• The multi-year transformation programme will mean Sainsbury鈥檚 systems grow alongside the retailer鈥檚 Next Level Sainsbury鈥檚 plans鈥�听

• It will also improve price and promotions execution, resulting in a more tailored value experience for customers鈥�听

LONDON, UK – 10 September, 2024 鈥� J Sainsbury plc (Sainsbury鈥檚) has announced a new partnership with 麻豆原创, which will revolutionise its commercial systems and help drive its Next Level Sainsbury鈥檚 ambitions. Through the consolidation of its legacy systems, Sainsbury鈥檚 will achieve increased business agility through cloud-based solutions, as well as a simplified and cost optimised technology estate.

麻豆原创 has been appointed to lead the design of the new solution in partnership with lead transformation partner Accenture and cloud provider AWS.

The transformation will enable future system flexibility and allow Sainsbury鈥檚 to respond to ever-evolving customer propositions and needs. By adding new capability and capacity to its commercial systems, the retailer will be able to manage products on promotion in increasingly flexible ways, allowing a more tailored value experience for our customers.

The project will benefit customers, suppliers, colleagues and shareholders, simplifying and integrating Sainsbury鈥檚 systems and tools into one cohesive platform and creating a single ecosystem for Sainsbury鈥檚 colleagues and suppliers to communicate. This will reduce complexity and improve efficiency for suppliers, helping drive returns.

Rhian Bartlett, Chief Food Commercial Officer at Sainsbury鈥檚, said:鈥�淲e鈥檙e excited to be working with a brilliant partner network in 麻豆原创, Accenture and AWS to completely revolutionise our commercial systems, which are the heart and lungs of our business operations. This is a huge step forward in our Next Level Sainsbury鈥檚 plan, as we continue to invest in market leading technology that allows us to keep growing at pace and maintain our momentum towards becoming First choice for food.鈥�

Leila Romane, Managing Director 麻豆原创 UK and Ireland, said: 鈥淚 feel incredibly proud to be partnering with Sainsbury鈥檚 on this transformation programme. We are best placed, with the most complete retail solution in the industry, to drive real impact and outcomes for the company鈥檚 customers, colleagues, suppliers and shareholders. We all appreciate the opportunity in front of us and, with our valued ecosystem partners, match Sainsbury鈥檚 ambition to set a gold standard across the food retail industry to drive growth and provide an exceptional customer experience.鈥�

###

About Sainsbury鈥檚鈥�

Offering delicious great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority and our purpose is clear 鈥� we make good food joyful, accessible and affordable for everyone, every day.

Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands 鈥� Argos, Nectar, Tu Clothing, Habitat, Sainsbury鈥檚 Bank and Smart Charge. Sainsbury鈥檚 has almost 600 supermarkets and over 800 convenience stores. Argos is a leading digital retailer and is the third most visited retail website in the UK, with over 70 per cent of its sales starting online. Argos is conveniently available for customers to collect from hundreds of Sainsbury鈥檚 stores. Digital and technology enables us to adapt as customers shop differently and our profitable, fast-growing online channels offer customers quick and convenient delivery and collection capability.

About 麻豆原创

As鈥痑 global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 麻豆原创 (NYSE:麻豆原创)鈥痵tands at the鈥痭exus鈥痮f business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted 麻豆原创鈥痶o bring out their best by uniting business-critical鈥痮perations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit鈥�.

For more information, press only:

Megan Knight, Brands2Life, 麻豆原创@brands2life.com

The post Sainsbury鈥檚 Collaborates with 麻豆原创, Accenture and AWS on Transformation Programme appeared first on 麻豆原创 UK News Center.

LONDON, UK 鈥� 13 June, 2024 – (NYSE: 麻豆原创) has today announced that , one of the world鈥檚 largest consumer cooperatives, has completed its RISE with 麻豆原创 migration to support its digital transformation programme as it looks to standardise business processes, enhance operational efficiency and drive future investment.

