A hack of supply chain provider Blue Yonder has led to a significant reduction in stock availability for Morrisons Daily retailers.
The attack took place on 21 November. On 24 November Blue Yonder revealed it was still working on the issue and continuing to “make progress”.
Sid Ali, of Morrisons Daily, Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, said his stock availability was down to 40% at one point. He added that it was because the company “couldn’t source stock from 35 suppliers, including Diageo”.
“On Sunday we had no bread, and on Tuesday we had no milk of a certain size. That’s never happened before,” he said. “Some retailers on WhatsApp are saying it’s the storm, and that depots have been flooded. It could be issues from both sides, but this hack is big news. Supply has started to improve now.”
Meanwhile, Mohammed Hafeez, of Morrisons Daily in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, said the hack has “severely affected” stock. His store has been left without its tobacco delivery, and is “suffering operationally”.
He continued: “We got a delivery yesterday at 6pm, but we’re still awaiting our tobacco stock. We have no idea when we’ll get it. We’ve been told it’s down to the issues with Blue Yonder, and have had discussions with upper management. You can imagine our frustration, but what can we do? I tried to get to the supermarket for stock but no luck. Our store is empty, and customers suffering – they will go somewhere else.”
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Cyber attack adds to ongoing supply issues for Morrisons Daily retails
Hafeez added that Morrisons supply issues have been happening “for the last six to eight months”, following general supply issues through Morrisons and a DHL hack.
“There is something going on with the partners,” he added.
Adam Johns, of Morrisons Daily in Thame, Oxfordshire, also said his store has had stock issues.
“Blue Yonder supply all our fruit and veg, and a portion of our chilled produce, which would explain why we have a limited range. It impacted our chilled products and milk. Customers have been asking if we even sell milk!”
He added there are additional factors at play causing stock issues.
“We didn’t feel the shortages as bad as we would’ve as our chillers keep breaking down anyway, so our deliveries have been paused. We’d put the stock issues down to both this and Blue Yonder.”
Johns stressed that historic DHL issues have also caused stock issues.
Timeline not clear on when Blue Yonder systems will be restored
In a public statement, Blue Yonder said it has experienced “disruptions to its managed services hosted environment, which was determined to be the result of a ransomware incident”.
“Since learning of the incident, the Blue Yonder team has been working diligently together with external cybersecurity firms to make progress in their recovery process. We have implemented several defensive and forensic protocols.
“With respect to the Blue Yonder Azure public cloud environment, we are actively monitoring and currently do not see any suspicious activity.
Our investigation remains ongoing, but please know that our priority is to ensure a safe and secure recovery. At this point in time, we do not have a timeline for restoration.”
A Morrisons spokesperson said: “We are recovering quickly and our back up system is working well. In some supermarkets there are still a few areas and product lines where availability has not yet fully recovered, but we are making good progress.”
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