Argos corporate news
Argos wins Retail Week Award for Supply Chain Transformation
17 March 2008
Argos, part of Home Retail Group, last week won the Retail Week Retail Technology Initiative of the Year Award for its supply chain transformation project RACO.
Argos’ supply chain transformation project was hailed by the judges as unrivalled in scale of ambition and successful management of risk. The judging panel felt that few other retailers have so successfully employed technology to create a unique market position and successfully compete against the grocers’ offensive into general merchandise.
They described the project, which has been run in stages since 2001, as a great example of a retailer pre-empting the need to revolutionise its systems and infrastructure in order to meet the needs of a changing trading environment and ensure continued success in the non-food retail sector.
Argos has a strong track record of growth, with over 700 stores throughout the UK and Ireland. In 2001, the Argos board recognised that, in order to meet ambitious future growth strategies for stores, product range and the Company’s market-leading multi-channel offer, the business needed to make a step change in its supply chain processes and systems. Because of the complexity of the Argos business model, it became obvious that a more innovative approach than usual would be required, and the business selected Oracle and Accenture as business partners with whom to develop a totally new solution.
Daily stock management, due day deliveries and moving to a single merchandising system for stock data are just some of the improvements the project has enabled across the business to date, allowing quicker and more frequent generation of orders and stock replenishment. This in turn enables the business to provide even better levels of service while being more productive with its stock holding, which translates into more lines in store and an expanded choice in the Argos catalogue.
Argos MD Sara Weller said “We were delighted to win this award which recognises the hard work of all those involved in a project that is already delivering such big benefits to the business. One of the key success factors was the level of engagement in the project across the business, achieved through the creation of a dedicated change management team, board level sponsorship and effective communication and buy-in from suppliers and other external partners.”
The Retail Week Awards recognise the very best in UK retail performance. Since launching 12 years ago, the awards have grown to become the biggest and most prestigious event in the industry calendar. They attract the best-known names in the sector, and there is no greater accolade in the retail industry than to win one of the coveted trophies.
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