316 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Maven Start Up Batch script
+#
+# Required ENV vars:
+# ------------------
+#   JAVA_HOME - location of a JDK home dir
+#
+# Optional ENV vars
+# -----------------
+#   M2_HOME - location of maven2's installed home dir
+#   MAVEN_OPTS - parameters passed to the Java VM when running Maven
+#     e.g. to debug Maven itself, use
+#       set MAVEN_OPTS=-Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=8000
+#   MAVEN_SKIP_RC - flag to disable loading of mavenrc files
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+if [ -z "$MAVEN_SKIP_RC" ] ; then
+
+  if [ -f /usr/local/etc/mavenrc ] ; then
+    . /usr/local/etc/mavenrc
+  fi
+
+  if [ -f /etc/mavenrc ] ; then
+    . /etc/mavenrc
+  fi
+
+  if [ -f "$HOME/.mavenrc" ] ; then
+    . "$HOME/.mavenrc"
+  fi
+
+fi
+
+# OS specific support.  $var _must_ be set to either true or false.
+cygwin=false;
+darwin=false;
+mingw=false
+case "`uname`" in
+  CYGWIN*) cygwin=true ;;
+  MINGW*) mingw=true;;
+  Darwin*) darwin=true
+    # Use /usr/libexec/java_home if available, otherwise fall back to /Library/Java/Home
+    # See https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/qa/qa1170/_index.html
+    if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ]; then
+      if [ -x "/usr/libexec/java_home" ]; then
+        export JAVA_HOME="`/usr/libexec/java_home`"
+      else
+        export JAVA_HOME="/Library/Java/Home"
+      fi
+    fi
+    ;;
+esac
+
+if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ] ; then
+  if [ -r /etc/gentoo-release ] ; then
+    JAVA_HOME=`java-config --jre-home`
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$M2_HOME" ] ; then
+  ## resolve links - $0 may be a link to maven's home
+  PRG="$0"
+
+  # need this for relative symlinks
+  while [ -h "$PRG" ] ; do
+    ls=`ls -ld "$PRG"`
+    link=`expr "$ls" : '.*-> \(.*\)$'`
+    if expr "$link" : '/.*' > /dev/null; then
+      PRG="$link"
+    else
+      PRG="`dirname "$PRG"`/$link"
+    fi
+  done
+
+  saveddir=`pwd`
+
+  M2_HOME=`dirname "$PRG"`/..
+
+  # make it fully qualified
+  M2_HOME=`cd "$M2_HOME" && pwd`
+
+  cd "$saveddir"
+  # echo Using m2 at $M2_HOME
+fi
+
+# For Cygwin, ensure paths are in UNIX format before anything is touched
+if $cygwin ; then
+  [ -n "$M2_HOME" ] &&
+    M2_HOME=`cygpath --unix "$M2_HOME"`
+  [ -n "$JAVA_HOME" ] &&
+    JAVA_HOME=`cygpath --unix "$JAVA_HOME"`
+  [ -n "$CLASSPATH" ] &&
+    CLASSPATH=`cygpath --path --unix "$CLASSPATH"`
+fi
+
+# For Mingw, ensure paths are in UNIX format before anything is touched
+if $mingw ; then
+  [ -n "$M2_HOME" ] &&
+    M2_HOME="`(cd "$M2_HOME"; pwd)`"
+  [ -n "$JAVA_HOME" ] &&
+    JAVA_HOME="`(cd "$JAVA_HOME"; pwd)`"
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ]; then
+  javaExecutable="`which javac`"
+  if [ -n "$javaExecutable" ] && ! [ "`expr \"$javaExecutable\" : '\([^ ]*\)'`" = "no" ]; then
+    # readlink(1) is not available as standard on Solaris 10.
+    readLink=`which readlink`
+    if [ ! `expr "$readLink" : '\([^ ]*\)'` = "no" ]; then
+      if $darwin ; then
+        javaHome="`dirname \"$javaExecutable\"`"
+        javaExecutable="`cd \"$javaHome\" && pwd -P`/javac"
+      else
+        javaExecutable="`readlink -f \"$javaExecutable\"`"
+      fi
+      javaHome="`dirname \"$javaExecutable\"`"
+      javaHome=`expr "$javaHome" : '\(.*\)/bin'`
+      JAVA_HOME="$javaHome"
+      export JAVA_HOME
+    fi
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$JAVACMD" ] ; then
+  if [ -n "$JAVA_HOME"  ] ; then
+    if [ -x "$JAVA_HOME/jre/sh/java" ] ; then
+      # IBM's JDK on AIX uses strange locations for the executables
+      JAVACMD="$JAVA_HOME/jre/sh/java"
+    else
+      JAVACMD="$JAVA_HOME/bin/java"
+    fi
+  else
+    JAVACMD="`\\unset -f command; \\command -v java`"
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [ ! -x "$JAVACMD" ] ; then
+  echo "Error: JAVA_HOME is not defined correctly." >&2
+  echo "  We cannot execute $JAVACMD" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$JAVA_HOME" ] ; then
+  echo "Warning: JAVA_HOME environment variable is not set."
