M&S online ordering system operational 46 days after cyber shutdown

UK retailer Marks & Spencer has reinstated online orders for some customers, marking a major milestone in its recovery from a cyberattack in April. According to an update to its website on Tuesday, "select fashion ranges [are] now available to buy online" in England, Scotland, and Wales.  It's not a return to normal service …

[Youvegottobe Joking]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42629522

9 January 2018

Marks and Spencer has said it will outsource over half of its IT team. The move is part of the High Street chain's attempts to turn its fortunes around with a five-year cost-cutting plan, led by chief executive Steve Rowe who took the helm in 2016. Mr Rowe said the changes to its technology team would save £30m a year by 2021/22 and result in "a more customer-centric approach".

So, if this went how they alyways seem to go: the lowest outsource bidder got the contract, initially had A-Team people working the account but after a year or two they have been rotated out to the next big new customer. To backfill, TCS will hire a bunch of graduates who have no idea what they are doing and mimic what the A-Team told them to do before they legged it.

Most probably M&S will continue looking for "efficiencies" and will keep payrises to a minimum (encourages people to find work elsewhere - no redundancy payments yipee), also they will not replace UK based people who retire or move on and when the local workforce cannot keep up with the work, they implement a "the beatings will continue until productivity improves" with KPI's that are impossible to achieve.

Also, for management, the easiest saving of all is to not spend in the first place and so the hardware will be sweated until it costs way more to keep it going than to buy new gear.

The most important thing if you are in management, make damn sure you are promoted away from the cluster-fuck before it all goes tits-up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Rowe_(businessman) Stephen Joseph Rowe (born July 1967) is a British businessman and former CEO of Marks & Spencer from April 2016 to 2022.

[Efer Brick]

ah well, at least they saved £30m a year over the last (almost) 10 years

[Anonymous Coward]

With interest, that almost covers the cost provision against this … though not the customer goodwill.

[MachDiamond]

"The most important thing if you are in management, make damn sure you are promoted away from the cluster-fuck before it all goes tits-up."

That would be around the time their big stock option grant vests. The key is to pump the stock until that point so they can sell at the top of the market and be off of the org chart before the crash so it doesn't besmirch their resume. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

[Anonymous Coward]

Don’t forget the decade ago train wreck when they migrated off Amazon e-commerce. I’d be asking if any of the current structural issues were baked in then.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jul/13/marks-spencer-obamacare-websites-go-wrong

46 days - feels like a complete reinstall on bare metal and careful reinstatement of product, customer and order data. This would have destroyed smaller companies.

Popcorn awaiting the open and transparent report on this. M&S and Coop have nigh been visibly less than forthcoming and secretive about this egregious ransomware intrusion.

[spold]

Our service has been upgraded....

...from non-existent to fairly crappy. Please don't get your knickers in a twist - particularly in N. Ireland as we can't send you new ones....

[TRT]

Re: Our service has been upgraded....

Their website has always displayed the underware.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Knickers

"For now, Click & Collect, next day delivery and nominated day delivery, and international ordering are unavailable..."

Still down, yet to be pulled up

[Tanglewood73]

Digital Transformation

'CEO Stuart Machin said it would use the "opportunity" to accelerate the company's digital transformation'

It's the digital stuff that was hacked, if they'd left it a pen and paper they'd have been fine!

[Roger Kynaston]

better bring back click and collect

If I were them (thankfully I’m not though) I would have worked to bring back click and collect first as this is much better to my thinking. But them I am a woke liberal metropolitan elitist in London so what would I know.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: better bring back click and collect

Customer Experience … Pft. You’d be lucky.

[Mr Dogshit]

Thank God

I'm all out of Percy Pigs and huge granny pants.

[Efer Brick]

48 days later...

Sounds like a Danny Boyle film.

Will the zombies return?

[Bitsminer]

Re: 48 days later...

The sequel is "48 Weeks Later." Nobody is waiting for that one!

[Jason Hindle]

It's actually got me worried for our little M&S Food*

Since the hack, it's been very ropey, often with empty shelves. There's no such thing as a victimless crime—something that financially impactful likely means someone's livelihood.

* I remain loyal - they organised themselves into a little beacon of sanity amongst the madness in the early days of lockdown,

[VBF]

I went into M&S a couple of weeks ago and in conversation with a staff member I commented on the incompetence of their IT dept.

Staff member said "It wasn't their fault - it was a cyber attack" - obviously the line they're being fed!

[Ken Moorhouse]

More haste, less speed

M&S could learn a thing or two from Primark.