All Waitrose supermarkets should be plugged into a new demand forecasting system by the end of the year, increasing its accuracy of forecasts by 10%, the retailer has revealed.
The system, installed by IT software supplier SAS, which has been rolled out to 41 stores so far, had already significantly reduced wastage, boosted forecast accuracy and improved availability, said branch ordering development manager Gail Richmond.
Speaking at a conference in London on availability and demand planning, hosted by grocery think-tank IGD, Richmond said the new system was good news for suppliers because it had increased Waitrose's percentage of accurate forecasts.
"Our old system was not good at promotional forecasting. On the one hand, our branches were sitting on stock and we were getting wastage.
"On the other hand, we were missing out on a big sales opportunity at the start of a promotion because we hadn't predicted the uplift accurately."