+fi
+
+CLASSWORLDS_LAUNCHER=org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher
+
+# traverses directory structure from process work directory to filesystem root
+# first directory with .mvn subdirectory is considered project base directory
+find_maven_basedir() {
+
+  if [ -z "$1" ]
+  then
+    echo "Path not specified to find_maven_basedir"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  basedir="$1"
+  wdir="$1"
+  while [ "$wdir" != '/' ] ; do
+    if [ -d "$wdir"/.mvn ] ; then
+      basedir=$wdir
+      break
+    fi
+    # workaround for JBEAP-8937 (on Solaris 10/Sparc)
+    if [ -d "${wdir}" ]; then
+      wdir=`cd "$wdir/.."; pwd`
+    fi
+    # end of workaround
+  done
+  echo "${basedir}"
+}
+
+# concatenates all lines of a file
+concat_lines() {
+  if [ -f "$1" ]; then
+    echo "$(tr -s '\n' ' ' < "$1")"
+  fi
+}
+
+BASE_DIR=`find_maven_basedir "$(pwd)"`
+if [ -z "$BASE_DIR" ]; then
+  exit 1;
+fi
+
+##########################################################################################
+# Extension to allow automatically downloading the maven-wrapper.jar from Maven-central
+# This allows using the maven wrapper in projects that prohibit checking in binary data.
+##########################################################################################
+if [ -r "$BASE_DIR/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar" ]; then
+    if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+      echo "Found .mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar"
+    fi
+else
+    if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+      echo "Couldn't find .mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar, downloading it ..."
+    fi
+    if [ -n "$MVNW_REPOURL" ]; then
+      jarUrl="$MVNW_REPOURL/org/apache/maven/wrapper/maven-wrapper/3.1.0/maven-wrapper-3.1.0.jar"
+    else
+      jarUrl="https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/org/apache/maven/wrapper/maven-wrapper/3.1.0/maven-wrapper-3.1.0.jar"
+    fi
+    while IFS="=" read key value; do
+      case "$key" in (wrapperUrl) jarUrl="$value"; break ;;
+      esac
+    done < "$BASE_DIR/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.properties"
+    if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+      echo "Downloading from: $jarUrl"
+    fi
+    wrapperJarPath="$BASE_DIR/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar"
+    if $cygwin; then
+      wrapperJarPath=`cygpath --path --windows "$wrapperJarPath"`
+    fi
+
+    if command -v wget > /dev/null; then
+        if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+          echo "Found wget ... using wget"
+        fi
+        if [ -z "$MVNW_USERNAME" ] || [ -z "$MVNW_PASSWORD" ]; then
+            wget "$jarUrl" -O "$wrapperJarPath" || rm -f "$wrapperJarPath"
+        else
+            wget --http-user=$MVNW_USERNAME --http-password=$MVNW_PASSWORD "$jarUrl" -O "$wrapperJarPath" || rm -f "$wrapperJarPath"
+        fi
+    elif command -v curl > /dev/null; then
+        if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+          echo "Found curl ... using curl"
+        fi
+        if [ -z "$MVNW_USERNAME" ] || [ -z "$MVNW_PASSWORD" ]; then
+            curl -o "$wrapperJarPath" "$jarUrl" -f
+        else
+            curl --user $MVNW_USERNAME:$MVNW_PASSWORD -o "$wrapperJarPath" "$jarUrl" -f
+        fi
+
+    else
+        if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+          echo "Falling back to using Java to download"
+        fi
+        javaClass="$BASE_DIR/.mvn/wrapper/MavenWrapperDownloader.java"
+        # For Cygwin, switch paths to Windows format before running javac
+        if $cygwin; then
+          javaClass=`cygpath --path --windows "$javaClass"`
+        fi
+        if [ -e "$javaClass" ]; then
+            if [ ! -e "$BASE_DIR/.mvn/wrapper/MavenWrapperDownloader.class" ]; then
+                if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+                  echo " - Compiling MavenWrapperDownloader.java ..."
