Waitrose expands Trust Retail’s inventory system to boost stock accuracy and speed up decisions

Waitrose is preparing to widen the use of Trust Retail’s inventory management system across its store estate after signing a new five-year agreement that will give staff a more immediate view of stock levels.

The technology was first tested in a single branch in March and later extended to seven more stores. According to The Grocer, the full rollout will start later this month, with about 125 stores expected to be using the system by Christmas and the remaining branches due t...

The software replaces older processes that depended on batch updates, allowing customer transactions to be reflected straight away across inventory and accounting systems. That, in turn, is intended to give teams a more accurate picture of stock during the trading day and improve decisions on replenishment, stock control and markdowns.

Using handheld devices, store partners will be able to check current inventory information as they work, rather than relying on delayed data. Waitrose says this should support faster, better-informed action on the shop floor and help sharpen day-to-day availability.

Stuart Gibbon, product lead for stock and end-to-end programme at Waitrose & Partners, said accurate and timely stock information was central to how partners managed products in stores and to the service customers received. He added that the wider rollout would give teams greater visibility of stock and help them make quicker decisions across the trading day.

The move forms part of a broader pattern of digital investment at Waitrose. SOLUM recently said the retailer had passed the 200-store mark in its rollout of electronic shelf labels, highlighting how the supermarket is continuing to automate parts of store operations while trying to free up staff time for customer-facing work.

Waitrose’s supply chain has also remained under pressure to improve efficiency. GXO Logistics said it had extended its agreement with the retailer for multi-service regional and national distribution, covering more than 130 million cases of chilled and fresh products a year, underscoring the scale of the operation behind the shop floor changes.

Source: Noah Wire Services