Sainsbury’s has signed a group-wide deal with German tech giant SAP in a move which it insists will “revolutionise” its commercial systems and help drive the retailer’s new “Next Level Sainsbury’s” strategy.
The contract will lead to the consolidation of legacy systems within the group, which also includes Argos, Tu and Habitat, to achieve what it calls “increased business agility through cloud-based solutions, as well as a simplified and cost optimised technology estate”.
SAP has been appointed to lead the design of the new solution in partnership with lead transformation partner Accenture and cloud provider Amazon Web Services.
The transformation is aimed at enabling future system flexibility to allow Sainsbury’s 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 its customers.
The project is designed to benefit customers, suppliers, staff and shareholders, simplifying and integrating Sainsbury’s systems and tools into one cohesive platform and creating a single ecosystem for Sainsbury’s colleagues and suppliers to communicate. This will reduce complexity and improve efficiency for suppliers, helping drive returns.
The move follows the signing of a five-year deal with Microsoft in May, which will allow Sainsbury’s to tap into the tech giant’s artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities and combine them with its own datasets.
The tie up aims to provide customers with more efficient and effective service, improve store operations and drive greater efficiency for staff with the ultimate goal of delivering stronger returns for shareholders under Sainsbury’s Save and Invest To Win programme.
First unveiled in February this year, the “Next Level Sainsbury’s” strategy is a three year plan to decrease its general merchandise and clothing space but increase its food offering and investment in technology and artificial intelligence, although it has admitted this could also result in job cuts. The Nectar loyalty scheme has been put at the forefront of the strategy, offering “more personalised, rewarding and integrated loyalty and market-leading retail media capabilities”.
Sainsbury’s chief food commercial officer Rhian Bartlett said: “We’re excited to be working with a brilliant partner network in SAP, 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’s 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.”
SAP UK and Ireland managing director Leila Romane added: “We are best placed, with the most complete retail solution in the industry, to drive real impact and outcomes for Sainsbury’s customers, colleagues, suppliers and shareholders.
“We all appreciate the opportunity in front of us and, with our valued ecosystem partners, match Sainsbury’s ambition to set a gold standard across the retail industry to drive growth and provide an exceptional customer experience.”
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