“ We need to let what our customers ’ data define how we operate ”
— Ashley Colyer , Acting CIO , Foodstuffs North Island
change management with a team at Support Centre whose raison d ’ être is to support delivery into the business across our 332 stores and help them not just to adopt , but optimise the way that technology is used . It ’ s a big challenge with so many distributed users , so you need an efficient structure .”
Colyer believes the grocery industry is ripe for the application of automation , AI and machine learning as the vast majority of the business is data driven . “ Promotions , for example , knowing which to put on , when , how and to whom . All of that can and should be driven by data ,” he explains . “ Previously there really wasn ’ t the capability to process the volume of data to do justice to that . Now we ’ re starting to work with partners who have developed sophisticated AI models allowing our category managers to know what to promote and when to optimise the impact of our promotion and marketing activities .”
Colyer adds that the fundamental shift currently being realised at Foodstuffs North Island is a customer driven approach to data core to the company ’ s strategy . “ We need to let our customers ’ data define how we operate ,” he says . “ So instead of promoting something because our suppliers are giving us a special on it , it ’ s promoting something because we think it will resonate with our customers . Understanding that level of granularity takes trillions of calculations so we need the sophistication of AI .”
For Foodstuffs North Island to develop these capabilities , strong partnerships have been key . EY played an important role in the company ’ s ERP implementation and wider digital transformation , providing “ intellectual horsepower and capacity to help deliver critical large IT programmes ,” says Colyer of this important strategic alliance . Allied to this , South Americabased Grability Inc has provided the
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