Empty shelves at Waitrose after ERP issues

Monday 14th November, 2022

The Sunday Times reported that Waitrose’s new ERP system had been beset by technical issues, which led to the wrong quantities of items being recorded in store.

The newspaper said this had led to unexpected shortages of products such as cheese, coffee and baked beans.

In a post on Twitter, Waitrose said: “We’re not complacent and as always we’re working hard to give our customers the best Christmas.”

Referring to data up to 24th October, the supermarket said its product availability had been higher than at Tesco and Morrisons and that in other weeks it had been “first or second”.

“Independent data shows our product availability is ahead of many rivals and the system improvements we’re making will lead to even better service for our customers,” Waitrose executive director, James Bailey said.

According to independent research Waitrose was lagging behind its rivals including, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Aldi.

 The supermarket saw sales fall 1.9 per cent to £1.4billion in the three months to 30th October, according to market research group Kantar.