Artificial Intelligence

By John Bajorek, wdpartners.com

It’s easy to get sidetracked by tactics when rethinking retail design and conceptualizing the store of the future. It’s easier still to grow enamored of the potential of technology and consumer data to transform every aspect of the in-store experience.  

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SAN FRANCISCO — Gap has elected Padmasree Warrior, chief technology and chief strategy officer of Cisco Systems, to its board of directors, effective Sept. 30.

“Padma is an accomplished business leader with nearly 30 years’ experience within the technology industry, as both a strategist and innovator,” said Glenn Murphy, Gap Inc. chairman and CEO. “As we increase our investment in serving customers across all channels, Padma’s relevant expertise will be an asset to our board and management team.”

Woonsocket, R.I. — CVS Caremark has opened a 150,000-sq.-ft. fulfillment center in Mt. Prospect, Ill. It will support the CVS Caremark Pharmacy Benefit Management book of business. The $67 million facility can fill 50 million prescriptions annually. Proprietary technology at the facility automates 90% of the dispensed prescriptions and 80% of the prescriptions packaged for mailing. On-site pharmacists visually check all of the prescriptions.

In the 1980s, animated public service commercials featuring McGruff the Crime Dog exhorted viewers that: “Together, we can take a bite out of crime.” Two decades later, department store retailer J.C. Penney is taking that spirit of teamwork to cooperatively use technology to combat retail crime in the greater Chicago area.

With the addition of an Android app, mobile workforce leader Gigwalk expects its on-demand workforce to soon exceed 600,000.

The two-year-old San Francisco-based technology company already has 325,000 workers, known as Gigwalkers, using its app on iPhones to perform a variety of mobile research and store audit functions. The addition of an app for Android phones is expected to more than double the number of Gigwalkers because Android phones are more prevalent in the market.

RFID has occupied a curious position in the retail IT landscape for the past decade. Most observers acknowledge that RFID holds great potential to offer expanded supply chain visibility and collaboration from source to shelf, but aside from a few high-profile programs run by retail heavyweights like Wal-Mart and Target, RFID’s potential still remains untapped after all these years. That may finally be changing.