+                fi
+                # Compiling the Java class
+                ("$JAVA_HOME/bin/javac" "$javaClass")
+            fi
+            if [ -e "$BASE_DIR/.mvn/wrapper/MavenWrapperDownloader.class" ]; then
+                # Running the downloader
+                if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+                  echo " - Running MavenWrapperDownloader.java ..."
+                fi
+                ("$JAVA_HOME/bin/java" -cp .mvn/wrapper MavenWrapperDownloader "$MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR")
+            fi
+        fi
+    fi
+fi
+##########################################################################################
+# End of extension
+##########################################################################################
+
+export MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=${MAVEN_BASEDIR:-"$BASE_DIR"}
+if [ "$MVNW_VERBOSE" = true ]; then
+  echo $MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR
+fi
+MAVEN_OPTS="$(concat_lines "$MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR/.mvn/jvm.config") $MAVEN_OPTS"
+
+# For Cygwin, switch paths to Windows format before running java
+if $cygwin; then
+  [ -n "$M2_HOME" ] &&
+    M2_HOME=`cygpath --path --windows "$M2_HOME"`
+  [ -n "$JAVA_HOME" ] &&
+    JAVA_HOME=`cygpath --path --windows "$JAVA_HOME"`
+  [ -n "$CLASSPATH" ] &&
+    CLASSPATH=`cygpath --path --windows "$CLASSPATH"`
+  [ -n "$MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR" ] &&
+    MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=`cygpath --path --windows "$MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR"`
+fi
+
+# Provide a "standardized" way to retrieve the CLI args that will
+# work with both Windows and non-Windows executions.
+MAVEN_CMD_LINE_ARGS="$MAVEN_CONFIG $@"
+export MAVEN_CMD_LINE_ARGS
+
+WRAPPER_LAUNCHER=org.apache.maven.wrapper.MavenWrapperMain
+
+exec "$JAVACMD" \
+  $MAVEN_OPTS \
+  $MAVEN_DEBUG_OPTS \
+  -classpath "$MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR/.mvn/wrapper/maven-wrapper.jar" \
+  "-Dmaven.home=${M2_HOME}" \
+  "-Dmaven.multiModuleProjectDirectory=${MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR}" \
+  ${WRAPPER_LAUNCHER} $MAVEN_CONFIG "$@"
diff --git a/smoke-tests/mvnw.cmd b/smoke-tests/mvnw.cmd
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..1d8ab018
--- /dev/null
+++ b/smoke-tests/mvnw.cmd
@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+@REM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+@REM Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+@REM or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+@REM distributed with this work for additional information
+@REM regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+@REM to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+@REM "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+@REM with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+@REM
+@REM    https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+@REM
+@REM Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+@REM software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+@REM "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+@REM KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+@REM specific language governing permissions and limitations
+@REM under the License.
+@REM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+@REM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+@REM Maven Start Up Batch script
+@REM
+@REM Required ENV vars:
+@REM JAVA_HOME - location of a JDK home dir
+@REM
+@REM Optional ENV vars
+@REM M2_HOME - location of maven2's installed home dir
+@REM MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO - set to 'on' to enable the echoing of the batch commands
+@REM MAVEN_BATCH_PAUSE - set to 'on' to wait for a keystroke before ending
+@REM MAVEN_OPTS - parameters passed to the Java VM when running Maven
+@REM     e.g. to debug Maven itself, use
+@REM set MAVEN_OPTS=-Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=8000
+@REM MAVEN_SKIP_RC - flag to disable loading of mavenrc files
+@REM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+@REM Begin all REM lines with '@' in case MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO is 'on'
+@echo off
+@REM set title of command window
+title %0
+@REM enable echoing by setting MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO to 'on'
+@if "%MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO%" == "on"  echo %MAVEN_BATCH_ECHO%
+
+@REM set %HOME% to equivalent of $HOME
+if "%HOME%" == "" (set "HOME=%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%")
+
+@REM Execute a user defined script before this one
+if not "%MAVEN_SKIP_RC%" == "" goto skipRcPre
+@REM check for pre script, once with legacy .bat ending and once with .cmd ending
+if exist "%USERPROFILE%\mavenrc_pre.bat" call "%USERPROFILE%\mavenrc_pre.bat" %*
+if exist "%USERPROFILE%\mavenrc_pre.cmd" call "%USERPROFILE%\mavenrc_pre.cmd" %*
+:skipRcPre
+
+@setlocal
+
+set ERROR_CODE=0
+
+@REM To isolate internal variables from possible post scripts, we use another setlocal
+@setlocal
+
+@REM ==== START VALIDATION ====
+if not "%JAVA_HOME%" == "" goto OkJHome
+
+echo.
+echo Error: JAVA_HOME not found in your environment. >&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the >&2
+echo location of your Java installation. >&2
+echo.
