Case Study
How East of England Co-op Future-Proofed Retail Connectivity with TNS Secure SD-WAN
East of England Co-operative Society, one of the UK’s largest regional retailers, operates more than 200 grocery, travel and funeral sites across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. As digital transformation accelerated, its existing network could no longer deliver the reliability or visibility required to support modern retail operations.
Following fragmented service and slow responsiveness from its previous vendor, East of England Co-op re-engaged with Transaction Network Services (TNS) to deploy a fully managed, scalable and secure network infrastructure. The result is a trusted connectivity platform that simplifies operations, strengthens resilience and provides the foundation for continued digital growth.
What East of England Co-op faced...
- Fragmented accountability across multiple providers
- Costly dual-line configuration
- 90-second failover during outages
- Limited visibility into security posture
- Aging infrastructure slowing digital goals
What TNS Secure SD-WAN delivered
- Single accountable managed service partner
- Simplified single-line architecture with built-in redundancy
- Instantaneous failover with no visible downtime
- Centralized dashboards and real-time monitoring
- Scalable, IoT-ready network foundation
Business Challenge
East of England Co-op’s previous network environment was complex and inefficient. Services were split across multiple divisions of its provider, leaving no clear accountability when performance issues arose. Each site operated separate lines for retail and back-office systems. An expensive and cumbersome configuration.
Legacy connectivity caused additional challenges. Failover could take up to 90 seconds, disrupting transactions and causing point-of-sale downtime. Limited monitoring made it difficult to maintain compliance and identify vulnerabilities in a timely manner.
As the organization’s digital footprint expanded, introducing new in-store systems, analytics tools and connected devices, its aging network infrastructure became a barrier to operational agility and customer experience. The East of England Co-op required a unified, secure and resilient networking solution from a trusted managed service partner.
Retail locations modernized with TNS Secure SD-WAN
Network failover that previously took up to 90 seconds is now instantaneous, ensuring continuous payment, POS and back‑office operations with no visible downtime
Estimated operational cost savings
Solution
East of England Co-op selected TNS Secure SD-WAN to modernize connectivity across approximately 200 locations, including grocery stores, travel branches and funeral homes.
TNS Secure SD-WAN consolidates multiple network lines into a single, resilient connection with built-in redundancy. Failover that once took over a minute now occurs instantly, maintaining continuous payment and POS operations even during network incidents.
Centralized dashboards provide real-time visibility across all sites, improving compliance management and security oversight. The fully managed service includes named account management, project leadership and proactive communication, creating a single source of accountability for performance and delivery.
With a future-ready design, the network now provides a strong foundation for Internet-of-Things (IoT) initiatives, energy management systems and data-driven store analytics.
Solution Component
- TNS Secure SD-WAN deployment
- Instant failover capability
- Centralized security monitoring
- Dedicated TNS managed service
What it enables for East of England Co-op
- Unified, resilient connectivity across 200+ sites
- Continuous operations and uninterrupted transactions
- Faster issue identification and stronger compliance
- Clear ownership, rapid response and proactive support
- Scalability for IoT, analytics and digital innovation
Outcome
East of England Co-op now benefits from uninterrupted connectivity, streamlined operations and stronger security across its retail estate.
Stores report zero visible downtime during failover events, ensuring transactions and back-office functions remain uninterrupted. The move to a single managed service model has eliminated vendor sprawl, improving clarity and reducing operational overhead.
Centralized dashboards have strengthened visibility and compliance management, while the simplified architecture has reduced overall costs. Operational savings are estimated at 10–15%* due to line consolidation and process efficiency.
The partnership has also brought a new level of trust and personal engagement. Unlike dealing with a faceless telco, the East of England Co-op now works directly with a dedicated TNS team that understands its business, communicates proactively and provides consistent, human support. This trusted relationship ensures confidence in day-to-day operations and long-term growth.
Why Retailers Choose TNS
- Fully managed Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model
- Highly available and scalable
- Multi-layer security and visibility
- Proactive account management
- Specialist guidance for retail environments
- 24/7 global expert support
Discover how TNS Complete Commerce can transform your payments and network infrastructure today.
Learn how TNS Complete Commerce can remove the complexity associated with payments infrastructure for your business by visiting https://tnsi.com/solutions/payments/complete-commerceExplore our industry-leading payments across our Accept, Protect, Connect and Orchestrate product portfolios.
Or get in touch with a member of the TNS Payments Market team to see how our solutions can help your business
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