Exclusive Julian Hunt United Norwest Co-op has started the roll out of a sales based ordering system as part of a major investment in IT systems. Paul Griffiths, who heads the society's food division, said the initial focus for the perpetual inventory and ordering project would be ambient grocery products sold in its larger stores. "Extension into the convenience chain and other categories will take place later this year," he added. Griffiths explained that the society's food division was planning a £4m capital investment in IT systems in this financial year. He told The Grocer the society was in the final throes of choosing a warehouse management and replenishment and purchasing system for its ambient depot in Talke. "This state of the art system will go live later this year and will transform the way we manage this important link in the supply chain," he said. Other projects underway include improved links with suppliers, implementation of a labour scheduling system on trial in its Ramsbottom store, a waste and mark down management system and a front end tool to analyse product performance. Griffiths said the food division was making a step change in its implementation of IT systems: "We recognise that in quite a number of areas we are playing catch up and also realise this significant investment will enable the food business to do things better." The latest moves come after last year's implementation of electronic data capture and e-mail in all stores and the introduction of new EPoS systems in 200 stores. Griffiths said: "With the building blocks now firmly in place we are in a strong position to drive IT solutions into the business which will help us to deliver real commercial benefits and improve profitability still further." He also said the society as a whole was assessing a number of e-commerce pilots after introducing an online electrical goods offer on its new web site. {{NEWS }}

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