Ocado selects Oracle ERP Cloud to support expansion plans

The online grocery firm, now the UK's biggest retailer, will use Oracle Cloud ERP to improve adaptability and scale its business

Ocado Group has announced it is using Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Cloud to help support its expansion into new industry verticals and international markets.

Oracle says its Cloud ERP system will let Ocado to adapt to changing customer demands by taking advantage of a flexible and scalable platform. It will also help Ocado to capitalise on new growth opportunities by enhancing its business processes.

Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP is an end-to-end Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) suite that helps companies to manage their enterprise functions, including financial management, project management, accounting, and procurement. The suite runs on an Oracle technology stack in Oracle's cloud centres and can be accessed through public or private cloud implementation.

Computing Delta's ERP Report, which is based on end-user research, shows that Oracle's Cloud ERP is the third-most popular ERP solution for UK IT leaders, behind SAP and Microsoft.

Ocado describes itself as "the world's largest dedicated online grocery retailer". In contrast to its rivals, the company has no chains of stores and does all home deliveries from its warehouses. Recently it has started selling its technology and know-how to supermarket groups across the world, to enable them to break into online grocery sales.

According to Oracle, Ocado had been seeking to optimise its core business processes for some time, in an effort to scale its operations and enable customers to meet rapidly changing demands.

"As we help our clients, some of the world's most forward-thinking retailers, rethink their online strategy, we also need to consider how we can use better solutions within our own business to adapt to the changing economic environment and support our future growth," said Duncan Tatton-Brown, Ocado Group CFO.

"Oracle Cloud ERP gives us a secure and scalable cloud-based solution that can support our business as it transforms and rapidly grows and will enable our finance team to increase productivity and improve controls," he added.

Ocado Group, which controls nearly 27 per cent of the UK grocery market, surpassed Tesco this week to become Britain's most valuable retailer. The achievement came after Ocado's stock market value increased to £22 billion, outdoing Tesco, which is worth about £21 billion.

Oracle also announced yesterday that it was bringing key updates to its Oracle Fusion ERP and Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management (EPM). The company said that the new features in Fusion ERP and EPM will help finance teams to leverage "touchless operations, predictive planning, and digital assistants to pivot towards growth".

"2020 has been one of the most challenging years to run a business, putting added pressure on finance teams to balance short-term challenges with longer-term strategic initiatives," said Rondy Ng, SVP of applications development at Oracle.

"Our newest innovations help finance teams rapidly adapt to the current economic climate, drive new business models, and improve strategic decision making; all designed to help our customers define their future," he added.

Delta's report into the UK ERP market, including an analysis of all major vendors, general and future trends, is available now.