RTIH’s most read retail technology articles – Retail Technology Innovation Hub

“It was great fun!” EE/BT veteran Alan Dickson will leave the Retail IT Refresh project nearing completion

Alan Dickson announced that he will be leaving EE/BT later this year.

Dickson, who currently holds the position of lead retail technology partner, said in a post on LInkedIn:

“It is with mixed feelings that it is time to say that after 23 years I will officially be leaving EE/BT at the end of September this year.”

“From a call center employee as a team manager to being responsible for delivering technology to over 400 retail stores and over 4,000 guides.”

“What a journey, the ups and downs are too many to count. Experiences and opportunities I will be forever grateful for. Trips around the world to places I would probably never visit, including Slovakia, India and the Philippines.

He added: “But it’s mostly about the people, the people who have filled my inbox, various chat tools and calendar every day, probably the thousands of people I have worked with over the years who have made my journey just a little bit brighter. And all the laughter we shared along the way!”

“To everyone at the Greenock call center, but especially to those who sat in the front corner of the building (if you know, you know), some for a short time, some for the whole time, my home away from home for so long, it was great! “

“To my current retail team, you are all legends. Keep doing what you’re doing. Thank you to everyone involved in bringing our Retail IT Refresh project to such close completion, thank you all. Your mind, drive and determination made this the success we all knew it would be.”

Dickson concluded by saying that the search for new opportunities begins now.

Waitrose is making a major move in artificial intelligence, expanding its partnership with supply chain technology company Blue Yonder

Waitrose expands its partnership with Blue Yonder to include the supply chain solutions provider’s forecasting capabilities.

The move marks Waitrose’s first significant introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into forecasting and is intended to improve availability levels in the retailer’s stores.

Instead of relying on historical sales data and human intuition, the AI ​​forecasting feature – part of Blue Yonder Demand Planning – focuses on customer behavior and analyzes why customers bought what they did, not just what they bought.

This person understands and learns from the trading environment to provide better forecasts based on customer behavior. For example, it will learn how customers reacted to various factors, including weather changes, major sporting and cultural events, and promotions.

The upgrade is part of a significant investment in technology across the Waitrose supply chain.

Constructor announces $25 million Series B led by Sapphire Ventures, tripling valuation to $550 million

Constructorthe AI-powered product discovery and discovery platform for enterprise e-commerce companies has closed a $25 million Series B round, raising the company’s valuation to $550 million.

This represents a nearly triple valuation since its 2021 Series A and brings its total funding raised to date to over $85 million.

Sapphire Ventures led the round with participation from existing investor Silversmith Capital Partners.

With this new capital, Constructor will accelerate product development and innovation and continue its international expansion.

“In today’s competitive e-commerce environment, having an advanced AI-powered search solution that best captures buyer intent is critical to generating revenue – and yet existing technology has remained primitive,” says Rajeev Dham, partner at Sapphire Ventures, who will be joining as a board director.

“With over a decade of experience in the field, Eli and the Constructor team have developed a cutting-edge AI-powered e-commerce search engine that has delivered best-in-class ROI for many home business brands. “

“We are incredibly excited to work with a team that is setting a new standard in delivering a hyper-personalized customer experience.”

US retailer Tractor Supply Company hires Quorso to streamline store operations with AI-powered data and insights

American retailer Tractor Supply Company completed the chain-wide rollout of data- and AI-powered co-pilot capabilities on Quorso.

This provides store team members with personalized, highest-priority actions and intelligent workflows related to store operations.

Founded in 1938, Tractor Supply Company is an American retail chain that sells home improvement, agricultural, lawn and garden care, livestock, horse and pet products to farmers and recreational ranchers, pet owners and landowners.

In a LinkedIn post, Glenn Allison, vice president of IT Application Development, said: “Data-driven insights include opportunities for improvement such as proactively resolving out-of-stock issues, product issues related to store planogram, damaged product, and a variety of other use cases to improve performance.”

“Thank you to the team and Quorso who helped support the rollout across the network.”