The Co-operative Does the Double at Retail Week Supply Chain Awards

    MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, September 21, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Co-operative Group has won the prestigious Supply Chain Project of the Year and the Grand Prix accolade at the first ever Retail Week Supply Chain Awards.

The Group won the Supply Chain Project of the Year Award, the biggest of the night, for the integration of Somerfield's supply chain and the transformation of Lea Green distribution centre in St Helens. This award was shared with technology partner Manhattan Associates whose supply chain optimisation solutions played a key enabling role in the project.

However, the real success story of the night was the Group walking away with Grand Prix Award. This special award, which is not open to general entry but is conferred by the event's organisers, was awarded by the judges who felt the Group had achieved a significant amount of change to the organisation, while also delivering a massive benefit to the enlarged Food shops business.

The Co-operative's Supply Chain and Information Systems teams worked together to deliver the integration of the two organisations' supply chains, which included a number of tactical solutions, such as including more fairtrade food and transport optimisation that has resulted in the significant reduction in transportation costs and has also removed more than 5,800 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

Mark Hale, the Group's Director of Food Retail Information Systems, said: "These awards are recognition of all the fantastic people we have in our business and the hard work they put in to transform our supply chain for the benefit of our stores and customers."

More than 400 of the UK's top retailers attended the inaugural industry event held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, which was hosted by comedian Russell Kane.

Trevor Ashworth, the Group's Director of Food Retail Supply Chain, added: "This is a great collective achievement for both the Group and our partners within our supply chain. We've delivered a fantastic result, which was a major milestone in our integration plan for the Somerfield business, which also delivered huge business benefits."

The Co-operative worked closely with a number of key partners, including Manhattan Associates, BT, Zetes and IBM, to successfully deliver the integration programme without impacting availability in its stores.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Co-operative Group is the UK's largest mutual business, owned not by private shareholders but by almost six million consumers. It is the UK's fifth biggest food retailer, the leading convenience store operator and a major financial services provider, operating The Co-operative Bank, Britannia and The Co-operative Insurance. Among its other businesses are the number one funeral services provider and Britain's largest farming operation. As well as having clear financial and operational objectives, the Group has also set out its social and sustainability goals in its groundbreaking Ethical Plan, which specifies almost 50 commitments in these areas.

The Group operates over 5,000 retail trading outlets, employs more than 110,000 people and has an annual turnover of GBP13.7bn. Further information is available at www.co-operative.coop.

Contact Information:

Kieran Howlett
Senior Public Relations Officer
The Co-operative Group
Tel: 0161 266 3592
Mob: 07739 657 585
[email protected]

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