Tesco Expands Sourcing Operations With Supplier Management Solution

LONDON - Tesco Plc this week has expanded the deployment of its global sourcing solution to include a range of non-food categories including clothing, consumer electronics, and household goods.

The retailer is working with Eqos Ltd., a Leatherhead, UK provider of on-demand PLM, global sourcing, and supplier management solutions for the retail supply chain, to build a standard operating model for sourcing across its entire operation.

"We completed the rollout of Eqos sourcing for the UK based hardlines business and are now progressing with the apparel categories and other geographies," said Harm van Weezel, Tesco's commercial IT director. "Eqos is facilitating the on-boarding of new suppliers and improving collaboration among our sourcing offices and their suppliers; as a result, we have implemented better business practices and reduced the administrative load of managing our supplier community. In the end, we are better able to respond to customers and to the evolving demands of our rapidly growing network of retail operations and stores."

Eqos sourcing provides Tesco with full business process support for private label and branded merchandise from product design, through supplier negotiations, to contract. By providing critical path management and a single data repository, the solution was developed to enable standardized processes across all Tesco sourcing hubs, comprised of 11 international offices spanning 14 countries across the globe. The vendor's U.S. headquarters is based in Burlington, Mass.

Additionally, Tesco successfully rolled out the Eqos auditing and compliance module to maintain product safety and ethical sourcing practices. "As Tesco continues its growth strategy, the focus remains on delivering quality products that our customers value," said Colin Hill, Tesco international sourcing operations director. "The Eqos solution enables us to schedule factory audits, streamline our reporting processes and manage our corrective action program. By using these systems we aim to reduce the costs associated with poor quality goods and should in the future be able to better meet the social responsibility goals that are such an important component of Tesco's overall corporate mission."

Tesco operates more than 3,400 stores across the globe, and employs more than 450,000 associates.
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