By Morrisons has selected workforce management software provider Logile to improve workload planning across its supermarkets, convenience stores and logistics network, according to Logistics Manager. The retailer will implement AI-powered software to replace manual spreadsheets, giving central operations teams greater visibility of workload requirements across the business.
The system is intended to help Morrisons standardise how work is measured and planned while accounting for differences between individual stores and logistics operations. The rollout will begin with Enterprise Standards Manager, which establishes consistent definitions of operational tasks, alongside workload planning tools that translate these activities into staffing and operational requirements. Additional modules will support day-to-day planning, and performance dashboards will provide operational visibility across the estate. Logile will deliver the programme in partnership with FrontlineXP, which specialises in retail operational processes and workforce planning.
Alex Rose, head of productivity at Morrisons, said: “Getting colleagues where customers need them most is the heart of what we do, and at our scale you need a reliable, shared foundation to get that right. A large supermarket and a local convenience store operate differently so our planning has to flex to those local needs while keeping central support consistent. When our store managers have plans they can depend on, they spend less time managing admin and more time supporting their colleagues and serving customers.”
What Logile actually does
Logile is a workforce planning platform built for retail and logistics environments where labour demand fluctuates by hour, day and season. The core modules cover labour budgeting, demand forecasting, scheduling, time and attendance, and employee self-service. The Enterprise Standards Manager module that Morrisons is starting with is significant because it creates a single definition of what a task involves, how long it should take, and what skills it requires. Without that foundation, workforce planning software produces schedules based on inconsistent assumptions.
For a grocery retailer, this means tasks such as shelf replenishment, checkout staffing, bakery production and online order picking are defined once and then applied across the estate. A large supermarket and a convenience store still get different plans because their task mixes and volumes differ, but the underlying measurement is consistent. That is the standardisation Morrisons is seeking.
Why logistics is part of the same rollout
Including logistics in the same workforce planning implementation is a notable choice. Distribution centres do not behave like stores. Labour demand is driven by inbound and outbound volumes, vehicle schedules, temperature zones and picking methods. Shift patterns are more rigid, agency staff are common, and compliance with drivers’ hours and warehouse safety rules adds constraints that store scheduling does not have.
By putting stores and logistics on the same platform, Morrisons can compare labour productivity across the whole operation using the same definitions. That matters for a retailer where distribution costs directly affect store margin. It also means central operations teams can see where labour hours are being consumed and whether the work justifies the spend, without reconciling spreadsheets from different parts of the business.
What changes for store managers and HR teams
The practical effect for store managers is that schedules should arrive with less manual adjustment. When workload planning is spreadsheet-based, managers often rebuild plans because they do not trust the numbers. The stated goal is that managers spend less time on admin and more time with colleagues and customers.
For HR and payroll teams, the integration points matter. Workforce planning software has to connect with HR records for contracts, absence and skills, and with payroll for hours worked and pay rules. The announcement does not specify which systems Morrisons will integrate with, but any UK retailer using Logile will need to ensure the software handles National Living Wage rates, Working Time Regulations and holiday accrual correctly. Those rules are not optional, and buyers should confirm compliance for their own situation rather than assume a US-based platform has UK defaults.
What the announcement leaves open
The source does not state how many Morrisons stores and logistics sites are covered, when the rollout completes, whether a pilot is running, or what the contract is worth. It also does not say whether Logile replaces an existing workforce management system or fills a gap where spreadsheets were the de facto tool. Morrisons has not disclosed job impacts, union consultation, or training plans.
Those details will determine how quickly the benefits arrive. Workforce planning implementations often fail when task standards are wrong, when managers do not trust the forecasts, or when integration with payroll and HR is delayed. Starting with Enterprise Standards Manager suggests Morrisons is sequencing the work to avoid that failure mode, but the announcement is a starting point, not a completion date.
Sources: Logistics Manager
Photo: Essential workers, supermarket in New Zealand's first Level 4 lock-down by Alan Tennyson, CC BY-SA 4.0
