FINANCE TRANSFORMATION

FAQ

Your questions about our finance transformation answered

What is happening?

We are upgrading to a new SAP finance system – SAP 4/HANA – which will replace multiple legacy finance systems.

When is it happening? 

Our new SAP 4/HANA system will be live from Sunday 5 October.  

Why is the change happening?  

Our finance systems are increasingly inefficient, with many manual and disparate processes and data. This transformation will provide consistent processes, trusted financial data and a single unified source, making work easier for you and for us.

What will be different in the new system?

There will be some changes to the format of remittances but the important detailed information you need will still be included.There will be some minor differences in how disputed AR transactions appear on Co-op Connect. All suppliers will have one Co-op account no. for both accounts receivable and accounts payable, though there will be some exceptions, for example if you have multiple accounts or if you are a primary logistics partner.

Will there be any disruption caused by the move to SAP 4/HANA?

We will be upgrading Co-op Connect the weekend after go live, so the portal will be unavailable around the 11 and 12 October.

Will payments to me be delayed because of the transition to SAP 4/HANA?

There will be no delay in payments to suppliers caused by the transition to our new system.  

Will there be any impacts on supplier funded promotions? 

There are some impacts around the timings of invoicing of supplier-funded promotions.

For promotions that commence in store prior to 3 September – these will be invoiced via Co-op's existing legacy process. Suppliers should expect no changes.

For promotions that commence on or after 3 September – these will be invoiced in our new process. Our new process is live on 5 October and you should expect to see a series of invoices shortly after this date, to catch up on the delayed invoicing

Is there anything I need to do to prepare?

Please make sure that you continue to follow good practice in always submitting your invoices promptly.

We are carrying out various tasks, such as cleansing aged open transactions, to help us prepare for the transition to the new system, so be aware that we may need to get in touch with you over the coming weeks.

How can I find out more? 

We will be running virtual support sessions nearer go live time – please tell us what you’d like us to cover via this form: Finance Transformation Online Events.

We’ll also keep these pages updated and bring you news in our monthly Supplier Newsletter.

06 August 2025 Cutover Impact Session Q&A

Q1. Will the slide deck be shared after the call?

Yes, slides and useful information will be shared via the supplier hub. Please bookmark the financial transformation page.

Q2. Will my SKU be on the invoices from you?

Invoices will include line-level detail including SKU volumes and promotional breakdowns.

Q3. Will EPOS be available for the FRTS as it currently is just main estate?

No, EPOS data for FRTS is not available due to competition rules. Only society-level volumes will be shown.

Q4. Will the new system effect any EDI transmission data?

No changes to EDI unless you have been contacted directly by the Co-op.

Q5. Will invoices consolidate products that have different funding, as we currently receive separate invoices per product?

Yes, individual products will be listed separately with breakdowns of total redemptions claimed.

Q6. Will you be able to provide some dummy invoices for us to enable our systems to pick up the new format in advance of the go live date?

Yes, dummy invoices and example formats will be shared, especially during the 11th September session.

Q7. Does this change relate only to the invoices Coop creates or invoices received from Coop suppliers will be affected as well?

The changes apply specifically to supplier income invoices. AP-related invoices for stock deliveries are not affected.

Q8. Will we be getting a separate session on how SAP 4 will impact AP side?

Yes, a separate accounts payable session will be scheduled in early September.

Q9. Will membership deal funding be invoiced in the same way?

Not immediately. Membership funding will follow a different route in October but will be integrated next year.

Q10. Our accruals have codes related to them and our business is looking at automating paying invoices with AI. Can we get these codes loaded onto the invoice? Is this something we can load on connect when uploading the funding?

I would say almost certainly not, we can't accommodate for one supplier.

Q11. Will the new invoice have more character space - as currently things get cut

Yes, the character limit for invoice narratives has been extended to around 100 characters.

Q12. Will we have a structure of invoice numbers/remittances to amend autonomous configurations in our system prior to change over?

Yes, suppliers will be informed of changes to invoice numbers and descriptions. The “TI” prefix will be removed.

Q13. Will we still have to make payment or will there be contra made against your sales invoices?

If they are a supplier we have contra payments agreed with, contra process will still continue. How payments work for the supplier is not changing, just different invoice and more consolidated

Q14. Will the move to SAP have any effect on EDI?

No changes to EDI unless you have been contacted directly by the Co-op.

Q15. Does invoice numbers match with Coop promos we are creating in portal so we can match easily?

Yes, there will be a reference number linking the promotion, funding, and invoice together.

Q16. If there is no EPOS for FRTS - how would you expect a customer to be able to validate the invoice, without making the entire invoice invalid?

Validation will rely on society-level volumes. EPOS data is not available to Co-op due to competition rules.

Q17. Does this change only relate to the invoices Coop create, for example for promotions or invoice discrepancies? Or will it affect all invoices for usual stock deliveries?

The changes apply specifically to supplier income invoices. AP-related invoices for stock deliveries are not affected.

Q18. Is there any changes to how we dispute any invoices?

No major changes. The dispute workflow, SLA, and resolution process remain the same.

Q19. How will the invoice query process change?

Minor tweaks to submission fields may occur, but the overall query process remains unchanged.

Q20. Is there a cut over from outstanding claims invoices credits to be processed by or is this 5th October

Outstanding claims will be processed as part of the cutover. Invoicing will be suspended temporarily and resumed post-go-live.

Q21. Will there still be a large time gap between last Wk invoice and FRTS being invoiced?

No the opposite, FRTS are now going to be invoiced more inline with when TCG is, rather than a gap post promotion to invoice.

Suppliers should expect all promo trigger invoicing to be raised within 10 days of the end of the promotional period.

Q22. We are receiving only emails from you. Is this being discontinued?

No, invoicing will continue to be e-mailed to suppliers.  

Q23. Will the invoices come in PDF format or image?

Invoicing will be issued in a PDF format.