Case Study: Morrisons - Developing Data Talent to Power Better Decisions

Client profile

Morrisons is one of the UK’s leading grocery retailers and fresh food manufacturers, with over 500 supermarkets and a workforce of more than 95,000 employees.

From supply chain and pricing to customer engagement, data plays a critical role in how Morrisons operates. As the organisation continues its journey toward becoming a “Naturally Digital” business, strengthening internal data capability has become a strategic priority.

Turning Data Skills into Retail Impact

Morrisons partnered with Cambridge Spark to deliver a Level 7 Data Science & AI apprenticeship programme, designed to build advanced technical capability while delivering real commercial value.

The focus was clear:

Improve forecasting, pricing, and customer decision-making
Move teams from manual processes to automated, scalable solutions
Build confidence applying data and AI to live business challenges
Develop leadership and mentoring skills within data teams

Improved forecasting accuracy

Supporting better pricing, range intervention, and stock decisions.

Increased operational efficiency

Automating manual reporting and classification tasks across teams.

Stronger commercial insight

Using predictive models and NLP to improve investment and decision-making.

12 learners enrolled

Building advanced Data Science & AI capability through the Level 7 apprenticeship.

Learner Projects Delivering Business Value

Learners applied their new data science and AI skills directly to live Morrisons business challenges, creating solutions with measurable operational and commercial impact.

Forecasting and pricing

Jennifer Nevin reduced pricing forecast error from 196% to 26%, while Dan Seabrook reduced range intervention forecast error to 0.7% over eight weeks.

Automation and efficiency

Projects automated manual processes, including Loyalty team reporting, saving 1 day per week, and Retail Support Office message classification every 15 minutes.

Customer and commercial insight

Learners developed predictive models to support customer retention, pricing optimisation, and commercial decision-making, helping teams move from reactive to proactive strategies.

Store operations

One learner project analysed third-party technology in stores and identified a ~2% increase in product availability, supporting better operational performance and customer experience.

Leadership Backing and Business Alignment

A key driver of success has been strong alignment between Morrisons’ apprenticeship strategy and its wider digital transformation goals.

Becky Dickinson has supported embedding a culture of continuous learning and development:

“The programme doesn’t just teach theory, it delivers immediate value by equipping our employees with practical skills to automate workflows and enhance data-driven decision-making.”

Becky Dickinson, People Specialist - Apprenticeships, Morrisons

This alignment has ensured that skills development directly supports Morrisons’ ambition to become a more efficient, insight-led, and digitally enabled organisation.

Learning Built Around Real Morrisons Challenges

Working with Cambridge Spark, the programme was designed to ensure learning translated into real business impact from day one.

Learners combined structured training with hands-on application, developing skills in:

Programming and data manipulation using Python and SQL
Machine learning techniques for forecasting and prediction
Applying models to real retail challenges across pricing, loyalty, and operations
Communicating insights clearly to drive business decisions

With ongoing mentorship and support, learners were able to move beyond theory and implement solutions that improved workflows, reduced manual effort, and increased accuracy across teams.

From Technical Skills to Data Champions

Beyond technical capability, the programme has supported a broader cultural shift within Morrisons.

Learners have become internal advocates for data, helping to:

Increase confidence in data-driven decision-making
Improve collaboration between technical and non-technical teams
Reduce reliance on manual processes and key individuals
Encourage more proactive, insight-led approaches across the business

Reflecting on the experience, Dan Seabrook shared:

“The apprenticeship gave me confidence in handling complex technical work as well as the business side of data science. Balancing it with a full-time role was challenging, but it’s been incredibly rewarding and valuable for my career.”

Dan Seabrook, Data Science, Morrisons

Looking Ahead

Morrisons is continuing to build on this momentum by expanding data capability across more teams and investing further in apprenticeships and leadership development.

By embedding data and AI skills more widely across the organisation, Morrisons is creating a scalable foundation for better decision-making, improved efficiency, and continued innovation.

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Morrisons: Developing Data Talent to Power Better Business Decisions