UK retail favourite Woolworths has implemented a new supply chain solution to support its website and ensure it is up to the added demands that will be placed on it in the run up to the busy festive period and beyond.
The customer satisfaction stakes are usually raised at Christmas time when more money is being splashed out, meaning that Woolworths.co.uk needed a back-end system that would enable it to match supply with demand for the 200,000 products it offers without adversely affecting quality of service.
Working with Manhattan Associates, the retailer was able to revamp the fulfilment aspect of its ecommerce business in just 16 weeks by implementing the supply chain specialist's technology, designed to handle large volumes of small orders, in its dedicated online distribution centre - which is managed by Wincanton - in Stoke-on-Trent.
"Managing inventory for stores often means fulfilling orders for a small number of items in large quantities. In contrast, an e-commerce operation processes large volumes of orders, each typically consisting of a small number of individual units of either a single or several stock-keeping units (SKUs). It therefore needs a dedicated system to fulfil demand," said Tim Owrid, Woolworths's supply chain director.
"The Manhattan Associates system allowed us to make significant improvements in terms of visibility and efficiency in a matter of weeks. Such a rapid implementation capability was a critical factor in our selection process... rival solutions would have taken up to a year to deploy. We just couldn't wait that long to see improvements - especially as Christmas is just around the corner. Getting the right products to the customer on time is our main priority."
