Asda security chief replaced, retailer sheds jobs during Walmart tech divorce The head of tech security at Asda, the UK's third-largest food retailer, has left amid an ongoing tech divorce from US grocery giant Walmart. The Register has learned that chief information security officer Simon Langley is exiting his role at the UK's third largest supermarket chain. We have asked Langley to comment but had …
Do you think they undertook an assessment as to whether they'd require computers to process the information, or whether they could just use pen, paper and calculator?
Or would that require a PhD in Computer Science on top of the MBA?
It's not "just some software".
Firstly it's possible they're using Walmart's DCs in the US - so will require a whole bunch of hardware as well.
But the IT system for a supermarket is quite complex. You've got stock control for shops and warehouses. Logistics to get stuff between them. All the point of sale stuff. Online shopping, and all the logisitcs stuff for that. Plus your buying system. Finally accounts and HR.
ASDA have tens of thousands of product lines and a large and complex supply chain to manage.
"But the IT system for a supermarket is quite complex."
If you want to construct one single behemoth of a software package, sure. I'd approach it in a more modular way with defined data formats so one system can communicate with others in the group. It can also be helpful so if somebody at a store clicks a malware link, it doesn't propagate straight into warehouse inventory or automatic purchasing.
My accounting software doesn't do everything. It will save export templates so I can export data in .csv format that I can drop into a spreadsheet to analyze something. To put all of that under one application would make the accounting software more expensive. If I had a company with multiple locations and various functions at these locations, sending primitive data is a filter and that data can be assembled for analysis automatically so each "store" module is operating most of the time in a standalone mode. Is there a valid reason to need store data in real time? Does the store software have to be fully integrated into the entire corporate network at all times?
"The Register understands that restrictions have been placed on IT contractors' security and parking arrangements. They must be met by an Asda manager as they arrive, must be accompanied by an Asda colleague at all times, and ANPR access for parking has been revoked. Arrangements for contractors and third parties will require SVP, CFO, or CPO approval."
I'm sure that's a great use of everyones time and effort
Sounds like their source for this story is a contractor. Good luck to you, whoever you are. Change is unsettling.
But I don’t hear anything in this story that is unusual after a large firm switches hands - a friend works for a similar organisation, I know the IT needs are pretty spectacular.
"Arrangements for contractors and third parties will require SVP, CFO, or CPO approval.""
Many companies require that contractors check-in when they visit a site and it's determined whether they have permission or not. To require senior management to approve those visits might be extreme if it's a general rule. I can think of much better ways to manage contractor visits. Parking?!, that's a strange one and so is using ANPR unless the car park is being used by neighboring businesses or the random public without permission. It's not a good idea to make it time consuming for contractors to access a site. There are plenty of trucking companies in the US that won't deliver to some large companies due to long lines and convoluted check-in processes that eat up too much time. Those large companies will often asses a penalty for late deliveries and it's a right mess to untangle when the truck arrived on-time but was made to wait and that put them over the limit.
If contractors must be escorted at all times, what has the grocery business come to?
My contact inside ASDA tells me that brother number two has also fucked off. Possibly after falling out with each other first.
The story is they can't hire a CEO for all the money in the dump truck that turns up to their front lawn. Whether that's because the board is a nest of snakes or the finances are so terrible that nobody will touch it, I'm not sure. Could be both?
The problem is that there's not a huge amount of profits in supermarkets, and competition is quite fierce. Especially at the bottom end where ASDA are. M&S and Waitrose can make premium money - but only within limits. I don't know if ASDA own or rent their sites - but the future may hold a threat of going into administration to force landlords and debt holders to take a haircut. Or actually going into administration if they refuse to see sense - at which point the haircuts will be even bigger. So the next CEO probably ought to be a really good poker player.
"The story is they can't hire a CEO for all the money in the dump truck that turns up to their front lawn."
It doesn't look good to be the one holding the hot potato when the big one comes. You'd be better off managing a much smaller company that's doing fine than to take on a big one with all sorts of problems that no amount of management can keep from spiraling down the drain.
I see a lot of chain stores that will buy land, build the store and then sell it with a long term lease-back contract. It's playing silly buggers with the Balance Sheet and taxes. It's not a spectacular investment, but it's not completely horrible either. The company will have written the lease agreement to their benefit and it will be non-negotiable, so there's risk if things don't go well. About the time when you might want to get your money out to invest elsewhere is also going to be the time when it will be unlikely you'll get any interest.
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