Asda is holding talks with food and drink companies to try to fix a raft of problems with its new supplier portal, amid claims the switchover to its new IT system is causing chaos.
The Grocer can reveal the supermarket is speaking to groups of suppliers to try to tackle an avalanche of complaints over the new system, with one supplier involved in the talks describing the situation as “an utter mess”.
It comes as the supermarket giant is in the process of trying to complete its £1bn Project Future IT separation from Walmart, billed by the company as the biggest systems installation project in Europe.
Project Future’s issues
Since Project Future began, following the Issa brothers’ takeover in 2012, it has suffered a rollercoaster of delays and setbacks. Asda avoided a multimillion-pound fine from its former parent company earlier this year after Walmart agreed to extend the February 2025 deadline for the project.
However, The Grocer has learnt there have been major problems reported with Asda’s transition to its new ADR system, used by suppliers for forecasting, sales data and stock control issues, which has been brought in to replace Walmart’s former Retail Link system.
Former Asda buyer Mervyn Jones, who runs a consultancy supporting companies on how to use new systems, said the transition from a system buyers knew “inside out” to Asda’s new system was beset with problems.
“ADR is so bad I don’t know where to start with it,” Jones said on LinkedIn.
“I have a number of contacts within Asda. Some of them are telling me not to use Retail Link anymore and to move completely across to ADR. ADR, however, says to use Retail Link for historical data.
“Other contacts in Asda say to continue using Retail Link for forecasting and that ADR’s data is incomplete. It’s a mess. A complete and utter mess and the training Asda is offering online is not up to scratch,” he continued.
“Moving to a new system at the same time as Asda is going through other major changes as a business was always a recipe for complexity,” another source told The Grocer. “Suppliers rely on these systems for key information on stock movements, waste and stock control and historically Asda’s system has been top of the tree.
“That’s not the case anymore and suppliers are not getting the same speed of information. Data on products they use to get at the start fo the day is now coming much later.
“To Asda’s credit, they are being transparent about these problems and talking to suppliers to try to tackle these issues, but at the moment it is causing a lot of issues.”
However, another source was less complimentary, adding: “Everything takes five times as long and nobody can say when these apps will be made available.
“Whoever came up with and signed off on the new price and sell app where we have to stand and rip up hundreds of labels by hand needs to explain how on earth they thought it was a good idea. Shocking. The new system has put us back years.”
A company source told The Grocer Asda was engaging with a group of suppliers as they transition from Retail Link to their new supplier portal.
The source stressed that Asda expected a “period of adjustment” and was actively working with suppliers to ensure they were supported throughout this period.
They said training and guidance materials were available to help suppliers get up to speed and Asda would welcome further input on the new platform to help improve the user experience.
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