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Manhattan’s WMS sold to Tesco.com

US supply chain consultants Manhattan Associates has provided its Warehouse Management Solution (WMS) to UK retailer Tesco’s Wine by the Case at its UK fulfilment centre at Brackmills, Northampton.

Customers ordering wine in case multiples for home delivery via the recently re-launched Tesco Wine website can now opt for next-day delivery as well as continue to book a two-hour delivery window ahead of time in the same way that the Tesco.com grocery shopping service operates. The new service has been enabled through integration of the Manhattan solution with the existing Tesco.com grocery home delivery applications.

As part of a strategic review of Tesco.com's distribution network for wine delivery, Tesco opted to bring the new service operation under the sole direction of the home shopping division through the transition of its 190,000 sq ft DC at Brackmills, replacing a previously shared service arrangement with the stores' distribution function.

As part of the transition, Tesco selected Manhattan Associates' WMS, which will be used to manage the flow of stock through the fulfilment centre, with inbound supply being sourced largely through integration with the stores distribution operations.

"Choosing Manhattan Associates for Tesco Wine was a straightforward decision following the success of the solution at Tesco Direct," commented Neil Ashworth, supply chain director of Tesco.com. "Our old in-house mainframe application simply couldn't deliver the service we want to offer our customers. Initial feedback from customers has been extremely positive."

The upgrade from an old in-house solution was carefully managed and completed without disruption to customers. The entire fulfilment centre team was trained before the solution went live and the proximity of the two warehouses meant that many Tesco Direct staff members, already familiar with the Manhattan Associates solution, were able to move between sites. This further eased the transition process, said Tesco.