Helping teams eliminate chaos, improve access control, and bring structure to a growing ecosystem of internal and external documentation. We partnered with Tesco’s supply chain division to replace an overloaded Google Drive setup with a robust, role-based document management system tailored for scale, security, and compliance.
Task
Design a centralized system that supports document lifecycle management, with features like automated naming, version control, and permission-based access for internal teams and external partners.
Tesco’s supply chain and internal departments handled thousands of documents spanning HR policies, supplier files, audits, and compliance materials. Google Drive couldn’t keep up.
There was no version control, no naming consistency, and no way to manage permissions efficiently across teams and external partners.
Key Issues:
Poor user role and permission management
Inefficient document versioning and naming conventions
No structured workflows for approval, requests, or updates
Limited filtering and categorization options
We identified three core user groups and designed unique experiences for each:
Admins: Full access to create, edit, archive, and assign documents across teams.
Internal Staff & Suppliers: Access to specific documents by department or role.
External Partners: Restricted to public, non-sensitive documents only.
Bringing structure to chaos, one filename at a time
One of the biggest pain points for Tesco’s document team was inconsistent naming. With thousands of documents shared across departments and regions, manual naming resulted in duplicates, misfiled content, and poor discoverability.
The Objective
To introduce a system-generated naming structure based on Tesco’s internal taxonomy—ensuring every document is instantly recognizable, searchable, and compliant with organizational standards.
How It Works
Documents are automatically named based on 3–5 customizable attributes, selected during the creation phase. These include:
The following features were created for the Tesco Global Document team, lead by the supply chain devisions.
Dashboard
Archive/Trash management
Notifications
Tasks
Version control
Labels & Groups
Comments
Analytics
Auto naming convention system
Create Document request
Create Document request-1
Documents
Home
The new Document Management System for Tesco’s supply chain division replaced the fragmented Google Drive setup with a robust, scalable, and user-friendly platform.
Admins gained fine-grained control over document access, internal teams could easily locate critical files with advanced filters and smart naming conventions, and external partners were provided secure, limited access without risking sensitive information.
Key outcomes included:
60% faster document retrieval times due to improved navigation, labeling, and versioning.
Enhanced security and compliance with role-based access and controlled document sharing.
Streamlined operations with auto-naming conventions that reduced manual errors and standardized the library.
Increased accountability through integrated request workflows, document task assignments, and activity tracking.
Positive user feedback from internal teams who praised the clarity, consistency, and efficiency of the new system.
By focusing on real-world workflows and simplifying complexity, the system empowered Tesco’s document management team to spend less time hunting files—and more time enabling the business.