Case Study: The Co-operative Group achieves higher on-shelf availability and 10% productivity gains with Manhattan Associates Warehouse Management

The Co-operative keeps shelves full with Manhattan Associates

The Co-operative Group, the UK’s largest mutual retailer with 4.5 million members, £14 billion turnover and over 3,000 stores, faced a fragmented food distribution network: separate ambient, chilled and frozen systems created overlapping delivery zones, inefficient routes, insufficient warehouse space and poor on-shelf availability—especially in the South East.

To fix this the Group built a new National Distribution Centre in Coventry, selected Manhattan Associates’ Warehouse Management solution (integrated with Vocollect voice technology) and piloted the approach at Thurrock before rolling it out to other DCs. The changes delivered dramatic on-shelf availability improvements (the South East moved from worst to best), 10% productivity gains at live sites, reduced shipping errors, improved picking accuracy and a payback within the projected three years.

The Co-operative Group

Trevor Ashworth

Director of Food Retail Supply Chain