C&S Wholesale Grocers migrating enterprise to Google Cloud

The largest wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S. is transforming its operations platforms, including customer experience and grocery distribution.

C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. is partnering with Tata Consulting Services (TCS) to build a new operations platform on Google Cloud. The company seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and enhance the customer experience.

Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), C&S intends to leverage its new operations platform to monitor traffic patterns and identify optimal distribution routes, with goals including reducing food waste and achieving greater fuel efficiency.

C&S also seeks to utilize the predictive platform to provide self-service solutions to IT and customer service touchpoints. The deployment also will offer C&S added scalability it intends to support long-term business growth. C&S will migrate its data center workloads to the carbon-neutral infrastructure of Google Cloud.

"With more than 104 years in the rapidly changing grocery industry, the foundation of C&S's success has been our ability to adapt and innovate ahead of market trends to better serve our customers. It's this legacy that drives our unrelenting focus on innovative go-to-market strategies and customer service," said Bob Palmer, CEO, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. "We like to challenge the status quo and need partners who can do the same. Both TCS and Google Cloud are making it possible to implement a platform that supports our operational sustainability goals to ensure a healthy planet now and for future generations."

"Our collaboration with TCS and Google Cloud will accelerate C&S's digital transformation strategy," said Sudhakar Lingineni, CIO, C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. "It will help build new and support current critical business applications with resilience, scalability, and flexibility to drive innovation and growth while ensuring business continuity. Our investments in technology demonstrate our commitment to delivering greater value to our customers and partners when they need it most. Big Query, AI, and ML will help tackle the large and complex data challenges unique to our business."

"The TCS-designed platform will enable more predictable deliveries, especially during seasonal peaks, helping distributors and retailers better manage their inventory while ensuring that the products most in demand are supplied on-time, said Amit Bajaj, President, TCS North America. “Additionally, the solution helps support C&S's sustainability goals of reducing food waste and carbon emissions."

"Through its work with Google Cloud and TCS, C&S will apply innovative technologies like AI, ML, and data analytics to modernize its extensive distribution network and operations, while running its business on the cleanest cloud in the industry,” Kirsten Kliphouse, president – Americas, Google Cloud. “We're proud to partner with C&S and TCS to help address important business challenges that lessen food waste and enable more eco-friendly operations."

C&S Wholesale upgrades digital product content

C&S Wholesale Grocers is overhauling its enterprise platform on the heels of selecting NielsenIQ Brandbank, a provider of digital product content solutions, as its digital product content partner. This implementation will make NielsenIQ Brandbank content available across all C&S Wholesale business functions and all stores supported by C&S Wholesale.

NielsenIQ Brandbank content will support C&S efforts to provide product imagery and verified product attribution. C&S Wholesale intends the new digital product content to aid its retailer partners with a wide variety of use cases, including planogram solutions, mid-aisle product ordering, and digital/print production.

Founded in 1918 as a supplier to independent grocery stores, C&S now services customers of all sizes, supplying more than 7,500 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions with over 100,000 different products.