SEATTLE — Amazon’s efforts to fully integrate its Whole Foods Market subsidiary into its broader corporate systems continue to face significant tech challenges, according to an internal review by consulting firm Deloitte that highlights ongoing struggles with Microsoft 365 collaboration tools. Eight years after Amazon acquired Whole Foods, the grocery chain still operates with a fragmented software setup that complicates communication, data sharing and productivity across teams, the report found.
The Deloitte review, which spanned eight weeks and was completed in May 2025, found that Whole Foods uses a loosely integrated Microsoft 365 environment with inconsistent data retention and security practices that make it difficult for Whole Foods and Amazon employees to work seamlessly. The fragmented system has contributed to inefficiencies and reduced productivity, particularly as Amazon pushes its strategic initiative to unify grocery operations under a “One Grocery” model that includes both Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh.
Under Amazon’s current setup, multiple versions of Microsoft 365 tools are in use, and teams at Whole Foods often find themselves working outside Amazon’s central backend systems. Deloitte’s recommendation: a 24-month phased integration plan that would begin with corporate staff and eventually bring more than 100,000 Whole Foods employees onto Amazon’s core systems, aligning security protocols and reducing redundant licensing costs.
The findings underscore more than just a software issue—they reflect broader operational challenges in synchronizing two large entities that have retained distinct cultures and systems. Amazon has struggled to unify Whole Foods’ technology stack even as it reorganizes grocery leadership and consolidates back-office functions under executives who oversee both Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods.
An Amazon spokesperson, Jamie Forrest, said the company is actively working to consolidate systems, improve collaboration and streamline technology for its grocery teams, but stressed that such transitions are complex for organizations of this scale. The internal project behind much of this effort has been dubbed “Cremini,” aimed at migrating Whole Foods employees to Amazon’s systems and reducing operational friction.
The Microsoft 365 integration issues highlight how software and workflow infrastructure can become a vulnerability for even the world’s largest companies—especially those navigating mergers and multi-brand strategies. Analysts say that unifying collaboration platforms and data systems is a common challenge in corporate integrations and one that can impact employee communication, security and the overall pace of innovation.
