Alan Morris

Alan Morris is Retail Assist’s Managing Director and one of its founders. A skilled business systems practitioner and visionary with more than 20 year's experience of the retail industry, Alan has driven the company forward from a concept to a £multi-million turnover organization. Alan began his career in the mid 1980's with the Sears Group (UK), including Foster's Menswear and Adams Childrenswear, managing major projects throughout the entire supply chain, including the implementation of PoS, Merchandise Management and Warehousing ERP systems.

In the mid-1990's Alan observed a gap between the retailer and the IT solution provider and the need for an expanding/retracting pool of resources. To bridge this gap, he set up retail IT services company Compass Retail Associates with his colleague Gary Broughton in 1995. Four years later, the business and concept evolved into what is today's Retail Assist.

Alan's vision for the Retail Assist model was, and remains, based upon employing people with the right blend of retailing and systems skills and experience, who can understand business requirements and translate them into effective business solutions. By providing a portfolio of services that can be fully or partly engaged, the company can deliver tailor-made solutions to satisfy specific needs. In 2007 the Merret supply chain ERP solution was acquired from Grantfort Computer Systems.

Alan remains hands-on, closely involved with client accounts and overseeing business development. The breadth of his experience has enabled him to write extensively for the retail technology press.