Case Study: John Lewis Partnership achieves supplier cost savings and faster payments with Oracle iSupplier Portal

John Lewis Partnership Helps 9,000 Suppliers Cut Cost of Trading with Free, Self-Service Portal for Managing Accounts and Tracking Invoices and Payments

John Lewis Partnership, a major UK retailer operating John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets with 93,800 employees, needed to reduce the cost and complexity for its 9,000 suppliers. The Partnership aimed to streamline invoicing, account management, and payment tracking without imposing fees on suppliers, prevent late-payment cash-flow problems caused by processing delays or lost invoices, improve supplier support, and cut paper and postage to meet sustainability goals.

The company implemented Oracle iSupplier Portal as a free, self-service portal for e-invoicing and account management, giving suppliers 24/7 visibility into purchase orders, invoices, and payments. Within 12 months 9,000 suppliers signed up (reaching a volume of one invoice processed every 15 seconds), 92% of GNFR vendors and all GFR suppliers adopted the portal, overdue payments fell, mailing costs and admin were reduced, and supplier service and accounts-payable productivity improved—while eliminating supplier fees and lowering the Partnership’s paper use.

John Lewis Partnership

Chris Darlington

Project Lead