Coles Group, a leading retail company, is embarking on the development of a cutting-edge recommendation system that employs real-time intelligence to guide team members’ activities within the store. This innovative system will provide prompt notifications to staff, indicating where their presence is required, whether it be assisting customers or expediting urgent online orders.
To facilitate this advanced functionality, Coles Group is introducing an events-based architecture to replace its existing core infrastructure, which heavily relies on batch processing. The Chief Technology Officer, John Cox, explained that the organization’s IT strategy revolves around ensuring a seamless shopping experience for customers.
Cox identified certain batch processes and associated release processes as potential bottlenecks within Coles‘ architecture. While some of these processes are integral and cannot be eliminated, the company has pinpointed specific candidates that can be redesigned or phased out from its core systems and operations.
Coles Group recognizes the value in transitioning
Cox highlighted that supermarkets inherently operate through a series of batch processes. For instance, the process involves determining which items need to be loaded onto a truck and subsequently placed on shelves. Warehousing, too, involves batch processing. While batch processes will continue to exist, Coles Group recognizes the value in transitioning towards an event-based architecture.
The shift towards omnichannel retailing, which seamlessly merges physical and digital shopping experiences, is a significant driving force behind Coles’ pursuit of enhanced, real-time customer experiences. The company aims to ensure that shelf stocks are consistently available for customers, both for in-store pickups and online orders, and to promptly alert store teams about potential out-of-stock items.
Real-time awareness of current stock levels becomes crucial, as team members fulfilling online orders need accurate information to avoid offering unavailable products to customers. Similarly, during the checkout process, providing customers with relevant real-time deals becomes paramount.
According to Cox, adopting an event-based architecture represents a major breakthrough for Coles Group. While the architecture lays the foundation, the true transformation and improvement in customer experience occur through the creation of actionable insights triggered by the architecture. Machine learning algorithms play a significant role in generating these insights, which are already being leveraged across Coles’ supply chain and in-store operations.