Operating almost 2,400 stores across the UK, Co-op鈥檚 ambition is to drive growth across its operations while also continuing to deliver quality goods and services for its global customer base. Key to this is investing in technology to transform its existing IT environment, and future-proofing its business against disruption to global supply chains and changing consumer expectations.

Co-op is a long-standing 麻豆原创 customer and in 2016, announced its Retail Business Transformation programme, powered by 麻豆原创鈥檚 Retail ECC Suite on HANA, to drive improvements in product ranging, stock visibility and forecasting across its stores. Now, the implementation of will take its IT infrastructure to the next level, bringing its ERP into the cloud and streamlining its finance and procurement functions.

Now, equipped with an 麻豆原创 managed platform, Co-op will benefit from enhanced stability of key applications, such as Forecast and Replenishment, as well as Stock Availability. Co-op will have improved security, faster automation and will be able to capture real-time data and insights across its wider manufacturing supply chains.听 This will help foster a safe IT environment while providing the key foundations to support future innovation in partnership with 麻豆原创.

Rob Elsey, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Co-op said: 鈥淐o-op is founded on a set of values and principles grounded in finding a different, fairer and better way of doing business. By building on our existing forecasting, ranging and stock holding capabilities initially made possible by 麻豆原创, the move to RISE will transform our operations with the digital infrastructure needed to deliver a safe and secure business environment in the cloud.鈥�

Ryan Poggi, Managing Director, 麻豆原创 UK&I said: 鈥淐o-op is a company that goes the distance with helping communities in the UK, sharing 麻豆原创鈥檚 fundamental value to power opportunity for all. By embracing RISE with 麻豆原创, Co-op will advance its procurement and finance processes, demonstrating just how crucial technology investment is for its business and customers. Retailers and consumer services companies are facing a lot of external pressures and we are giving Co-op the tools to counter these, helping them to keep innovating and providing goods and services in the most efficient way possible – both now and in the future.鈥�

About 麻豆原创
As鈥痑 global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 麻豆原创 (NYSE:麻豆原创)鈥痵tands at the鈥痭exus鈥痮f business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted 麻豆原创鈥痶o bring out their best by uniting business-critical鈥痮perations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit鈥�.

About Co-op

Co-op is one of the world鈥檚 largest consumer co-operatives with interests across food, funerals, insurance and legal services. Owned by millions of UK consumers, Co-op operates almost 2,400 food stores, over 800 funeral homes and provides products to over 6,000 other stores, including those run by independent co-operative societies and through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited.

Employing 56,000 people, Co-op has an annual turnover of over 拢11billion and is a recognised leader for its social goals and community-led programmes. Co-op exists to meet members鈥� needs and stand up for the things they believe in.

# # #

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These market conditions fall into three main areas: Money, Energy and Supply. The cost of capital, energy cost volatility, regulation, and geopolitical disruption have all impacted on business and will continue to change the cost base of a business on short notice. Modern, high performing finance functions recognise that the speed of change has radically increased requiring much higher precision and speed in forecasting and decision-making, to ensure that relying on yesterday鈥檚 information won鈥檛 sink today鈥檚 business.

Finance must be in the driving seat for designing new organisations which can cope with these changes, because no one else has a complete view across the landscape and making decisions in isolation leads to local failure. Only finance has visibility covering everything from input and overhead costs, to consumer preference, to the impact on margin.

We see this review reflected in the priorities of FTSE 40 controllers, who highlight the need for:

• (Affordable) Beneficial technology, getting the most return on investment
• Value from their data assets, to respond to shocks quickly
• Staying ahead of new controls regulations and requirements
• Responding to changes in ESG reporting and compliance

Getting these decisions right will give the business confidence to continue investing in growth platforms like new sales channels, new business models, store modernisation, marketing and developing their people, providing the right platform for the future.

Technology to beat the business trap 鈥� What are the 鈥榩ivot鈥� options?

