When you promise customers the best quality goods at outstanding prices, you need to be able to deliver. From the point where goods are purchased through to moving and storing them and finally getting them into the stores, Supply Chain works across the business making sure the right products get to the right place at the right time. It’s a highly complex area. Which is why we continue to invest heavily in the network and are always looking for improvement.

Because of the way the business models work, the teams focus on different aspects of the process. In Homebase, the central team concentrates on the physical operation of the Distribution Centres. At Argos a team as well as the manager of the DC network is working on the functionality of the supply chain itself, like how we track products and what technology we use to get them where they’re wanted and when.

For example, we have introduced out-of-hours delivery and other in-store processes to ensure stock is available quicker. We have also implemented a range of enhanced IT systems that do everything from track shipments to forecast demand to improve communication with suppliers. It all adds up to a better service for the customer.

We’re extremely proud of what we’ve achieved but, moving forward, we know we can do more and better. We’re always working on significant and far reaching changes. This is always an exciting area in which to work because nothing stands still. In fact, the decisions our Supply Chain teams make, based on the needs of the business, directly shape our future.

Recognition of the success of our Commercial, Supply Chain and IS teams can be seen in our remarkable successes in the 2005 Rising Star Awards – Argos won ‘Buyer and Merchandiser of the Year’ and ‘Marketing Professional of the Year’, highly commended for ‘Supply Chain’ and ‘IT Department Star of the Year’.