Technology Transformation
PwC helped the British Heart Foundation modernise its retail and finance operations through an enterprise-wide technology transformation built on clear governance and modern digital platforms. By delivering AI-enabled tools and embedding capability across teams, the programme is helping BHF protect income and operate more efficiently.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is one of the UK’s largest and most trusted charities, funding lifesaving cardiovascular research and supporting millions of people with heart disease. With 650 shops and 30 million donated items processed each year, its retail operation is central to raising the income that funds this mission. But legacy systems and manual processes had become increasingly inefficient, exposing the charity to operational, cyber and continuity risks. Income was plateauing, staff and volunteers were tied up in lowvalue tasks, and a crucial retail system was approaching end of life. Without intervention, these pressures risked reducing the funds available for research at a time when demand for BHF’s services was rising.
PwC partnered with BHF to deliver a multiyear, enterprisewide technology transformation designed to protect and grow income, modernise operations and build sustainable digital capability. Rather than pursuing isolated upgrades, BHF chose a single, integrated transformation that would reshape how the charity operates across retail, finance, technology and data. The programme was guided by clear principles: ‘adopt not adapt’ to reduce longterm cost and complexity; a single governance model to manage interdependencies; valueled delivery to prioritise outcomes; and a strong focus on capability-transfer, so BHF could own and evolve the platform independently.
PwC and BHF operated as one team, with multidisciplinary specialists embedded across the charity’s functions. This close partnership enabled realistic planning, rapid issue resolution and decisions grounded in the realities of live retail operations. A clear, disciplined governance framework kept the programme aligned and moving at pace, ensuring decisions were made quickly and consistently while managing risk effectively.
The technology solution centred on two major components: a new AIenhanced application for managing donated stock, and a modern Microsoft platform to support retail operations, finance processes and income generation. Agile, incremental delivery ensured early value, including improvements to Gift Aid validation and stock booking. The donatedstock application digitalised the highestvolume process in the charity, enabling faster bookingin of items, more accurate pricing decisions, and better use of staff and volunteers. The Microsoft platform replaced unsupported systems, reducing cyber, security and operational risk.
The transformation has already delivered substantial benefits. Embedded validation has eliminated more than £500k of annual Gift Aid leakage, and donated items are now processed in half the time. Modern cloud-based systems have significantly reduced cyber, operational and regulatory risk building a foundation for future transformation Meanwhile, early capability-transfer has strengthened digital confidence and cross functional collaboration across BHF.
The programme has also delivered cultural benefits. Frontline staff and volunteers are now equipped with intuitive tools that support better decision-making, while trustees and senior leaders have greater confidence in operations through more robust systems. BHF is becoming increasingly digital by default, with stronger collaboration across functions and a solid foundation for future innovation.
BHF now has a modern and resilient operating model that protects and grows the income needed to fund lifesaving research. The transformation shows how clear governance, disciplined delivery and cloud-based technology can fundamentally strengthen a charity’s ability to deliver its mission.
View the profile in the MCA Members Directory.