DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What criteria do you think grocers and other retailers should use to determine whether to build, buy or partner to implement new technology solutions? Do you find that retailers generally make the right decisions on how to proceed when deploying new technologies?
Interactive Edge’s CEO, Zel Bianco comments, featured on RetailWire’s Braintrust:
Albertsons puts its digital transformation on the transformation
In our experience of over 25 years of developing technology for this industry – the track record for building internally versus buying is not good. Working with technology partners allows the retailer to get “best in class” thinking, experience, strategy and plan to implement new technology or new ways of working that have a much better chance of success.
We’ve seen technology initiatives where the decision was to build rather than buy. After two years of internal development and money spent, the internally developed tech rarely met the needs or specific use case the business needed.
This often leads to engaging with an outside partner that had the solution the business identified in the first place. Technology changes too fast for the retailer not to partner with those that have a good track record and keep up with the latest technology.
The key is careful planning and collaboration with the retailer, and not just on the technology solution itself, but in making sure the retailer’s staff is up-skilled with deploying and maintaining it. Changing the culture of the organization is key as well.
Read the entire article at Retail Wire: