Supermarket partners with Publicis Sapient to accelerate its move away from Walmart systems

Asda has announced a new partnership that it says will lead to a transformation of its online grocery business.

The retailer has partnered with digital business transformation company Publicis Sapient in a move aimed at transferring its online grocery operation onto its own state-of-the-art platform from previous owner Walmart’s managed systems.

In what Asda described as a “hugely ambitious programme” that will bring it further on its journey of independence from Walmart, Publicis Sapient will take on the overall transformation of Asda’s ecommerce capability, delivering a new digital platform before April 2024.

Asda explained it has engaged Publicis Sapient to lead the project, integrating the company’s core SPEED capabilities - strategy, product, experience, engineering and data and AI - for an end-to-end transformation that will enable it to move off Walmart systems, while building “a best-in-class, agile operating model that will create exponential value in terms of customer experience.”

Publicis Sapient has already built and implemented Asda’s new email marketing tool using Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Julian Skelly, senior managing partner at Publicis Sapient, said: “We are proud to be working with Asda, a beloved British brand, on transforming its online grocery platforms and helping the retailer build an agile organisation for digital success. The work is singularly focused on enabling Asda to be independent of Walmart and enabling the retailer to evolve and grow, focusing on exceptional usability and customer experience.”

Carl Dawson, vice president - chief digital and technology officer at Asda, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Publicis Sapient, a leading digital business transformation company with a strong track record in e-commerce platforms. We look forward to a successful partnership and to the delivery of a platform that will enable a seamless transition for our customers, moving from a legacy system run by Walmart to an entirely independent Asda-owned platform.”

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