Retail Heart Consulting FZC

McKinsey - Connect through tech: Engaging stakeholders through digital transformations The best communications leaders go beyond protecting the business and managing reputational risk: they embrace new technologies as a catalyst for growth and stronger connections with their stakeholders. Leaders today are confronting multiple industry-defining challenges and summoning strategic courage to face this volatility head on. They’re finding new ways to inspire and engage their teams. They’re forging paths to net zero and managing supply chain disruptions. And they’re fundamentally rewiring their organizations to lead in the era of generative AI. #Mckinsey #AI #engage #stakeholder #digitaltransformaion #SupplyChain #disruption #organization

Survey: Manual processes holding back procurement More than 40% of procurement professionals say manual and outdated processes are preventing them from achieving business priorities, according to a survey from JAGGAER. "Our research shows that despite the strategic role procurement and supply chain teams play, these professionals remain underequipped, which presents a huge risk to organizations," said Andy Hovancik, CEO at JAGGAER. #procurement #supplyChain #manual #outdate #organization #automation #process #AI

Walmart exec: AI matters but happy customers matter most Bringing disparate team members together to solve customer issues and integrating AI are both important parts of the job for Jon Alferness, executive vice president and chief product officer of Walmart US. Improving search capabilities is essential to creating more trust among customers and motivating them to return, says Alferness, but people are less concerned with the AI behind the process than they are with simply getting their issue resolved. #walmart #AI #customerexperience #process #technology #trust #motivation

Financial Times - Biggest US companies warn of growing AI risk Study finds more than half of Fortune 500 groups cited new technology as a potential hazard in their latest annual reports Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. More than half of the US’s biggest companies see artificial intelligence as a potential risk to their businesses, according to a survey of corporate filings that highlights how the emerging technology could bring about sweeping industrial transformation. Overall, 56 per cent of Fortune 500 companies cited AI as a “risk factor” in their most recent annual reports, according to research by Arize AI, a research platform that tracks public disclosures by large businesses. The figure is a striking jump from just 9 per cent in 2022. FT #financialtimes #AI #risk #transformation #factor #technology #business

Couche-Tard strikes deal with Giant Eagle; makes takeover offer to 7-Eleven parent Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is expanding its footprint of convenience stores in the United States through an acquisition while eyeing an even bigger deal that would create a global c-store powerhouse. The Quebec-based convenience store giant, best known for its Circle K and Couche-Tard banners, has reached a definitive agreement to acquire GetGo Café +Markets ("GetGo") from supermarket retailer Giant Eagle, Inc. GetGo, a “food-first convenience store experience,” operates approximately 270 locations across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.  #7eleven #takeover #convenience #offer #circleK #acquisition #nonbiding

McKinsey - The power of big moves in crafting a successful strategy In today’s ever competitive business environment, crafting the right strategy is crucial for any company to distance itself from the rest of the pack. But all too often, leaders are stymied once they enter the strategy room, where biases, competing agendas, and short-term projections result in unrealistic expectations and ineffective planning. This is the “social side of strategy,” as the authors of this 2018 classic put it, and it’s preventing your company from moving up the economic power curve. #McKinsey #Strategy #transformation #big #noise #social #agenda #projection

Is Asda’s huge IT overhaul on track? Asda is working on what it terms “Europe’s largest IT transformation project” but it has been far from smooth sailing. Retail Gazette looks at what has caused the issues and whether the short-term pain will lead to long-term gain. #aldi #IT #AI #transformation #issue #changemanagement #investment

PwC survey reveals disconnect in technology ROI A disconnect exists between the investments businesses have made in technology, the expectations for success and the reality of how implementations are going, according to a survey from PwC that found 17% of respondents felt they have seen the results they anticipated. Issues respondents reported include lack of time, insufficient breadth of talent and poor change management skills rather than the technology itself. #PwC #AI #automation #ROI #changemanagement #technology #skills #time

How to choose a warehouse automation solution wisely Choosing the most effective warehouse automation solution can be a challenge, as it is necessary to make modifications for each setting, writes Marc Terwilliger of Equipment Depot. Terwilliger recommends assessing a vendor's stability and customer service depth while also describing automated guided vehicles, robotics solutions, automated storage and retrieval systems and automated racking, conveyors and sortation systems, explaining features of each. #warehouse #automation #optimization #changemanagement #rule #solution #customer

Why nothing good happens in a data swamp Organizations are awash in actionable data, but deriving value from it remains problematic when it's only stored, not well organized, Clint Boulton of Dell Technologies writes. "Too many organizations simply let raw data flow into their lakes without structure, such as cataloging and tagging, which can lead to data quality issues" and the "dreaded data swamp," Boulton asserts. Your AI strategy called: It wants you to free the data Commissioned: The importance of data has never been more salient in this golden age of AI services. Whether you’re running large language models for generative AI systems or predictive modeling simulations for more traditional AI, these systems require access to high-quality data. Seventy-six percent of organizations are counting on GenAI to prove significant if not transformative for their businesses, according to Dell research. #data #AI #organization #quality #business #decision #model