Businesses are faced right now with either pushing up their prices and hurting customers or cutting their margins and swallowing supplier price increases, neither of which is palatable; technology can offer a third option; using the capabilities we will describe in this article, the CFO can direct resources to help sustainably grow the revenues, margin, and remain competitive. How does this modern technological alchemy work?

The CFO supports the top line and bottom line of the enterprise, traditionally in a relatively passive manner delivering visibility and controls over profitability, liquidity, auditability, and compliance. Technology is giving the CFO the opportunity to become active in the health and growth of their businesses. To make the CFO a 鈥�star鈥� contributor to the business, at a time of severe challenge, we would encourage exploring the innovative finance capabilities described in this article.

Reimagine Finance Operations

The CFO has the opportunity to leverage technology, data and insights to model future business options indeed, to critically analyse prior decisions, what worked well and what didn鈥檛. According to Gartner, decisions governing everyday operations often lack financial rigor, which can result in a loss of 3% or more of profits for organisations. This is primarily due to fragmented systems with siloed operations and an inability to access financial information in real time to make proactive decisions. As a result, CFOs recognise the need to modernise finance operations to reduce manual effort and enable their employees to focus on more value-added activities. A case in point is , which faced rapid growth after COVID-19, resulting in high volumes of data and an accelerated need for the company’s digital transformation. The e-commerce and fintech leader in Latin America achieved an 85% automation rate in treasury and cash management by streamlining their finance operations on a unified platform.

Delivering Assurance

It is expected that over the next 6 months the UK will be transferring from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to the Audit Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA). Although recently the government have stepped back from their plans to introduce UK Corporate Governance Code led improvements around Financial Controls and CFO attestation statement on Fraud, the change in regulator is expected to deliver sharper teeth and greater pressure on external auditors to report more accurately. The upcoming changes to the Economic Crime and Transparency Bill, relating to Fraud, will include a new 鈥榝ailure to prevent鈥� offence and is currently moving through parliament, due in the firstquarter of 2024. A recent University of Portsmouth report outlined that Fraud may have cost the UK private sector in the region of 拢158Billion in 2022. Fraud still represents a 5% revenue loss for many organisations, money which if protected could be reinvested to promote growth. Business resilience is a key area where an integrated controls, risks management and machine learning/AI technologies have proven to deliver significant loss avoidance whilst also enabling businesses to remain on the correct side of regulatory requirements.

Optimise Cash Management

The CFO and the finance team need to have great visibility, effective control and collaborative execution for that finite, and most valuable business resource, cash! The poor understanding of cash flow is the key reason why many businesses fail. Businesses need integrated, intuitive tools that give them instant insights on the complete value chain, including receivables, payables, and associated supply chains. They need actionable information about cash, liquidity, and working capital, and their treasury platform should allow them to predict liquidity, make proactive decisions and mitigate financial risk. Zalando achieved 100% visibility into cash and accounts through redesigning their treasury and risk management and Zalando Payment system built their unique computing and monitoring model to provide deep insights into its factoring related cash flow movements and became compliant for regulatory requirements as a multinational .

Manage Profitability

Finance teams need to be active participants in managing profitability for the business, they may not be responsible solely, but they can best support the business by providing finance data and models in a timely, reliable and enabling fashion. The typical challenges that prevent retailers from proactive steering is the poor visibility to the real economic costs of products, customers and channels. According to Ventana Research, the most commonly mentioned challenge for companies in managing customer profitability is analytics. Using the right technology retailers can understand the real cost dimensions of their business and better control the margin challenges. Brakes 鈥� leading food service supplier in UK 鈥� achieved 2% improvement in margins through remodelling and digitizing their pricing and .

The CFO and his team have the opportunity to play an even bigger part in the future success of their business. Not only are the Finance team the keepers for financial data, they have the opportunity to proactively consult with the business teams; partnering in agile decision-making, providing business insights, actively supporting investment choices, helping identify success or failure in a rapid manner. Transforming the finance function provides the opportunity for businesses to escape the business trap of higher prices or lower margins, it can help you to pivot to increased competitiveness, revenue growth and success with customers, these are definitely the numbers worth pursuing.

