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Sainsbury’s out-paces British weather with multi-million pound technology investment

Sainsbury

31 May 2010


Throughout the year, supermarkets are faced with the annual problem of trying to second-guess the British weather. If sun is expected over a weekend, but rain arrives instead, perishable foods such as salads, remain on shelves and can go uneaten.
However, Sainsbury's is today announcing a multi-million pound technology investment that will minimise the problems associated with the unpredictable nature of British weather. The ground-breaking ‘real time supply chain technology' will reduce the amount of un-bought food by 15 per cent during periods of unexpected weather (of which there were six last year), resulting in an annual CO2 reduction of over 1400 tonnes.
The system, which will monitor the food coming off supermarket shelves on a minute by minute basis, allows the company to know exactly which food to send to individual stores each day.
Tim Goalen, Sainsbury's supply chain director, said: "This new system allows us to react to any changes in buying pattern on the same day rather than overnight, meaning we can make far better decisions on where to send stock before it leaves our depots.
"Several times a year, shelves might be full of barbecue food for the weekend, only for unexpected rain to cause everyone to clamour for warm, hearty food instead. This new way of working will greatly reduce the risk of this.
"It's not just the weather either. We will now know exactly what is selling well at any given moment so we can react more quickly than any of our competitors, and provide our customers with what they want on any given day."
The new industry-leading system is unique and has been tailored specifically to meet Sainsbury's requirements.
This is the latest way in which Sainsbury's has sought to minimise the environmental impact of its food waste. The supermarket was the first company to send food waste for anaerobic digestion (a process through which food waste is converted into electricity and fertiliser), and it now sends no food waste from supermarkets to landfill at all.
Enquiries
For further information please contact Darragh Ooi on 0207 695 4651. Find out the latest from the Sainsbury's corporate site or follow J Sainsbury plc on Twitter.
Notes to editors:
Sainsbury's five Corporate Responsibility values are: "Best for Food & Health", "Sourcing with Integrity", "Respect for Our Environment", "Making a Positive Difference to Our Community" and "A Great Place to Work"
"Respect for Our Environment" focuses on a number of key workstream areas: Energy, Water, Waste, Transport, Product sustainability, Supplier Resources, Customer Recycling, Green Products & Services and Community Hubs.
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