+goto error
+
+:OkJHome
+if exist "%JAVA_HOME%\bin\java.exe" goto init
+
+echo.
+echo Error: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory. >&2
+echo JAVA_HOME = "%JAVA_HOME%" >&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the >&2
+echo location of your Java installation. >&2
+echo.
+goto error
+
+@REM ==== END VALIDATION ====
+
+:init
+
+@REM Find the project base dir, i.e. the directory that contains the folder ".mvn".
+@REM Fallback to current working directory if not found.
+
+set MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=%MAVEN_BASEDIR%
+IF NOT "%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%"=="" goto endDetectBaseDir
+
+set EXEC_DIR=%CD%
+set WDIR=%EXEC_DIR%
+:findBaseDir
+IF EXIST "%WDIR%"\.mvn goto baseDirFound
+cd ..
+IF "%WDIR%"=="%CD%" goto baseDirNotFound
+set WDIR=%CD%
+goto findBaseDir
+
+:baseDirFound
+set MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=%WDIR%
+cd "%EXEC_DIR%"
+goto endDetectBaseDir
+
+:baseDirNotFound
+set MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR=%EXEC_DIR%
+cd "%EXEC_DIR%"
+
+:endDetectBaseDir
+
+IF NOT EXIST "%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%\.mvn\jvm.config" goto endReadAdditionalConfig
+
+@setlocal EnableExtensions EnableDelayedExpansion
+for /F "usebackq delims=" %%a in ("%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%\.mvn\jvm.config") do set JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS=!JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS! %%a
+@endlocal & set JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS=%JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS%
+
+:endReadAdditionalConfig
+
+SET MAVEN_JAVA_EXE="%JAVA_HOME%\bin\java.exe"
+set WRAPPER_JAR="%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%\.mvn\wrapper\maven-wrapper.jar"
+set WRAPPER_LAUNCHER=org.apache.maven.wrapper.MavenWrapperMain
+
+set DOWNLOAD_URL="https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/org/apache/maven/wrapper/maven-wrapper/3.1.0/maven-wrapper-3.1.0.jar"
+
+FOR /F "usebackq tokens=1,2 delims==" %%A IN ("%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%\.mvn\wrapper\maven-wrapper.properties") DO (
+    IF "%%A"=="wrapperUrl" SET DOWNLOAD_URL=%%B
+)
+
+@REM Extension to allow automatically downloading the maven-wrapper.jar from Maven-central
+@REM This allows using the maven wrapper in projects that prohibit checking in binary data.
+if exist %WRAPPER_JAR% (
+    if "%MVNW_VERBOSE%" == "true" (
+        echo Found %WRAPPER_JAR%
+    )
+) else (
+    if not "%MVNW_REPOURL%" == "" (
+        SET DOWNLOAD_URL="%MVNW_REPOURL%/org/apache/maven/wrapper/maven-wrapper/3.1.0/maven-wrapper-3.1.0.jar"
+    )
+    if "%MVNW_VERBOSE%" == "true" (
+        echo Couldn't find %WRAPPER_JAR%, downloading it ...
+        echo Downloading from: %DOWNLOAD_URL%
+    )
+
+    powershell -Command "&{"^
+		"$webclient = new-object System.Net.WebClient;"^
+		"if (-not ([string]::IsNullOrEmpty('%MVNW_USERNAME%') -and [string]::IsNullOrEmpty('%MVNW_PASSWORD%'))) {"^
+		"$webclient.Credentials = new-object System.Net.NetworkCredential('%MVNW_USERNAME%', '%MVNW_PASSWORD%');"^
+		"}"^
+		"[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; $webclient.DownloadFile('%DOWNLOAD_URL%', '%WRAPPER_JAR%')"^
+		"}"
+    if "%MVNW_VERBOSE%" == "true" (
+        echo Finished downloading %WRAPPER_JAR%
+    )
+)
+@REM End of extension
+
+@REM Provide a "standardized" way to retrieve the CLI args that will
+@REM work with both Windows and non-Windows executions.