If your organisation would like to know more about how these solutions can support your success, then please contact the authors:

• Shaid Latif, Industry Advisor Expert 鈥� Retail & Life Sciences at 麻豆原创
• Elif Kuralay, Industry Advisor at 麻豆原创
• Blair Robinson, Partner, Business Consulting at EY
• Matt Smith, Alliances Director at EY

The post Using Finance To Manage The Bottom Line And Pivot To Growth鈥� appeared first on 麻豆原创 UK News Center.

Strong retail brands everywhere compete to serve a new customer mindset, to build and extend brand relationships and fulfil new expectations towards a seamless and personalised shopping experience online and in stores.

Everything available everywhere all the time

Pandora designs, manufactures and markets contemporary jewellery at affordable prices and has an ambitious growth strategy in place, which will be fully implemented by 2026. The Phoenix strategy is built around four growth pillars: brand, design, personalisation and core markets – all centred around the overall objective for Pandora to be the largest and most desirable brand in the affordable jewellery market. Their growth ambitions are in turn enabled by a holistic digitalisation strategy spanning across Pandora operations. One of its key elements is to establish a new, lean digital core with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud as the company鈥檚 new ERP system.

鈥淎fter a turnaround period where we needed to reconnect with our core customers and focus on core Pandora DNA and products such as the Moments bracelet and charms, we are now at a scaling stage鈥� said David Walmsley, Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Pandora and continues 鈥渢he main focus of the ERP transformation will be Finance, anything to do with Inventory and the end-to-end business processes reflecting the Customer Experience鈥�.

True omnichannel with the same customer experience worldwide

When fully implemented by 2026, 麻豆原创 will enable Pandora to offer their customers an omnichannel experience with seamless transactions and interactions online and in stores. Pandora customers will be able see the inventory of available products in real time and avoid situations where a certain product appears to be available in the store, but no longer is, as is sometimes the case if the three current systems are not synchronised. This will tie well into recent improvement initiatives launched by Pandora such as click & collect, shop online and pick up in store 鈥� to deliver a truly delightful omnichannel shopping experience.

Pandora jewellery is sold in more than 100 countries through 6,400 points of sale, including more than 2,400 concept stores.

鈥淲ith 麻豆原创 S/4HANA for Retail, 麻豆原创 Customer Activity Repository (CAR) and 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform (BTP) and other digital improvements laid out as part of our digitalisation strategy we will be able to offer the same customer experience all around the world. When the system is fully rolled out shipping details and availability will no longer depend on where in the world the customer is located instead, they will be able to find the same availability of jewellery and individual suggestions for what pieces to purchase no matter from where they shop, said David Walmsley and continues:

鈥淪ome talk about 鈥渢aking away the pain of shopping鈥�, but at Pandora we want to celebrate shopping and make it a personal experience where we, due to 麻豆原创 technology and our other digital tools, understand you, surprise you and delight you. We are in the business of selling memories, so for Pandora combining store and technology is where the magic happens. If we do this right, we are not only creating convenience for our customers, we are creating brand ambassadors鈥�.

The key focus area for Pandora is to build a lean digital core to support their ambitious growth plan across the world. This includes managing operational data, increasing transparency, and improving productivity across the entire organisation, inventory and franchise stores.

The post Pandora Embarks On ERP Transformation To Meet The New Reality In Retail appeared first on 麻豆原创 UK News Center.

With the Covid-19 pandemic creating an exponential e-commerce growth and changing the role of the retail store as consumers shop in different ways, Asda was looking for a digital platform that would improve its understanding of changing customer behaviours, while also ensuring business continuity via improved response to rapidly fluctuating supply chain disruption.

The move to will provide Asda with an agile and single Digital Core platform to deliver automation and simplification of business processes in the cloud, enhanced (consumer-grade) user experience, real-time data and insights and near real-time sales, inventory and process visibility. This will enable the business to respond more adeptly to the needs and behaviours of its customers and the wider market.

