By Alastair Breward, 27 August 1998 00:15
NEWS Safeway has invested £300,000 in online, up-to-the-minute weather information from the UK Met Office. The three-year contract gives Safeway strategists direct access to the Met's supercomputer, feeding the information into Safeway's Supplier Information System. According to Jim Drummond, Safeway's director of supply chain operations, climate information is invaluable for food retailers. Grocery stock forecasters use weather to predict demand for everything from salad to charcoal to cat litter. The information is also used in employee and delivery scheduling and building projects. Drummond explained that the new system is a big technological step forward: "We were in a position where we were taking faxes from the Met which were then being typed up. Now we'll get graphical information." Safeway believes it is the first UK food retailer to have signed up for this information service. The graphical, 10-day forecasts are expected to be up and running within three months.
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