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Its updated technology platform is now about to become operational in all its stores – helping the retailer to increase availability, reduce waste and improve the planning and allocation of space in outlets.
The latest phase of the project sees the retailer’s enhanced IT systems now rolled out to over 2,600 Co-op stores and the platform can also serve more than 1,300 outlets operated by independent Co-operative societies.
It completes a four-year project for the nation’s leading convenience retailer which has consolidated more than 30 established IT systems into just three.
The new platform has already been tested in a pilot scheme involving almost 220 Co-op outlets.
The system features supply chain software and ranging tools to build a more precise picture of local customer behaviour so it can tailor store layouts and better anticipate demand.
It also includes technology to improve ranging, stock holding, availability, and more accurate forecasting information.
It now also features a cloud-based supplier collaboration portal, Co-op Connect.
The technology update will enable the Co-op to become more agile “and respond more quickly through enhanced forecasting and replenishment processes”.
Other bonuses are improved inventory management “which will help the development of product ranges tailored to local tastes”.
Greater transparency, data flow and forecasting will improve the quality of information available to suppliers to make production decisions.
Paperware will be the first product category to be added to the new platform by the end of the year, with pizza and salad categories expected to follow.
The rollout will continue, category by category, until next summer when it is expected to include over 19,200 products and more than 1,100 suppliers.
Andy Phelps, retail business transformation programme director at the Co-op, said: “The first phases of our work provided the foundation for an advanced retail supply chain strategy designed to drive increased consumer experience and choice through improved availability and faster and better retail decision making.
“We see our relationship with suppliers as a partnership approach, and this investment enables the Co-op to deepen those relationships.
“We have worked closely with our supplier network to gather feedback and test the system, and their input has been invaluable in developing the technology we are now in a position to deploy.”
