New software keeps Morrisons shelves stacked

Supermarket Morrisons has reduced shelf gaps by 30% with new replenishment software

The retailer is using Blue Yonder technology to optimise replenishment and automate ordering of 26,000 ambient and long-life product SKUs in all its 491 stores.
The Blue Yonder Replenishment Optimisation technology automatically analyses sales data and other data sources from Morrisons and combines this with external data such as weather forecasts and public holidays. Through the automated analysis of data, the system can predict the level of demand down to the individual product and store location. The software then fully automates ordering per store and per product.
Satisfaction
Employees no longer need to spend time manually ordering goods, which frees up their time for other tasks such as attending to customers and, with improved in-store availability, customer satisfaction improves.
The system was launched in Morrisons during 2016 and now covers all 491 stores, automating over 13 million ordering decisions per day.
In Morrisons’ preliminary results announcement 2016/17, CEO David Potts said: “Our biggest new initiative has been our new automated ordering system. The system is capital light, utilising cloud technology and store-specific historic sales data to forecast stock requirements. It is reducing costs and stock levels, while also saving time for colleagues, and providing a better offer for customers.”