It is a pleasure here at Computer Weekly to profile the
IT departments that have made it on to our shortlist of the Best
Places to Work in IT 2003. Through feedback from IT managers and
their staff, our aim is to celebrate the best employers of IT
professionals and highlight employment best practice for other IT
departments to follow. This week we profile the high achievers in
the retailing sector.
Retailing sponsor
Progressive Computer Recruitment specialises in providing
permanent and contract IT staff across the UK and Europe. After a
decade of success, we continue to strive for a high quality of
service for all our clients.
www.progressive.co.uk
Asda
Number of IT staff: 136
Annual staff turnover: 1.5%
IT training budget per head: £5,000
Amount of new development work: 75%
Annual holiday: 24 days
As part of the Wal-Mart family, Asda is in a great position when
it comes to exploiting new technologies. The company is a leader in
adopting RFID technology in stores for inventory management using
handheld terminals backed up by world-class supply chain and
logistics systems. It was also among the first retailers to adopt
chip and Pin in its stores, a rapid implementation made possible by
the close partnership between Wal-Mart and IBM.
Asda is also ahead of the curve when it comes to wireless
communications. Many of the stores use the latest Blackberry
devices and Bluetooth technology, enabling managers to connect with
head office whatever their location.
It has also developed sophisticated supply-chain and
business-intelligence systems. Asda's Retail Link is a system that
enables the company's associates to analyse worldwide sales,
shopping patterns and trends and to conduct online auctions. It
gives Asda suppliers up-to-the-minute information about how and
where their product is selling, which in turn enables them to
optimise replenishment.
According to one IT employee, the majority of Asda 's
applications are developed in-house, either written from scratch or
by customising source code of off-the-shelf packages. "This
flexibility enables us to react as quickly as possible to the
demands of the UK retail environment," he said.
"Working in the IT department at Asda means that you play a key
role in either driving sales or lowering costs. We pride ourselves
on our ability to think as our customers think. We simply don't do
IT for IT's sake, but deliver tangible benefits throughout our
business."
The management has also brought in some innovative work
practices for IT staff. One team member told us, " Work/life
balance is key. A simple example is the joker card which allows you
to leave work a couple of hours early one day each week."
Avon Cosmetics
Number of IT staff: 96
Annual staff turnover: 2%
IT training budget per head: £1,200
Amount of new development work: 60%
Annual holiday: 24-28 days
The UK arm of Avon first opened in 1959 and today sales in the
UK exceed £250m. Over 160,000 independent sales representatives
sell Avon products direct to customers and now nearly a third of
women in the UK shop with Avon.
The company employs around 2,000 people in the UK. Avon's head
office is in Northampton and its distribution and customer service
centre is situated at Corby, where more than 10,000 orders are
processed daily.
Kevan Moorcroft, vice-president of regional IT at Avon UK, said
the IT group is recognised as an integral part of the overall
business. He said, "IT staff have regular contact with users. They
are all actively encouraged to participate in different business,
operational and strategic projects even if no real IT involvement
is necessary."
Moorcroft says that he is proud of the IT department's low staff
turnover rate and the length of service of some of his team. In
some cases, individuals have worked in IT at Avon for between 20
and 30 years.
Moorcroft says there is a range of perks for IT workers. "The
flexible working patterns and benefits package are extremely
supportive of the company values and deliver the right work/life
balance," he said.
IT staff can also profit from a pay scheme related to company
performance plus individual and team objectives. A number of
company-wide recognition schemes offer financial rewards for
outstanding projects and individual efforts. "We have received
numerous awards over the last few years, including ones for supply
chain and web initiatives," he said.
Other elements of the job package include a career-mapping
process, the opportunity to transfer or take a secondment to other
areas of the business or another country locations, extensive
overseas travel in some roles and company social events (partners
welcome).
Sainsbury's
Number of IT staff: 30
Annual staff turnover: 3.3%
IT training budget per head: £2,000
Amount of new development work: 80%
Annual holiday: 27 days
According to one IT employee, Sainbury's IT has been transformed
in the past two years through a comprehensive outsourcing
partnership with Accenture.
He said, "We are replacing almost every system, achieving
best-of-breed, single-standard and optimum operational
support-model solutions. So far, we have replaced over 500 stores'
systems (both point-of-sale and back-office) and have implemented
Oracle for Finance and HR.
"We have also replaced our intranet, installed product and range
management systems for trading and installed multiple new supply
chains."
In addition he said his team have implemented an enterprise data
warehouse and financial solutions for JS Bank and e-commerce for
Sainsbury's to You, its online shop. With an emphasis on
innovation, the IT department has been central to facilitating the
adoption of new technologies.
In store it has trialled and adopted
self-scanning/self-checkout, mobile stocktaking solutions, picking
solutions for customer home-shopping, and various customer
information systems. In depots, the team has installed automation
software for warehouse control, wireless handheld stock control
systems, vehicle scheduling, and yard management.
Maggie Miller, IT manager, said the chance to work with new and
exciting technologies has resulted in a massive boost to the morale
of the IT team. "We are one of the only companies worldwide that is
spending more on IT than ever before. We are committed to replace
every IT system in Sainbury's over a three to four year period. The
challenges are motivating for those with a passion for IT," she
said.
"Our outsourcing deal is ground-breaking and it's energising
making it work. We are Accenture's biggest client in this type of
outsourcing and being a constant source of reference is a source of
pride to us all."