Transaction Network Services (TNS) has deployed TNS Secure SD-WAN across more than 200 East of England Co-op sites, delivering resilient, always-on connectivity across its grocery, travel and funeral estate.
Daily Challenges
As retailers increasingly rely on digital systems to power in-store operations, East of England Co-op required a more reliable and scalable network to support its growing digital footprint. Its previous infrastructure created operational challenges, with failover times of up to 90 seconds, disrupting point-of-sale (POS) transactions and impacting store performance. Services were also fragmented across multiple provider divisions, limiting visibility, increasing costs and leaving no single point of accountability.
To address these challenges, the Co-op selected TNS to deliver a fully managed, secure and scalable network solution. TNS Secure SD-WAN consolidates multiple network lines into a single, resilient connection with built-in redundancy, helping reduce failover from 90 seconds to instantaneous and providing uninterrupted transactions and back-office operations.
Centralised dashboards now provide East of England Co-op with real-time visibility across all locations, helping to improve compliance management and strengthen security oversight. The fully managed service model delivers a single point of accountability, allowing for simplified operations and faster issue resolution. With a future-ready architecture, the network provides a strong foundation for Internet-of-Things (IoT) initiatives, energy management systems and advanced in-store analytics.
Richard Helliwell, Head of Technology Services at East of England Co-op, said:
“Reliable connectivity is critical to delivering seamless customer experiences across our stores. By partnering with TNS, we now have a resilient, future-ready network that supports our day-to-day operations while enabling continued innovation and growth across our estate.”
Since deployment, East of England Co-op has achieved uninterrupted connectivity across its network, with zero visible downtime during failover events. The move to a single managed service has simplified operations, reduced vendor complexity and delivered estimated operational savings of 10–15% through line consolidation and improved efficiency.
Matthew Thomas, Managing Director, UK & Ireland, at Transaction Network Services (TNS) commented:
“East of England Co-op demonstrates how retailers can transform operations when connectivity is reliable and simple to manage. TNS Secure SD-WAN provides the resilience and visibility multi-site retailers need to eliminate downtime today while building a platform for future innovation.”
Key outcomes include:
• 200 sites connected across six UK counties
• Failover reduced from 90 seconds to instantaneous
• Estimated 10–15% operational savings through vendor consolidation
• Enhanced security visibility and compliance management
• Future-ready network architecture supporting IoT and digital innovation
Together, these improvements enable East of England Co-op to deliver more reliable customer experiences while reducing operational complexity across its estate.
Read full case study here: tnsi.com/resource/pay/east-of-england-coop-sd-wan-case-study/