With its adoption of 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions for sourcing, buying and invoicing, contracts, spend analysis, supplier lifecycle and performance, supplier risk and commerce automation over Ariba Network, Asda will standardise and streamline its procurement processes across the organisation and expects to enhance data-driven intelligence, pricing optimisation and supply chain visibility. By improving supplier relationships and spend compliance, Asda aims to mitigate risk, reduce waste and achieve long-term resiliency against supply chain disruption.

With over 600 stores and 140,000 employees serving 18 million customers every week, Asda has been the lowest cost supermarket in the UK for 24 consecutive years, according to The Grocer magazine, while its fashion arm george is the second largest fashion brand by volume in the UK.

Following its acquisition by the Issa Brothers and TDR Capital from Walmart earlier this year, Asda is transitioning from its legacy solutions and embarking on an accelerated digital transformation strategy to better manage its end-to-end business operations. This includes commercial, procurement, supply chain, logistics and retail operations.

Carl Dawson, Chief Information Officer at Asda, said: 鈥淲e are embarking on an exciting business transformation for our Future as part of our separation from Walmart. We have chosen 麻豆原创 as our Digital Core partner for its market leading real-time business platforms and proven experience in retail and delivery. Through RISE with 麻豆原创, we are looking forward to building on our strategic relationship and achieving Asda鈥檚 goals for now and the future in the dynamic retail industry.鈥�

Rohit Nagarajan, President EMEA North 麻豆原创 said, 鈥淲e are incredibly proud of the long standing partnership we have built with Asda over the years. This organisation has been at the forefront of one of the industries most prominent throughout the recent pandemic, which has highlighted how important it is that as a business it continues to evolve to put its customers and families all over the UK, at the heart of its organisation. This next phase of business innovation will undoubtedly mean Asda will be able to supercharge its operations, streamline processes and harness the power of its data for increased insight and real time business decision making and we look forward to supporting them on this next phase of growth and into the future.鈥�

Visit the 麻豆原创 News Center. Follow 麻豆原创 on Twitter at .

The post Asda Selects RISE With 麻豆原创 As Future Digital Platform To Deliver Better Customer Experience And Supply Chain Efficiencies appeared first on 麻豆原创 UK News Center.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported that 2020 was the worst year for retail since records began in 1995, with a 0.3% fall in total sales, while sales of non-food in physical shops fell 24% year-on-year as we were all told to stay at home.

Shoppers who are spending in lockdown are mostly doing so online 鈥� as the digital convenience trend paved by pureplay titans like Amazon, Uber and Deliveroo has been adopted at speed due to Covid-19 restrictions. These online habits forged during lockdown are here to stay as customers realise how easy and convenient it is to shop from around the world, while sat on their sofa.

But selling purely online comes at a cost to most high-street retailers, not to mention the additional logistics of social distancing at warehouses, combined with stores standing empty for months on end making zero sales. There have already been a few casualties, but our ever-resilient retailers have rose to the challenge and kept our country going through one of the toughest periods in living memory.

And just when we were all getting used to this new way of pandemic life, a little word with the ability to stir up an ever-contentious debate comes barrelling back into our lives at the tail end of last year. Brexit.

The Double Blow

Of course, Brexit never went away. But with a global pandemic to contend with, you鈥檇 be forgiven if the transition deadline of 31 January 2020 crept up on us all a little too quickly. Quite simply, the double blow of Covid and Brexit was the perfect storm.

We breathed a sigh of relief as Boris secured a free-trade deal moments before Christmas, but now we鈥檙e officially out of the single market there are still many hurdles to jump through with听听These tariffs also apply to EU customers shopping with UK companies, with听听if shoppers refuse to pay the tariffs as it is too costly for retailers to facilitate returns.

That鈥檚 before we even touch on M&S favourite Percy Pig being held hostage on the Irish border听听Even Covid-19 vaccines have been dragged into the Brexit argument.

The increase in eCommerce which helped retailers stay afloat over the last year, will be the centre of many of these Brexit-related changes. But what exactly should retailers be keeping an eye on?

