Morrisons has developed an app to allow its wholesale and franchise partners to top up in its supermarkets.
Retailers within the Morrisons supply network are able to scan the items they want using their smartphone cameras. Once they have completed their shop, they check out with a duty manager.
Rather than buying at the in-store prices, the wholesale customer is then invoiced on their existing agreed terms, and an electronic delivery note is instantly sent to their store EPoS systems and via email.
The move comes amid reports that Morrisons was considering a move into cash & carry for wholesale customers. However, The Grocer understands this is not the case and the new top-up solution is an extra tool for wholesale and franchise customers, who will continue to be serviced via the existing delivered model. The retailer’s wholesale arm currently stocks a range of over 9,000 products for delivery and supplies more than 1,600 stores across five countries.
Convenience and wholesale are key pillars of new CEO Rami Baitiéh’s strategy. Earlier this month Morrisons confirmed it had completed the conversion of over 1,000 of the McColl’s stores it bought in 2022 to the Morrisons Daily format. It currently has 1,600 Morrisons Daily stores, of which two-thirds are company-owned, and has set a target of reaching 2,000 next year.
It also has a growing number of independent retailers who have signed up to the Together with Morrisons jointly branded partnership model. These include Jempson’s, Guy Warner and Harj Dhasee.
Speaking at the Federation of Wholesale Distributors Live event in Manchester last week, Morrisons director of bulk and international markets Kaoutar Touihri said one of its main focuses was to expand the range of ethnic and world foods it offers in the wholesale channel.
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