Suppliers have complained that Asda’s new Asda Data & Reporting (ADR) system — part of the near-£1bn Project Future separation from Walmart — is delivering delayed and incomplete data, disrupting forecasting and stock control. The supermarket group has begun formal talks and is offering training as it seeks to stabilise the platform amid wider financial and contractual pressures.
Supermarket group Asda has begun formal talks with food and drink suppliers after widespread complaints about its new supplier portal, part of the wider Project Future IT separation from former owner Walmart.
Suppliers say the replacement Asda Data & Reporting (ADR) system — which has taken over from Walmart’s long‑standing Retail Link platform for forecasting, sales data and stock control — is delivering incomplete and delayed information, disrupting forecasting and stock management. “ADR is so bad I don’t know where to start with it,” former Asda buyer Mervyn Jones wrote on LinkedIn, where he identified himself as running a consultancy that supports businesses in adopting new retail systems. He added that guidance from different parts of the business has been inconsistent, with some contacts told to move completely to ADR while others were advised to continue using Retail Link for forecasting.
Speaking to The Grocer, a separate industry source described the timing of the cutover as problematic. “Moving to a new system at the same time as Asda is going through other major changes as a business was always a recipe for complexity,” the source said, adding that suppliers were seeing information that used to arrive at the start of the day arrive much later.
Asda accepts the migration is disruptive but says it is working with suppliers. A company source told Retail Gazette the retailer was engaging with a group of suppliers as it transitions from Retail Link to the new portal, had anticipated “a period of adjustment” and was providing training and guidance materials while inviting further input to improve the platform’s user experience. Asda has been approached for further comment.
Project Future: the bigger picture
The supplier problems sit inside a much larger technology separation and modernisation programme. According to Asda’s corporate materials, Project Future involves the separation of more than 2,500 systems previously integrated with Walmart, and the migration of functions across finance, checkouts, HR, CRM, depots and the George clothing platform. The retailer presents the work as essential to improving data capabilities and the customer experience once the new estate is fully implemented.
Industry reporting says the near‑£1bn overhaul has been delayed. Grocery Gazette reported Asda is close to completing the long‑delayed IT upgrade, around six months later than originally planned, with the final stores due to switch imminently. The project has already been implicated in prior operational mishaps: reports recall a March 2023 payroll error and other technical problems that affected staff pay and customer orders. The programme has also led to the end of many contracted roles tied to delivery of the workstreams as elements conclude.
Financial and contractual pressures
The migration carries a heavy financial backdrop. The Guardian reported that Asda’s owner, Bellis Finco, posted a near £600m pre‑tax loss for the year to 31 December 2024, with analysts linking some of the strain to heavy debt, falling like‑for‑like food sales and substantial charges related to store impairments and the IT programme; by December 2024 Project Future costs had reached around £889m, the report said. Separate coverage has also warned of contractual risk: DatacenterDynamics has summarised industry concerns that Asda could face multi‑million or even multibillion‑pound penalties if it failed to meet contractual deadlines to disentangle systems from Walmart — though negotiations over timescales and support have, according to those accounts, so far appeared to have averted immediate fines.
Practical advice and next steps for suppliers
Third‑party technology providers and consultants are already adapting. SKUTrak’s guidance notes that suppliers were given access to ADR on 1 July 2025 and encourages suppliers to attend Asda’s bi‑weekly Future Supplier Calls while SKUTrak develops an ADR connector. SKUTrak’s advice also warns that Retail Link reporting is expected to degrade through 2025 as conversions continue, and that some discrepancies from converted stores will require temporary reporting workarounds.
For suppliers the immediate priorities are pragmatic: attend Asda’s supplier calls, use the training materials the retailer says it is supplying, and plan for temporary reporting adjustments where ADR and legacy Retail Link data differ. Several suppliers told trade press they remain reliant on timely daily data for stock movement, waste management and replenishment decisions — and that the current lag is creating real operational strain.
Where accountability lies
Asda frames the project as a necessary, if difficult, technological reset. Industry voices contend the complexity of a wholesale migration while finishing a corporate separation from Walmart was always likely to produce friction. Suppliers and software partners point to mixed messaging and the need for clearer cut‑over plans and better frontline training.
As the retailer approaches what it and industry reporting call the finishing line for Project Future, the immediate test will be whether ADR stabilises fast enough to restore suppliers’ confidence — and whether the broader financial and contractual pressures that accompany the programme constrain Asda’s ability to respond quickly.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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