Tesco's new non-food website, Tesco Direct, is using a
web content management system from software supplier Interwoven as
its single source of product data.
Interwoven's Team Site application is being used by Tesco for
master data management, which the retailer needs to ensure it keeps
just one source of product data across its channels, both for the
sake of efficiency and to ensure that customers can buy the same
goods online or in-store.
The master data management challenge is particularly acute for
Tesco, as it is extending its range of websites and rapidly
increasing its number of online orders. Its websites are currently
generating about 220,000 orders a week.
The retailer's IT manager, Franco Bruno, said, "Until recently
we had too many internal staff members contributing content. To
overcome the problems this could lead to, we have started to use
workflows so that only key staff members can approve final product
content."
With the content management system in place, only 75 users are
now able to generate new content for final approval. Tesco has also
ensured that it has only one set of product images by sourcing all
of them from product data company Brandbank.
Bruno said the content management system was crucial to managing
product information arriving from Tesco's many suppliers. He said
workflow wizards in the Team Site application were particularly
crucial to enabling Tesco to more easily control and manage the
creation of consistent product content.
By using a packaged system to control product data, Tesco has
also been able to roll out its family of websites to international
markets, such as Ireland and South Korea.
Tesco Direct launched in September and sells more than 8,000
products online, ranging from beds and sofas to kitchenware,
electronics and bicycles.
It forms part of the retailer's push to try to overtake Argos as
the UK's largest general retailer.
➔ www.tescocorporate.com