What鈥檚 the Impact on Retail?

• New import/export procedures: From online fashion sales to our fisheries 鈥� many areas of industry are facing additional charges when moving goods in and out of the UK.
• Rules of origin: The BRC said that at least 50 of its members were听听鈥� these tariffs are paid depending on where a product鈥檚 ingredients or materials originate, or where it has been manufactured.
• Changes to legislation: EU legislations businesses have been adhering to for many years may no longer be applicable. Companies continuing to do business in the EU will still need to comply with data protection GDPR guidelines, but legislation over food safety, for instance, will most likely change. Conversations about chlorinated chicken are hot on the agenda but are yet to materialise as US trade talks are still underway.
• Labour: European migrants make up a significant portion of our talent pool in the UK and Covid has already seen听听Now Brexit will make that harder for them to return which could lead to labour shortages.

What can we do to Bolster our Businesses?

• Understand your export and import charges:听You must get hold of the correct information for your business in terms of adhering to customs clearance because delays are costly. Gov.uk has a wealth of information, including this guide on听听to understand your responsibilities on VAT.
• Communicate with customers:听Shoppers are much more understanding of problems if they are aware of what is going on. If you believe Brexit will result in gaps in your merchandising, a delay to your shipping times or additional customs charges, communicate with shoppers clearly and early on. Equally if you plan to absorb any additional taxes put this information at the top of your website to encourage cross-border customers to shop with you.
• Reduce compliance risks:听Make sure you keep on top of new legislations. At this early stage, these rules are still very much up in the air as the government tries to strike trade deals with other countries like the Pan-Asia trade pact. Even the most prepared business may discover a nasty surprise as we navigate our way out of EU legislations we have been trading under for many years 鈥� if in doubt, seek legal advice to avoid any infringements and potential fines.
• Enable your workforce:听With a reduction in workers, this might be a good time to look into automating business processes. From AI-powered chatbots to reduce stress on call centres to automation within your warehouse, the power of this new technology allows humans to focus on more skilled areas of your business.
• Tighten up your supply chain:听All of these Brexit challenges ultimately impact your supply chain so this is the area that needs most of your attention. The priority should be ensuring your supply chain is as transparent as possible so you can quickly identify problems and reduce compliance risks. By working closely with your key suppliers you can identify potential changes in your supply base ahead of time and ensure your supply chain is agile and resilient.

Navigating our way Towards Calmer Waters

And while 2021 hasn鈥檛 exactly been the fresh start we were all hoping for as we navigate our way through Brexit-related red tape during yet another lockdown, there is some hope on the horizon now vaccinations are underway in the UK. In the second half of this year, with retail hopefully open, alongside leisure and hospitality, more people will be on our high streets ready to buy a new outfit for that long-awaited evening out at a restaurant, or (dare we wish for it?) a holiday, injecting money 鈥� and life 鈥� back into the economy.

More importantly, if the UK can get a solid grip on the Covid-19 crisis this frees up government to spend more time and energy focusing on supporting businesses through the Brexit transitions.

The main thing to remember is the importance of planning and ensuring your Brexit and are agile enough to quickly pivot when necessary. If 2020 taught us the lesson of resilience, 2021 will be the year of adaptability, and those who will emerge as winners will be the businesses with robust supply chains and complex multi-channel strategies that can communicate effectively with customers at a moment鈥檚 notice.

For more guidance please explore the听.

The post Covid And Brexit – The Perfect Storm. But How Does Retail Survive It? appeared first on 麻豆原创 UK News Center.

This has been produced in partnership with听 for 麻豆原创 UK & Ireland.

