TNS has been recognized at the RTIH Innovation Awards 2026 receiving a ‘Highly Commended’ distinction in the Technology Implementation of the Year (UK) category for its work with East of England Co-op.
The awards celebrate innovation across the retail technology sector, with TNS and East of England Co-op being nominated in three categories:
- Digital Transformation Project of the Year
- Technology Implementation of the Year (UK)
- Best Retailer/Technology Supplier Relationship
At the center of each nomination is the deployment of TNS Secure SD-WAN across more than 200 East of England Co-op sites, transforming the retailer’s connectivity and providing a resilient foundation for future innovation. RTIH recognized TNS’s work to consolidate fragment, multi-vendor connectivity into a single, resilient network with built-in redundancy.
Tackling the connectivity challenge
East of England Co-op operates grocery, travel and funeral sites across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. Its previous network was split across multiple divisions of its provider, leaving no single point of accountability when performance issues arose.
Each site also relied on separate lines for retail and back-office functions, creating additional cost and complexity. Failover could take up to 90 seconds, disrupting point-of-sale (POS) transactions and affecting store operations. Backup connectivity was unreliable, while limited network monitoring created challenges around compliance and vulnerability management.
As East of England Co-op’s digital footprint continued to grow, supporting in-store systems, analytics and connected devices, it needed a network that could provide greater resilience, visibility and scalability.
Building a resilient retail network
TNS Secure SD-WAN consolidates multiple network lines into a single, resilient connection with built-in redundancy. Across East of England Co-op’s estate, failover is now instantaneous, helping transactions and back-office operations continue during network incidents.
Centralized dashboards provide real-time visibility across the estate, helping improve compliance management and strengthen security oversight.
The technology is supported by a fully managed service that includes named account management, dedicated project leadership and proactive communication. This gives East of England Co-op a single accountable partner for network performance and delivery.
Delivering measurable results
The deployment has provided East of England Co-op with uninterrupted connectivity and zero visible downtime during failover events.
Moving to a single managed service has also simplified operations and reduced vendor complexity, with estimated operational savings of 10-15% through line consolidation and improved process efficiency.
The new architecture provides a future-ready foundation capable of supporting Internet-of-Things (IoT) initiatives, energy management systems and data-driven store analytics as the East of England Co-op continues to evolve its digital operations.
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.”
A partnership built on accountability
For TNS, the recognition reflects more than the technology itself as East of England Co-op now works directly with a dedicated TNS team that understands its business, communicates proactively and provides consistent, human support.
The relationship gives the retailer greater confidence in its day-to-day operations while providing the connectivity foundation needed to support its longer-term growth and innovation.
To learn more about TNS Secure SD-WAN for retail, visit: tnsi.com/solutions/payments/connect/tns-secure-sd-wan/
Read the full East of England Co-op case study: tnsi.com/resource/pay/east-of-england-coop-sd-wan-case-study/