Librestream Customer, Tesco, Awarded Top Supply Chain Award for Its Implementation of Onsight

How Tesco’s forward-thinking and innovative approach to remote auditing helped it achieve an increase in productivity, safety and consistency

Tesco, one of the largest grocers in Europe, was recently awarded the Food Logistics 2021 Rockstars of the Supply Chain Award for its integration of Librestream’s Onsight technology to increase supply chain auditing capabilities. Tesco’s head of standards and audit, Clare Rapa-Marley, was specifically recognized for her efforts to identify and implement a technology solution that enabled remote collaboration among the grocery giant’s global supply base.

Tesco’s journey to find a fitting remote expert solution began in 2019 as Rapa-Marley started exploring options for more continuous evaluation of the company’s supply chain. The UK-based company wanted to evolve their standard auditing practices to include virtual compliance monitoring across its supply base. The standards and audit team felt a technology-based solution was the answer. The objective was to ensure consistency across all geographic locations and workers, effectively utilize time and resources, and implement continuous evaluation of auditing processes.

During Tesco’s evaluation of available technologies, the coronavirus pandemic hit, making critical remote auditing capabilities essential to maintaining business continuity. Given worldwide restrictions to help stop the spread of COVID-19, Tesco’s audit providers could not visit suppliers and distribution centers in Asia and other parts of the world. Librestream’s platform, Onsight, proved to be invaluable in helping the Tesco team ensure food safety and compliance across facilities as well as complete timely and consistent supplier audits.

Onsight helps Tesco auditors conduct immersive, time-saving virtual audits in remote locations using nothing more than an internet connection and their smartphones or computers. Using the Onsight app on one of those devices, a plant or floor worker helps the auditor observe and assess the site and its activities. The auditor can do a thorough product or process audit by marking up video and images for clarity and taking control of the camera to adjust lighting and zoom. Using this technology has resulted in dramatic improvements for Tesco. In one particular scenario, a Tesco auditor completed virtual site visits across three countries in a single day. The audits—a product launch in Asia, a packaging approval in Ireland, and a hygiene inspection in Spain—traditionally required two weeks of time and travel.

Over a quarter of all Tesco audits are performed remotely using Librestream’s technology. This number is expected to grow as the company expands its use of the remote expert solution, which also includes natural language processing (NLP) capabilities which helps bridge language barriers across Tesco’s diverse supplier base. With food safety and quality being two critical areas of focus in the food industry, Tesco has cemented its position as an innovator and leader in the food industry by adopting AR technologies to improve its supply chain.

We look forward to the continued partnership and unlocking new value for Tesco and their supply chain partners with enhanced efficiency and productivity, and safety.