Morrisons secures growth with supply chain transformation
TCS implemented a supply chain transformation program for the retailer, which improved lead times, helping address stock availability issues and reduce waste.
Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited is one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK.
It has a growing wholesale business that supplies goods in bulk to both Morrisons franchise stores and other retailers. Headquartered in Bradford, Morrisons has over 490 stores in the UK and serves around 11 million customers each week.
The supermarket group had a lot of legacy technology systems across different functions. This resulted in a great deal of manual intervention, duplication of effort, and errors. To find a holistic and sustainable solution to these challenges, the retailer chose not to consider supply chain as a mere department, but in fact, an end-to-end business-wide aspect that needed a rejig. They began by evaluating everything, including the long-range forecasts, the methods and processes employed in the logistics operation, and in-store stock management.
Morrisons embarked on a supply chain transformation program with TCS, its preferred IT partner in major business areas such as supply chain and logistics, commercial and corporate, finance, manufacturing, and business process services (BPS).
Morrisons has a decade-long partnership with TCS that started with TCS managing their application services in 2014.
Over the years, the relationship has grown, and TCS is now a strategic transformation partner across many businesses for the retailer.
TCS has extensive experience in delivering numerous large-scale transformation programs for the British supermarket group such as the warehouse management system modernization. In addition, TCS has helped Morrisons successfully navigate compliance demands for regulations related to Brexit and the allergen regulations under Natasha's Law.
The objective of this transformation program was to simplify and streamline the existing processes, including those related to colleague experience.
Additionally, it helped the retailer eliminate legacy processes, improve business performance, and gain better shelf visibility. The supply chain transformation program improved the market availability of products and reduced waste, which in turn facilitated markdowns and improved the overall working capital of Morrisons. The area of business that gained the most was forecast accuracy, which enabled faster and more efficient flow of products through the organization.
With TCS by its side, Morrisons is well placed for future growth backed by its plan to continuously innovate and modernize its IT landscape.
The TCS-Morrisons relationship began with TCS delivering the retailer’s warehouse management system and offering application support, and it has expanded from there. We have maintained the trust of the client and delivered numerous large programs since then to enable positive business outcomes.
By proactively adopting cutting-edge technologies and focusing on customer-centric strategies, Morrisons is well equipped to navigate challenging times and deliver sustainable growth for all stakeholders.
TCS implemented a supply chain transformation program for the retailer, which improved lead times, helping address stock availability issues and reduce waste.