Asda selects Evolve as connectivity partner as supermarket giant acquires 116 new petrol forecourt sites

Following Asda's acquisition of 116 petrol forecourt sites from the Co-op in 2022 in a £600 million deal, the grocery retailer faced the challenge of delivering a seamless and efficient user experience at these new locations.

Evolve provided the essential infrastructure for this project.

Alan Stephenson-Brown, CEO at Evolve, says: “The fuel forecourt sector is highly competitive, where connectivity is key to success.”

“Asda selected Evolve as its connectivity partner thanks to our two decades of extensive experience and expertise in the forecourt sector, and I’m incredibly proud of the service we delivered.”

“A key challenge facing the team was that each of the new sites requiring connectivity faced time constraints, meaning it was imperative for our engineering and development teams to tailor the connectivity solution to fit the deadline.”

“We are well-versed in the dynamic nature of the market and the importance of keeping pace with its customers, and were able to deliver the Asda solution ahead of schedule.”

Fully managed network solutions, including SD-WAN, connectivity, and guest Wi-Fi, as well as connectivity to third parties such as PoS vendors and fuel tank polling, are essential for businesses in the forecourt sector to operate efficiently and deliver a seamless customer experience.

To this end, Evolve supplied a network and connection able to support fuel and store sales, third-party services and guest Wi-Fi. 

Ashley Cowley, Asda Technology Senior Manager for Express Stores, says: “We approached Evolve with this project as we knew it was a big ask to get everything up and running with limited downtime.”

“The team got round this by setting the sites up to run on 4G/5G to ensure they remained operational. Temporary communications for installations were also used at the beginning of the project, and overnight installations were carried out to minimise disruption to operations.”

“Evolve managed the entire project from start to finish, and we now have a new tech stack that’s been specifically designed with Point of Sale, and all other connectivity dependent elements in mind. Evolve's solution will enable us to operate more efficiently while streamlining operations and reducing downtime in future.”

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Network solutions are a key focus area for the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, which is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Key 2024 dates

Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline 

Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed

30th October-6th November: Judging days

Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.