+set MAVEN_CMD_LINE_ARGS=%*
+
+%MAVEN_JAVA_EXE% ^
+  %JVM_CONFIG_MAVEN_PROPS% ^
+  %MAVEN_OPTS% ^
+  %MAVEN_DEBUG_OPTS% ^
+  -classpath %WRAPPER_JAR% ^
+  "-Dmaven.multiModuleProjectDirectory=%MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR%" ^
+  %WRAPPER_LAUNCHER% %MAVEN_CONFIG% %*
+if ERRORLEVEL 1 goto error
+goto end
+
+:error
+set ERROR_CODE=1
+
+:end
+@endlocal & set ERROR_CODE=%ERROR_CODE%
+
+if not "%MAVEN_SKIP_RC%"=="" goto skipRcPost
+@REM check for post script, once with legacy .bat ending and once with .cmd ending
+if exist "%USERPROFILE%\mavenrc_post.bat" call "%USERPROFILE%\mavenrc_post.bat"
+if exist "%USERPROFILE%\mavenrc_post.cmd" call "%USERPROFILE%\mavenrc_post.cmd"
+:skipRcPost
+
+@REM pause the script if MAVEN_BATCH_PAUSE is set to 'on'
+if "%MAVEN_BATCH_PAUSE%"=="on" pause
+
+if "%MAVEN_TERMINATE_CMD%"=="on" exit %ERROR_CODE%
+
+cmd /C exit /B %ERROR_CODE%
diff --git a/smoke-tests/pom.xml b/smoke-tests/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..12276fc5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/smoke-tests/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
+        <version>2.7.10</version>
+        <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
+    </parent>
+
+    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
+    <artifactId>smoke-tests</artifactId>
+    <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+
+    <name>smoke-tests</name>
+    <description>smoke-tests</description>
+
+    <properties>
+        <java.version>1.8</java.version>
+        <stagingRepositoryId>orgspringframework-springws</stagingRepositoryId>
+    </properties>
+
+    <dependencies>
+
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.springframework.ws</groupId>
+            <artifactId>spring-ws-core</artifactId>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
+            <scope>test</scope>
+        </dependency>
+
+    </dependencies>
+
+    <profiles>
+        <profile>
+
+            <id>maven-central</id>
+
+            <repositories>
+                <repository>
+                    <id>s01.oss.sonatype.org</id>
+                    <url>
+                        https://s01.oss.sonatype.org/service/local/repositories/${stagingRepositoryId}/content/
+                    </url>
+                </repository>
+            </repositories>
+        </profile>
+        <profile>
+
+            <id>artifactory</id>
+
+            <repositories>
+                <repository>
+                    <id>spring-libs-snapshots</id>
+                    <url>
+                        https://repo.spring.io/libs-snapshot-local/
+                    </url>
+                </repository>
+                <repository>
+                    <id>spring-libs-milestone</id>
+                    <url>
+                        https://repo.spring.io/libs-milestone-local/
+                    </url>
+                </repository>
+                <repository>
+                    <id>spring-libs-release</id>
+                    <url>
+                        https://repo.spring.io/libs-release-local/
+                    </url>
+                </repository>
+                <repository>
+                    <id>spring-snapshot</id>
+                    <url>https://repo.spring.io/snapshot</url>
+                    <snapshots>
+                        <enabled>true</enabled>
+                    </snapshots>
+                </repository>
+                <repository>
+                    <id>spring-milestone</id>
+                    <url>https://repo.spring.io/milestone</url>
+                </repository>
+                <repository>
+                    <id>spring-release</id>
+                    <url>https://repo.spring.io/release</url>
+                </repository>
+            </repositories>
+        </profile>
+    </profiles>
+
+
+</project>
diff --git a/smoke-tests/readme.adoc b/smoke-tests/readme.adoc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..59e33ef0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/smoke-tests/readme.adoc
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+= Release Smoke Tests
+
+== Maven Central
+
+To run smoke tests against a Maven Central staging repository:
+
+[source,shell]
+----
+$ mvnw -Pmaven-central -Dspring-ws.version=${projectVersion} -DstagingRepositoryId=${stagingRepositoryId}
+----
+
+* `${projectVersion}`: e.g. `4.0.4`
+* `${stagingRepositoryId}`: e.g. `orgspringframework-2601`
+
+== Artifactory
+
+To run smoke tests against an Artifactory staging repository:
+
+[source,shell]
+----
+$ mvnw -Partifactory -Dspring-ws.version=${projectVersion}
+----
+
+* `${projectVersion}`: e.g. `4.0.4`
diff --git a/smoke-tests/src/test/java/com/example/smoketests/SmokeTestsApplicationTests.java b/smoke-tests/src/test/java/com/example/smoketests/SmokeTestsApplicationTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..608318ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/smoke-tests/src/test/java/com/example/smoketests/SmokeTestsApplicationTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+package com.example.smoketests;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.springframework.ws.client.core.WebServiceTemplate;
+
+/**
+ * Smoke tests to bootstrap Spring module components to verify they are functional.
+ */
+class SmokeTestsApplicationTests {
+
+	@Test
+	void createWebServiceTemplate() {
+		WebServiceTemplate template = new WebServiceTemplate();
+	}
+}