Morrisons redrafts relationship with suppliers

UK retailer Morrisons is redrafting its relationship with BWS and other grocery suppliers, promising to share more operational data in order to simplify its supplying model and help suppliers plan better.

The company said it will share more sales, forecasting, waste, stock and range information via its newly-enhanced supplier database, which will roll out this month following a successful pilot showing sales and supply chain performance data. This is intended to help Morrisons and its suppliers be more reactive by boosting availability, reducing waste, and improving promotional performance so that “the right product is at the right place, at the right time”, it said.

It is also  offering the chance to share data from its loyalty scheme, More Card, following requests from suppliers, who said it would assist planning and more customer-focused ranging.

It is also launching a new set of customer analytics supported by IRI, called Morrisons Edge that will provide buyers and suppliers with Morrisons basket data and shopper information, along with market information.

Other measures being introduced including planning promotions further in advance with suppliers, changing its internal structures to bring the supply chain and buying teams closer together, and boosting the capacity of its own-brand team to speed up npd.

Group commercial director Andy Atkinson, said the retailer had “big plans” for the year and aimed to grow profitably with its suppliers.

“We’ve said we want to be simpler to work with – and all of these improvements will help buyers to spend more time with suppliers to work on long term initiatives to unlock mutual growth,” he said.