In this article, we’ll cover:
- The importance of centralisation.
- How SD-WAN acts as an enabler, rather than as the whole solution.
- What retailers need to understand about regional differences.
- Five key steps towards centralisation.
For many retailers, technology estates have grown organically over many years. Each country has selected its own suppliers, built its own processes and adapted its network to local constraints. This creates environments that are often highly functional but increasingly difficult to scale.
When every country operates differently, central IT teams face unnecessary complexity. Visibility becomes patchy and the experience of deploying new capabilities varies widely from one region to another.
As retailers accelerate digital transformation, this fragmentation becomes a barrier. Introducing new services takes longer than expected. Supporting existing technologies becomes resource intensive, and security policies can start to drift.
When something goes wrong, diagnosis often depends on the knowledge held by a small number of people in a particular region.
For many store IT teams, this fragmentation also carries a direct cost. Multiple suppliers, inconsistent processes and duplicated effort increase the time and resource required to keep stores operational. Issues take longer to resolve, temporary workarounds become permanent, and central teams often lack the visibility needed to prevent repeat problems.
At scale, these inefficiencies add up.
These pressures are encouraging retailers to pursue centralisation. Centralisation does not mean enforcing identical systems in every country. Instead, it means creating a consistent foundation that central teams can govern effectively while respecting local realities.
Many European retailers are rethinking how much they centralise and where. The most effective models tend to centralise only where scale creates value, while leaving decisions that rely on local knowledge with regional teams.
Shared standards, platforms and tools help create consistency, while local autonomy ensures stores can operate effectively in different markets. For IT leaders, the challenge is supporting this balance rather than constraining it.
Why centralisation matters now
Retail stores are becoming more connected every year. IoT sensors, refrigeration monitors, computer vision systems, digital shelf labels, advanced point of sale devices and robotics all rely on stable, secure and predictable connectivity. When the network behaves differently in each market, these technologies become harder to operate and scale.
Standardisation gives retailers a shared architectural model. It ensures that store environments behave predictably, that visibility is consistent, and that central teams can deploy new capabilities without reinventing the process in every country. When a forecasting or loss prevention system is designed centrally, standardisation ensures that it can be introduced across the estate with confidence.
This is particularly important for international retailers. Without centralisation, every new initiative must be adapted multiple times. Delivery timelines stretch and operational certainty declines.
SD-WAN and SASE as an enabler rather than the whole solution
SD-WAN and SASE are often part of a centralisation strategy because it introduces centralised control and policy-based management. It allows retailers to enforce configuration and security decisions across borders. Centralisation also helps decouple the network design from the constraints of individual carriers.
However, SD-WAN and SASE only one part of the journey. Centralisation requires clear processes, appropriate organisational structures and a deep understanding of how each country functions. It also requires alignment across teams and suppliers.
Without these ingredients, SD-WAN alone cannot deliver the consistency that retailers are seeking. This is particularly true in a fragmented connectivity landscape, where access to the strongest local providers often depends on effective integration rather than reliance on a single carrier.
Respecting local differences
Every country has its own rules, carriers and ways of working. Some require municipal approval for works. Others have different construction sequencing or utility timelines.
Carrier performance can vary significantly, and these factors influence both delivery speed and operational stability.
A centralised model accounts for these differences rather than simply ignore them. It provides a central blueprint that adapts to local conditions rather than fighting against them. The goal is to maintain consistency in design, security and control while allowing local teams and partners to operate effectively within their environment.
What standardisation looks like in practice
Retailers pursuing standardisation typically focus on five areas.
- A clear architectural blueprint
Central teams define standards for connectivity, security, routing and access so every region works from the same reference model. - Local dependency mapping
Each country identifies its regulatory and environmental constraints. These insights shape timelines and risk planning. - Repeatable delivery processes
Store openings, upgrades and migrations follow a consistent model. Roles and responsibilities are clearly assigned. - Unified monitoring and reporting
Standardisation lifts the fog around operational performance. Central teams gain reliable insight into issues across all markets. - Supplier alignment
Standardisation requires collaboration between organisations. Retailers benefit from partners who understand multi-country delivery and communicate clearly and consistently.
The benefits of getting standardisation right
Standardisation gives retailers a foundation that is easier to support and faster to evolve. When teams operate from a shared model, new capabilities can be deployed more quickly.
Risk is easier to control. Security becomes more uniform. Central teams spend less time firefighting and more time enabling the business.
Most importantly, standardisation improves operational confidence. It allows retailers to focus on the next phase of digital development without being slowed down by avoidable complexity.
Standardisation is a long-term effort that requires structure, discipline and patience. It creates a platform that is strong enough to support the demands of the modern retail environment and flexible enough to adapt to whatever the future brings.