Listen here:

We are joined by our expert guests:

鈥� Anne-Christine Polet 鈥� Leading Digital Venture Arm, PVH Europe
鈥� Gemma Carver – Global CX Advisor for Retail, 麻豆原创 ()
鈥� Joanna Jensen 鈥� Founder and Chair of Childs Farm ()
鈥� Maria Morais – Global Industry Director for Consumer Industries, 麻豆原创 ()
鈥� Kev McFadyen 鈥� Brand Director for Berhaus, Pentland Brands ()

To keep updated on other podcast episodes, follow听

The post 麻豆原创 UK Podcast Episode 7: How Digital Acceleration Is Driving Sustainable Fashion & Beauty appeared first on 麻豆原创 UK News Center.

LONDON 鈥� 听today announced that , a B2B food delivery service and a leading supplier to the food service sector in the UK, launched a new direct-to-consumer platform on the in just seven days, enabling it to distribute food packages to UK households.

With the sudden closure of schools, pubs and restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brakes recognised that in order to support its communities and address the impact on its B2B revenues, it would also need to launch a Direct to Consumer (D2C) e-commerce site, which would support both click and collect and home delivery. Brakes has also become a primary distributor for care packages in the UK, delivering food essentials to vulnerable people who are unable to leave their homes to get supplies.

Working with ecommerce specialist partner and its dedicated 麻豆原创 team, Brakes went live with Direct to Consumer providing initially Call & Collect Service as well as a Home Delivery Service built on the 麻豆原创 Commerce Cloud in just seven days.

With Brakes still delivering food to NHS hospitals and care homes, as well as supporting supermarket efforts to get food into stores, it was hugely important to protect its core wholesale business service and B2B site performance to keep providing food to those organisations. The new consumer site is based on Brakes鈥� existing B2B solution, which runs from the same code base.

Whilst delivering a new D2C platform, Brakes worked in partnership with Bidfood UK to deliver more than 200,000 care packages each week across the UK and has distributed over 1.5 million care packages to the most vulnerable in the country. The Brakes team also delivered 14,000 products to the staff at the Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel, which was built to support patients with coronavirus in London.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all acutely aware of the significant challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt to many organisations across the globe,” said Ben Sekhon, Head of 麻豆原创 Customer Experience, 麻豆原创 UK & Ireland. “For us at 麻豆原创, we have a major role to play in helping our communities get through these difficult times. The Brakes project is an amazing example of a business that was able to completely pivot its strategy from direct to business to direct to consumer in just a week, enabling it to continue its vital role in supporting the most vulnerable. It has been a privilege and hugely exciting to be part of this journey with Brakes and we will continue supporting its efforts providing food to the nation.鈥�

鈥淛ust as the UK went into lockdown, our normal kind of business and customers just stopped,” said Justin Mills, Head of Digital Products at Brakes. “We had to think about how we could find a different route to market to bridge that gap and get produce to those that desperately needed it. We had a really good understanding of 麻豆原创 Commerce Cloud and, working with our partners, we were effectively able to leverage the existing business website and then push out a new website to the consumer marketplace. We didn鈥檛 have all the answers, but as you share the problem together you can find the solution.鈥�

Currently Brakes can provide groceries to a radius that includes 6.8 million households in the UK and consumers have access to more than 6,000 Brakes products – including fruit and veg, meat and poultry, bread, milk and much more. Brakes is continuing to expand the new consumer food delivery service to more areas in the UK, whilst supporting its core B2B customers through every phase of the COVID-19 response and recovery to keep staff and customers 鈥榮afe and secure鈥�.

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The post 麻豆原创 Commerce Cloud Helps Brakes Deliver On Promise to Feed The Nation appeared first on 麻豆原创 UK News Center.

Artificial intelligence can help provide an improved customer experience and enable retailers to make better use of data to control inventory

Inventory management is the cornerstone of any reputable . It can be the difference between providing an exceptional user experience and one that leaves customers disappointed or frustrated, something retailers can鈥檛 afford.

For example, inventory management ensures advertised products are in stock; too often customers will click on a promotion to discover an item is only available in the wrong model, size or colour. The reason is the promotion is disconnected from real-time inventory levels, leading to a poor customer experience.

The post Agile Commerce Connecting Customers With The Products They Want To Buy appeared first on 麻豆原创 UK News Center.